Suddenly, Last Summer

Tags

1950's, Elizabeth Taylor, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Katharine Hepburn, Melodrama, Montgomery Clift, Suddenly Last Summer

The quite wonderful Crystal asked me to take part in a blogathon that paid tribute to the iconic Elizabeth Taylor. I jumped at the chance to do so and will review Suddenly, Last Summer.

Film Title

Suddenly, Last Summer

Director

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring

• Elizabeth Taylor as Catherine Holly
• Katharine Hepburn as Violet Venable
• Montgomery Clift as Dr. John Cukrowicz

A typically heated and startling play by Tennessee Williams provide the basis for this shocking and highly dramatic movie. Suddenly, Last Summer is a go to for great dialogue, taboo subjects being brought up and fine acting from a starry cast.

1937 New Orleans; Dr. John Cukrowicz is a young surgeon who works at an asylum for the insane. He is growing restless with the crumbling building and conditions not being up to scratch for his work. The answer to securing more funds and much more accessible ways of doing his work comes one day with a letter. It is from Violet Venable, a wealthy widow who offers to help fund a new wing for the hospital. That is if he meets her to discuss something she wants in return. Encountering the ageing matriarch, he learns that her son Sebastian died suspiciously on a holiday last summer. Violet has a young, beautiful niece called Catherine Holly who is institutionalised following a trip to Europe the previous summer. On that trip was when the shocking death of Sebastian occurred and Catherine suffered a breakdown. Violet wants Cukrowicz to perform a lobotomy on Catherine, as she is secretly worried that Catherine has sinister information about her son that she was utterly devoted too. In return, she would supply him with the necessary things he requires for his practice. Cukrowicz is naturally skeptical about all of this, so he decides to meet Catherine himself.  Catherine, though emotionally disturbed by her cousin’s death, is not insane and Cukrowicz comes to see that she has blocked out the painful memories of the past but not completely forgotten it. He is determined to help her reveal what occurred with Sebastian on that fateful trip abroad. Due to her hysteria and in between sedation , it makes it difficult for him to push further with his investigation. But he is not going to stop and along with a determined Catherine, both want to get to the bottom of Catherine’s fragile mind and discover just what really happened to Sebastian last summer.

The talented Joseph L. Mankiewicz is the man behind the camera. He makes it a daring movie that isn’t scared to get close to taboo subject matter and high drama of a high factor. And on a stylistic level, the production design and cinematography conjure up the unusualness of this most startling tale, with many scenes tension filled and like something shocking is about to be revealed. Now I do believe that some of the subject matter covered is more alluded to than shown, probably because of the threat of censorship back in the day. But the issues that it mentions and hints at are there for us all to glean and be shocked by, which for me says that the movie still packs a punch. This is especially true in the emotions stakes, which is something that Tennessee Williams and his work often have. The stories are heated and button pushing with everything coming out in turns of torrid feeling. The Southern Gothic atmosphere and building tension are grand assets for Suddenly, Last Summer and ones it employs to bring out the melodrama of the piece to the highest order. The script isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of the time by focusing on latent homosexuality and attitudes towards mental health, ensuring that even a movie from the 50’s could tackle subjects(although a little watered down due to the powers that be) with dramatic prowess. Due to this we get some amazing monologues from characters, in particular Catherine as she has to dig into her subconscious and remember the shattering events of last summer. A flaw can be that the stage origins of the piece start to show in many instances. Yet the material and acting make up for that hiccup of not being expansive enough. And the mystery of what happened to Sebastian and whether or not Catherine will be able to put it together are brought out with the brass heavy and often very sinister score.

All the actors present get in touch with the overheated and highly dramatic stylings of the script, especially Taylor and Hepburn. Elizabeth Taylor is excellent as the traumatised and haunted Catherine, who is emotionally disturbed by the events of last summer. Taylor gets to be terrified and fearful of her own memory here, clearly tapping into the shock and horror of what the character has witnessed and just how much it has caused her to block out what really happened to her cousin. Catherine clearly knows something but it has been blocked out by her trauma. She’s many things from scared to often sensual to lucid and determined to uncover what’s being concealed. A lot is conveyed through darting eyes and body language to suggest the turmoil and terror Catherine feels, especially and most effectively in the stages in which everything comes out in the open. It’s a fine performance of shock, vulnerability, uncertainty and numerous angles from Taylor who really displays her sometimes overlooked talent here. Also fabulous is Katharine Hepburn’s sly and cracked Aunt. Hepburn’s marvellous voice and mannerisms are put to good use here; she’s like a broken piece of glass with her tremulous and fidgety switches in mood and behaviour. Aunt Violet is also very witty and acerbic, finding another side to a woman who is broken by her son’s death but intent on keeping what happened under wraps. The great Katharine Hepburn is another great entry to Suddenly, Last Summer’s strong acting bow. Montgomery Clift is the most subdued member of the cast but his sensitive doctor is still acted well. He is required to be the ears to both women’s stories and make up his own mind on what is the truth of the matter at hand. His role is not the most showy but it serves its purpose in a manner befitting the story.

A deliriously eye-opening slice of melodrama and Southern Gothic atmosphere, Suddenly, Last Summer is a very good adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play with grand acting and mystery.

Peyton Place

Tags

1950's, Arthur Kennedy, Barry Coe, Diane Varsi, Hope Lange, Lana Turner, Lee Philips, Lloyd Nolan, Mark Robson, Melodrama, Peyton Place, Russ Tamblyn, Terry Moore

Film Title

Peyton Place

Director

Mark Robson

Starring

• Lana Turner as Constance MacKenzie
• Lee Philips as Michael Rossi
• Lloyd Nolan as Dr. Swain
• Diane Varsi as Allison MacKenzie
• Hope Lange as Selena Cross
• Arthur Kennedy as Lucas Cross
• Russ Tamblyn as Norman Page
• Terry Moore as Betty Anderson
• Barry Coe as Rodney Harrington

A melodrama of large proportions centered on exposing the dirty secrets of a small town that prides itself on moral decency, Peyton Place is grand movie making that benefits from tight direction and an A-list cast.

The setting is 1941 in a New England town by the name of Peyton Place. It is a place that looks tranquil and oh so respectable on the surface, but cauldrons of unrestrained passions, horrible deeds and unraveling lives are at play. Into the town comes stranger Michael Rossi, who becomes principal of the school. His feelings and speeches on parents being more open with their children about life stirs up a bit of trouble among the traditional residents. One of these is Constance MacKenzie, who is the rather prim owner of a dress shop; she is prudish and considers quite a lot of things a slight against good and virtue. Michael attempts to be nice and clearly has romantic feelings for Constance, but she just pushes him away every time he gets close. Her daughter Allison is a good girl who is just about to graduate high school and wants to experience something fun in life by becoming a writer, though this idea doesn’t exactly go down well with her mother. Allison, while dealing with her anger towards her mother who she feels doesn’t want to her to enjoy life, strikes up something of a friendship with the insecure Norman. He is a young man, smothered by and afraid of his overbearing mother, who makes him the ridicule of  many thanks to meddling and belittling ways. Meanwhile, Allison’s best friend Selena Cross is a sweet girl from the less affluent part of town ,who has to deal with her alcoholic stepfather Lucas, the school janitor with a very nasty temper. Things come to a shocking head when a drunken Lucas rapes Selena, leaving her traumatised as well as pregnant. Doctor Swain is sympathetic to the plight of Selena and although it is against his ethics, he helps her have an abortion while issuing a damning ultimatum to the disgusting Lucas. Yet this is far from the beginning of the troubles for Selena as tragedy lies in wait sooner than anyone things. Also occurring is the relationship between the town floozy Betty Anderson and Rodney Harrington, who experiences the chagrin of his family for dating her. Slowly, the myth and morals of the respectable town fall by the wayside as a light is shone upon all the shocks and skeletons that everyone holds far from prying eyes over the course of a few years.

Mark Robson’s direction is sturdy and taut, keeping most of the stories spinning with enough time given to each of them. Only the Betty and Rodney story is not as arresting as the others, but as the others are well-rendered this minor hiccup can be forgiven. Peyton Place is a sprawling film, but at the same time it is quite enclosed as it rarely leaves the eponymous town, creating the impression that the rules that are supposed to be obeyed are very much from a tight-knit society. Robson has just the right amount of clout and ideas for this movie, that has it deserving of memorable status. The movie only sometimes feels like it is trying a bit too hard to cram every shocking event into the film, but when the source material is practically a cascading waterfall of dark happenings and revelations, can you really blame the film makers? I mean you have murder, suicide, abortion and illegitimacy uncovered within the story, and though some areas don’t have the shock value they once had, a lot of it, particularly the rape and abuse stories are still uncomfortable and surprising for a film of this time. And even though the film runs for a long time, it never feels like a chore to get through. Peyton Place is a melodrama of the highest order so emotions run very high, but sometimes the implications and suggestions of something not being so tranquil are just as good. From the standpoint of visuals, lush colour and beautiful scenery are the order of the day and mounted with all the prestige that Hollywood at its golden could muster. And the emotional crescendos of the score from Franz Waxman are just perfect for the secrets and revelations that spill out of this film.

The drama of the piece is kept high, thanks in no small part to the cast that really go for it with their respective parts and flesh out the happenings and changes in the characters. Lana Turner splendidly leads the already impressive cast as the prim and opinionated Constance. She comes off as a cold and ordered person, but Turner wisely reveals through her eyes a certain sadness and desire that she has long denied herself, because of something secret in her past. Turner is an excellent choice for the part and plays it just perfectly, hitting the right emotions for a woman who is conflicted and clearly masking something. She is complimented well by Lee Philips as the forward thinking principal in love with her and an observant turn from Lloyd Nolan, as the kind but firm doctor who seems to see and hear everything in the small town. Bright spots among the younger members of the cast are the debut of the delightful Diane Varsi and the sweetness of Hope Lange. Varsi, who is heard narrating parts of the film, is in a way the eyes and ears of the audience. She is a bright girl who understands that life in Peyton Place is far from picture perfect and wants to pursue her ambitions. There is a nice maturity to her performance that takes shape very well, particularly when she is at loggerheads with her mother over her hypocrisy and rules. Lange on the other hand, radiates a deep melancholy as the much abused Selena. The character goes through a very difficult time throughout this tale and Lange projects a morose and haunting aura to Selena, even as she tries to pick herself up from the traumas that she experiences. Arthur Kennedy is appropriately cruel and horrible as Selena’s stepfather, while Russ Tamblyn has enough sensitivity for the part of shy Norman. Terry Moore and Barry Coe occupy the least interesting part of the film, but do their best with the material they have.

If you ever need to see one of Hollywood’s best melodramas, Peyton Place is one to seek out for its busting apart with a velvet sledgehammer the facade of niceness and goodness in society, with scarcely a dull moment to be found.

The Long, Hot Summer

Tags

1950's, Angela Lansbury, Anthony Franciosa, Drama, Joanne Woodward, Lee Remick, Martin Ritt, Melodrama, Orson Welles, Paul Newman, Richard Anderson, The Long Hot Summer

Film Title

The Long, Hot Summer

Director

Martin Ritt

Starring

• Paul Newman as Ben Quick
• Joanne Woodward as Clara Varner
• Orson Welles as Will Varner
• Anthony Franciosa as Jody Varner
• Lee Remick as Eula Varner
• Angela Lansbury as Minnie Littlejohn
• Richard Anderson as Alan Stewart

A gloriously enjoyable and overheated Southern drama, The Long, Hot Summer gains extra points due to the stellar cast headed by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, who would later become man and wife when the film wrapped. Filled with colourful characters, briskly paced and sizzling with heat, it’s a fine movie that has a surprising amount of innuendo for its time.

Ben Quick is a handsome, charismatic drifter who at the beginning of the film is accused of being a barn burner. Expelled from the town he was residing in he journeys away and ends up in Mississippi. He then hitches a ride with snippy Clara Varner, a local schoolteacher and Eula, her vivacious sister-in-law into the nearby town of Frenchman’s Bend. It turns out Clara is the daughter of prominent land baron Will Varner, who owns practically everything there is to own in town. Will also has a son Jody(who is married to the giggly Eula, who is becoming wary of his lack of opportunities and prospects), who tries to take on parts of his father’s business but is too weak-willed to get any approval from his overbearing father. While the head of the family is away, Ben, eager for a job approaches the Varner family and manages to acquire one after talking with stand in Jody. When the thundering land baron returns from a spell in the hospital and finds Ben working for him, he is initially reluctant because of his less than respectable reputation. But as the days go on, Will begins to take a shine to the charming Ben and sees a quality to make decisions and a deep ambition, that he can’t find in his own son. Jody, seeing that he could be muscled out, becomes increasingly jealous of Ben and is left seething that his father has taken such a liking to the stranger. Meanwhile, Will concocts a plan to give Ben a lot of land and power if he marries his daughter Clara, who he thinks will become a spinster if she waits around for her current suitor Alan, who doesn’t really show much interest in her at all. The driven Ben accepts this and pursues her, but then begins to fall genuinely in love with her. The thing is, Clara is a smart and self-assured young woman, who while she wants to fall in love in the future, has no desire to be forced into it, and knows exactly how to voice her disapproval at her father’s insistence. Yet it is obvious that both Ben and Clara are attracted to each other, Clara just doesn’t know how to express it. What will become of the union between them as Ben genuinely falls in love with her and Clara does the same? And what desperate lengths will Jody go to in order to prove his worth to his belittling father?

Martin Ritt brings verve and energy to the torrid emotions that rise in this tale and he makes it very enjoyable to watch. He successfully employs a brisk pace that makes sure that something is always happening to keep us glued. Now the film is overheated as it is a melodrama, but don’t let that discourage you as it doesn’t completely topple over into ridiculousness thanks to Ritt’s energetic direction. The stunning cinematography conjures up the sweltering cauldron of passion and jealousy within The Long, Hot Summer that seeps from every frame. And with an abundance of colourful characters to add to the mix, it’s hard not to be impressed with this movie. What really struck me about The Long, Hot Summer was the double entendres and innuendo that it had running through it. Considering films of that time were usually at the mercy of censorship, this movie manages to get a little more heat into it and makes it a very sexy film, although no actual nudity is ever seen. I guess it just goes to show that you don’t need bedroom acrobatics shown graphically to make a movie sexy. When you have a script like this that crackles with sexual tension and naughty lines, you can still be saucy in a more refined way. Suggestion can be just as saucy when it’s done like this. The languid score is a delight to the ears as it mixes jazz riffs with romantic strings and a stellar title song.

Heading the cast is the magnetic charisma and likability of Paul Newman. With his striking blue eyes and easy smile, it’s impossible not to be taken in by Newman’s performance as the ambitious Ben. He may have a devil-may-care attitude and a questionable past, but the way Newman portrays him, it’s impossible not to like the guy. And when he’s alongside Joanne Woodward, the sparks fly. Woodward is very good as the opinionated and intelligent Clara, who comes off as aloof to Ben but really starts to likes him as time goes on and the heat rises. The scenes the two share crackle with wit and sexual tension that is a sight to behold and it later lead to their marriage off-screen too. The larger than life persona of Orson Welles dominates the scenes he has in the movies as the blustering patriarch, worried that his family name isn’t going to be upheld. Welles is a hoot in this movie and all the little tics and mannerisms he gives Will are marvellous. Then there is Anthony Franciosa who is impressive playing the weak and belittled Jody, whose jealousy begins to burn when he sees that his position is under threat from the charismatic Ben. A lovely Lee Remick is kittenish and free-spirited as Jody’s wife, who spends her days shopping and gossiping with others. Angela Lansbury is amusingly tart and saucy as Minnie, Will’s feisty mistress who is desperate to be hitched to him, despite his misgivings and refusal to commit. The only person who really gets short-changed in this movie is Richard Anderson, as he is required to play a role too similar to that of Jody to really be at all interesting.

Sensual and dramatic, with a good amount of censor navigating saucy lines, The Long, Hot Summer is an easy affair that is the perfect way to kill and hour or two in the company of distinguished Hollywood stars at the peak of their powers

The Letter

Tags

1940's, Bette Davis, Film Noir, Gale Sondergaard, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Melodrama, Sen Yung, The Letter, William Wyler

Film Title

The Letter

Director

William Wyler

Starring

• Bette Davis as Leslie Crosbie
• Herbert Marshall as Robert Crosbie
• James Stephenson as Howard Joyce
• Gale Sondergaard as Mrs. Hammond
• Sen Yung as Ong Chi Seng

A tautly directed melodrama, with the shadows of Film Noir covering it, The Letter boasts atmosphere and a terrific performance by Bette Davis.

In Malaya, the calm of a moonlit night on a plantation is disturbed by the sound of a gun. Out of the main house stumbles a wounded man, followed by a woman with a pistol in hand. She unloads the rest of the chambers into his body and calmly watches him die. The woman is Leslie Crosbie, the wife of the plantation owner Robert. The man she shot dead was Geoff Hammond, a respected friend of Robert’s with whom she was having an affair. Robert returns to his wife, who begins to formulate a story to save herself. Playing the act of demure and vulnerable wife( when the reality is that she’s a master manipulator), she tells her attorney Howard Joyce that Hammond made repeated advances on her and she shot him in self-defence. While Robert believes his wife’s alibi, Joyce is more suspicious, even though he is the one representing her in the inevitable trial. Matters become complicated when Joyce’s clerk Ong Chi Seng comes to him with information that could change the outcome of the trial. It seems that Leslie wrote a letter to Hammond on the night she killed him asking him to come and see her as Robert would be away. This evidence could alter the case and imprison the conniving Leslie. The letter has fell into the hands of Hammond’s exotic widow, who demands money for it or she will turn it over to the court. Building tension and sweltering atmosphere combine as Leslie’s lies continue and the intense drama reaches its heights.

William Wyler masterfully directs with deft skill, creating a stifling ambience of lies, murder and the manipulative mind of one woman. Although the story can be seen as melodrama, it does have a certain edge that doesn’t let it slip into tosh, this is mainly down to the excellence of Wyler’s direction and the way he crafts this deceptive tale of murder and lies. The striking use of black and white highlights the Film Noir aspects of the story, with shadows and strange camera angles capturing the rising suspicion and inevitable drama. The score provided is a valuable asset to The Letter, cloaking it in an exotic and menacing aura that rises and falls along with the heated emotions and dark deception at play. The costume design is simply exemplary, especially in the gowns worn by the sly and cold-hearted Leslie. Most of them are white which makes her appear angelic to those around her, but the audience knows that there is a dark heart that lies beneath this masquerade.

Bette Davis is one fine form portraying Leslie, clearly relishing the sly, ruthless and calculating nature of the character. This is a character that Davis plays so well and always in control, but she also lets us see the panic that begins to appear when the existence of the eponymous letter comes to light. The film is Davis’ and she brings her all to the part. Herbert Marshall is suitably naive as Leslie’s husband, who sees her as a virtuous angel. James Stephenson excellently plays Howard, the attorney who is the first to see through the deception of Leslie, but is bound by law to remain silent of his knowledge of this. Gale Sondergaard brings silent, feline menace to the role of Hammond’s exotic and unsmiling widow, whose stare alone gives new meaning to the term ‘if looks could kill’. Sen Yung is used well as Joyce’s informative clerk, who becomes the first to discover the letter and what it could do to the case.

William Wyler’s The Letter brings drama to Film Noir and succeeds with aplomb, thanks to stylish direction, excellent score and central performance from Bette Davis.

 

 

 

Written on the Wind

Tags

1950's, Dorothy Malone, Douglas Sirk, Lauren Bacall, Melodrama, Robert Stack, Rock Hudson, Written on the Wind

Film Title

Written on the Wind

Director

Douglas Sirk

Cast

• Rock Hudson as Mitch Wayne
• Lauren Bacall as Lucy Moore Hadley
• Robert Stack as Kyle Hadley
• Dorothy Malone as Marylee Hadley
• Robert Keith as Jasper Hadley

Douglas Sirk creates a withering indictment on the hollow lifestyles of the rich and a critical look at family in 1950’s America in the magnificent melodrama Written on the Wind. Douglas Sirk, often thought of as the king of melodramas, draws excellent performances from his cast whilst binding this story of a perverse and deeply messed up family in the trappings of a lurid soap opera that helps sow the seed for shows such as Dallas and Dynasty. But rather than turning the material into overheated tosh, in Sirk’s hands the film becomes a scathing and ironic satire with hidden depths on the nature of familial ties and the ways in which they sever.

The story concerns the lives of four characters caught in a paranoid web of anger, frustration and deceit. Mitch Wayne is a well-meaning worker for Jasper Hadley, a prosperous oil baron from Texas. He looks up to the man as he has been friends with his kids since childhood. Kyle Hadley, the insecure and alcoholic son of Jasper, is Mitch’s best friend and longtime confidante. Problems arise in their friendship when Kyle impulsively marries the intelligent and hard-working secretary Lucy Moore after a brief courtship. Since Mitch first met Lucy, he has carried an earnest longing for her, but out of respect for his friend has never acted upon his feelings. Rounding out the quintet is Kyle’s sister Marylee; a manipulative, frustrated nymphomaniac who will stop at nothing to sink her talons into Mitch even if it means driving a wedge between her brother and his long-standing best friend. Prepare for electric arguments, sexual frustration and the plaguing of inner demons as the four characters each bring out unforseen and tragic circumstances in each other in this frothy melodrama from Douglas Sirk that burns with a luminous intensity and critically views the trappings of being rich but unhappy.

The first thing that should be praised in Written on the Wind is the visual palette. Sirk’s longtime cinematographer Russell Metty bathes the scenes in a gaudy and vulgar brightness to highlight the pains that lie just beneath the material surface of the Hadley family. The costume design is perfectly chosen, especially in the trashy and flashy outfits sported by the bitchy Marylee as she weasels her way around her longstanding object of desire Mitch. The music is stunningly scored, capturing the dramatic resentment and intensity that will eventually implode the relationships of the quintet. Assembling a talented cast, Sirk lets them create convincing portraits of rich anguish, especially the supporting players. As the well-meaning Mitch who eventually begins to see his friendship sour with Kyle, Rock Hudson creates an earnest character who silently burns with a secret love for a women he knows he can’t have. Lauren Bacall is ideally cast as Lucy, who becomes a steadying influence on her husband as he descends into the depths of alcoholism but who ultimately can’t save him from the tormented feelings he holds inside. As the wayward playboy and tormented son of Hadley, Robert Stack boils with barely concealed rage as he becomes paranoid that his family and friends are turning against him. The real showstopper of the piece is Dorothy Malone in an Oscar-winning performance; who creates an indelible portrait of a scheming bitch burnt by rejection who sets in motion a series of tragic events. Whether flaunting her body by the lake, attempting to seduce Mitch at a family party or sending her old father to his grave with her feral ways, Malone imbues Marylee with a deliciously venomous streak and boundless seductive energy that radiates off the screen with a malicious glee. In a brief but memorable role, Robert Keith shows us the effects that his wayward children have had on him and created a weariness around him.

The story may sound like the same thing you’ve seen a million times on prime time soaps, but don’t let that put you off seeing Written on the Wind as it becomes a magnificently scintillating masterwork from Douglas Sirk. Even if the plotline doesn’t interest you one bit, the full-blooded performances, devilishly crafted screenplay and exceptional mood and setting may entice you into watching this scathing look at the frailties of the rich and resentment and tightly coiled emotions that eventually amount to shocking circumstances.

Dark Victory

Tags

1930's, Bette Davis, Dark Victory, Drama, Edmund Goulding, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Humphrey Bogart, Melodrama, Tearjerker

Film Title

Dark Victory

Director

Edmund Goulding

Cast

• Bette Davis as Judith Traherne
• George Brent as Dr. Frederick Steele
• Geraldine Fitzgerald as Ann King
• Humphrey Bogart as Michael O’Leary
• Henry Travers as Dr. Parsons

A memorable tear-jerker from the 1930’s, Dark Victory contains one Bette Davis’ best performances. Although highly skilled and supremely effective at playing the bitchy ,wicked and sometimes down right evil woman, she could also be sympathetic and quite touching as evidenced by her portrayal of the tragic  heiress Judith Traherne in Dark Victory.  Although it is clearly a melodrama or “women’s picture” as they were known during the 30’s and 40’s in Hollywood, the performance of  Bette Davis coupled with an emotive score by the great Max Steiner make the film a must see example of a classic tear-jerker.

The  plot of the film focuses on Long Island heiress Judith Traherne, who lives life to the full by smoking and drinking too much, as well as going to parties as often as she can. Although hedonistic and at times very flippant, she has recently been suffering from severe headaches and slight dizziness that she quickly dismisses as nothing at first. But after her eye sight begins to fail causing her to tumble whilst out riding her horse, her sympathetic best friend Ann suggests she see the doctor about it. Judith is very stubborn as she believes she is perfectly well and is deliberately oppositional when confronted by Dr Frederick Steele. After various checks, the young socialite is diagnosed with a brain tumour which Steele believes he can successfully operate on. After the surgery takes place and further tests are done, it is determined that the tumour will resurface again and eventually kill Judith. Steele, who has fallen deeply in love with the young heiress, confides in the caring Ann about this and both agree to stay silent about it, but later on Judith accidentally discovers the truth about what will eventually happen to her. The most tragic thing about it is that before she dies, her vision will begin to deteriorate and she will then become completely blind.  This begins the lead up to one of the most emotional and deeply moving death scenes ever seen on the cinema screen. It is a moment that only a person with a hard heart and no emotional warmth would not find poignant.

Bette Davis is absolutely compelling as the tragic Judith, later in her life she said that her performance in Dark Victory in her opinion was her best performance, out of many from her illustrious and lengthy career. Her best moment on screen is when she realises that she is going blind, the way her face changes from happy and joyful to sad is just heartbreaking to watch. The reason that it is so effective is the look in those famous eyes as she calmly realises that her impending death is gradually approaching and that she must face it. Although the main plot could have been contrived and unrealistic, in the hands of Goulding it becomes a thing of beauty and immense emotional power. In one of her early Hollywood roles, Geraldine Fitzgerald brings warmth and pathos to the character of Ann, as she helps Judith throughout her ordeal.  George Brent is slightly wooden in his role of Dr Steele, but still manages moments of greatness when confessing his love for the young heiress. As much as I am a fan of the great Humphrey Bogart, I do think he is underused in the film and somewhat miscast as the horse trainer who has a soft spot for Judith. If his role had been better written it would have added something more to the film. Despite these minor flaws, the film remains an outstanding example of an emotional melodrama equipped with a classy design and direction that aims straight for the heart of the viewer and succeeds.

Mildred Pierce

Tags

1940's, Ann Blyth, Drama, Eve Arden, Film Noir, Joan Crawford, Melodrama, Michael Curtiz, Mildred Pierce

Film Title

Mildred Pierce

Director

Michael Curtiz

Cast

• Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce
• Jack Carson as Wally Fay
• Zachary Scott as Monte Beragon
• Ann Blyth as Veda Pierce
• Eve Arden as Ida Corwin
• Bruce Bennett as Bert Pierce

This film will always be remembered as the film that helped relaunch Joan Crawford’s stalling career, but there is more to this film that at first meets the eye. It is one of the quintessential women’s pictures of the 1940’s that effortlessly blends moments of film noir to heighten its dramatic tale of a mothers self-sacrificing journey to provide for her spoiled daughter. Strikingly photographed, superbly acted and featuring an evocative and intensely dramatic score by Max Steiner, Mildred Pierce is an emotional soap opera that never falls into sentimentality but keeps you glued to the screen as you watch the great Joan Crawford in her excellent comeback role that earned her a Best Actress Oscar.

Mildred Pierce begins with a literal bang, in a classic noir influenced moment. Gun shots ring out as a man clutches his bleeding chest and falls to the floor. Before he dies he breathlessly utters one word “Mildred”. The scene then switches to show the eponymous Mildred, clad in a stunning mink coat and walking a pier, tears beginning to stream down her face. This scene is outstanding as we don’t know whether Mildred has killed the man or not? The audience is unsure of her character at this point as she appears to be the epitome of the femme fatale commonly featured in film noir. We are unsure whether to sympathise with her or loathe her. As the story continues and she is taken into questioning by the police, she begins to narrate her story in flashback up until this point. This is where the film switches gear and examines the dramatic existence of Mildred and how she has changed considerably. She tells of how she slaved away as a waitress before opening a successful chain of restaurants, her sheer determined personality aiding her. Along the way she met rich playboy Monte, who fell for her but used her when he had money trouble. All of the events leading up to Monte’s opening death are influenced by the conniving Veda whose insatiable need for the expensive things drives the story of her determined mother Mildred.

Among the things that drew me to the film was its combination of melodrama with noir, I think this makes for an interesting combination. The performances also drew me in particularly the ones portrayed by Crawford and Blyth. As the determined Mildred, Crawford is outstanding as she embodies this hard-working character who will do anything for her daughter and runs the whole gamut of emotions throughout the movie.Her character is made very believable because of Crawford’s connection with her, many critics have said that Crawford was outstanding in a role when she related to it. I agree with this, but whatever the case Crawford delivers a memorable performance that proved  to Hollywood that she was a force to be reckoned with.  Equally impressive is the young Ann Blyth as the sneering, materialistic and spoilt Veda Pierce. The whole plot is influenced by her expensive needs and desires as Mildred does everything in her power to provide for her. Blyth makes an impressive mark as Veda, imbuing her with an arrogant and snobbish quality that is a clear difference from her self-sacrificing mother. Crawford and Blyth have a natural chemistry that makes their relationship interesting, especially in the moments when Mildred realises how spoilt and down right nasty her daughter really is.

Many would think that with all this highly charged drama there would be no let up. This isn’t the case as there are two characters that lighten up the proceedings. The first is Wally, a man who used to be in business with Mildred’s first husband who also has a soft spot for the eponymous Mildred. He has the most laughs in the film as her romantically chases her.  Jack Carson clearly has a laugh as Wally and his numerous unsuccessful attempts to woo Mildred. The other character is Ida Corwin, the wise cracking friend of Mildred who helped her when she was staring out. Her scenes with customers and lawyers in the restaurant are particularly funny as her dry sense of humour is often mistaken by others. Eve Arden creates a wise-cracking and charming chum that runs parallel with the determined and driven character of  Mildred.

Mildred Pierce can be viewed today as a melodrama that is very believable but also a story of a mother’s love and determination no matter what the cost. Even if old movies aren’t your thing, Mildred Pierce may change your mind with its stellar cast and outstanding production values.