Anthony Adverse

Anthony Adverse is based off the novel by Hervey Allen about the trials of an orphan that only get more intense in his adulthood.  Before we can meet the little orphan Anthony, the details surrounding his unfortunate circumstances must be made clear.  The film begins as a young woman is leaving on her honeymoon with a much older, and conveniently injured husband, Marquis Don Luis (Claude Rains).  While his leg heals in a cast, she meets her young lover, a soldier, and they pledge to run away together before her husband’s leg has healed.  But time runs out, she watches her husband kill her lover in a sword fight and soon she dies in childbirth.  Rather than raise the lovechild on his own, the husband leaves the crying baby at a convent, and lies to his father-in-law, Mr. Bonnyfeather (Edmund Gwenn), saying that the child died as well.  The lines between good and evil are obviously drawn between Don Luis’s cold indifference and Mr. Bonnyfeather’s heartbreak.

The film moves forward ten years, showing us young Anthony (Billy Mauch) at the convent.  Since it is an all girls school, he is only allowed in a small part, surrounded by high walls.  The boy is obviously lonely, but thankful for Father Xavier (Henry O’Neill), who serves as the boy’s teacher and main parental figure.  The nuns seem to be the type that simply don’t like boys and say it’s high time Anthony leaves the convent and become an apprentice.  Father Xavier sets Anthony up to work for Mr. Bonnyfeather, who senses immediately that the boy is his lost grandson and gives him the last name Adverse.  His speech about the boy’s adversity is only slightly cheesy.

From here out is supposed to be the meat of the film.  Anthony grows to a smart, well-rounded young man (Fredric March) with eyes for the beautiful Angela (Olivia de Havilland).  Their life seems perfectly sweet and simple for only a moment, then Angela is taken away when her father wins the lottery.  Next thing we know, Anthony finds her singing in a show and they’ve secretly gotten married.  While Anthony is supposed to meet her, he’s detained by Bonnyfeather, who wants him to leave for Havana the next morning and Angela doesn’t get the message to sail with him.  Thus beings Anthony’s adventures sailing the world, becoming part of the slave trade and finding exotic women in the jungle.

Honestly, that whole chapter goes way too fast and seems like it should have more focus.  Once Anthony attempts to get his old life back in order in Europe, it seems to slow down to a decent pace again, but things are still convoluted with the Angela’s marital status and old villains trying to cheat Anthony out of Bonnyfeather’s will.

For me, the first half hour of the film was more exciting than the rest.  Forbidden love, a sword fight, murder and dumping babies off at the convent, it’s good and juicy.  Then everything turned very flat, rushed and boring.  Even when Anthony is traveling the world, conveniently running away from the possibility of loving his love, everything seems a bit watered down.  Perhaps because this is the part of the story where Anthony is supposed to have a positive life change that propels him back to Europe.  Unfortunately, it starts to feel like unstable mush and never lets us find more solid ground.

While I have complaints about the story and its pacing, many of the technical film aspects help made this film more enjoyable.  Anthony Adverse won the Oscar for Best Cinematography and Best Editing.   Visually, this film is lovely and can bring out the sense of adventure the story tends to lack.  While my heart wasn’t hanging on why Anthony was running through the jungle in the rain, my eyes were hooked and soaking it in.

“Those who are destined to live during times of war and social upheaval are victims of cruel fate, unable to find comfort in the past or peace in the present.  They are the spiritual orphans of the world.”

Les Misérables

Based off of Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables tells the tale of Jean Valjean (Fredric March), who is sentenced to ten years in the galleys for stealing food to feed his sister’s children.  The conditions are brutal and when Valjean’s sentence finally ends, he still has to live the life of a convict, where he is welcome nowhere and has to check in for parole every year.  When he seems at his lowest, the kindness of a Bishop Bienvenu (Cedric Hardwicke), teaches him that life is about giving.

Years later, Valjean has built himself a new life under the name Champmathieu.  He is so respected that he is appointed mayor, with the dutiful Inspector Javert (Charles Laughton) pledging his devotion.  Valjean meets a young orphaned girl named Cosette (Marilyn Knowlden) and becomes a father figure to her.  When Valjean learns that an innocent man is on trial because he stopped reporting for parole, he gives up the good name he’s built and jeopardizes his freedom to spare the innocent man.  That confession launches Javert to pursue Valjean for the sake of carrying out the law.  But Valjean and Cosette go into hiding and the chase lasts for years until Valjean sees that his running will cost the grown Cosette (Rochelle Hudson) her own chances at happiness.

The most fascinating character in this film is Laughton’s Javert.  With his emotionless, uncompromising view of the law he feels compelled to carry out, he seems to be a personification of the entire justice system in early nineteenth century France.  To Javert, Valjean must be captured, the fact that he has lived as a model citizen under another name is just a spiteful act of defiance against the system.  That sort of blind determination can be frightening when you’re trying to hide and outrun it and it doesn’t look like Javert will hold any mercies.

From book, to film, to musical, there are plenty of adaptations of Hugo’s classic tale to choose from.  Personally, I find this film to be the medium I would choose due to the classic film stars, beautiful silver screen imagery and lack of singing.  I know there are some who hold a fierce love for the musical and others who believe a film could never hold all that Hugo puts in the novel, understandable, but to each his own.  If you are completely new to the world of Les Misérables, I would suggest either reading the novel or finding this film for your first encounter.

“Keep these always. Silver they say, but they’re more than gold to me.”

One Foot in Heaven

One Foot in Heaven is the story of a minister and his family over the years as they move from parish to parish.  William Spence (Fredric March) was originally studying to be a doctor when he realized his true calling was to become a Methodist minister.  This comes as quite a surprise to Hope (Martha Scott) and her parents just shortly after her engagement to William had been announced.  Nonetheless, she stays with Will, even as they move from their home in Ontario to Iowa.

Soon, Hope realizes what a huge shift in lifestyle she will have to deal with.  Their first house as newlyweds is a dump provided by the church community that she cannot decorate to her pleasing for fear of upsetting those who have taken care of it.  As years pass and the family grows, money becomes tighter.  For a while, it seems that the fashion is just to the courthouse to get married rather than seeing a minister.

As the family moves all around the country, the children grow and realize the stress of being the minister’s children.  By their father, they are expected to be a good example for the rest of the young community.  They are well aware that they represent the church and their father’s work, but it can be hard for them to just be normal kids.  When Eileen (Elisabeth Fraser) is in her teens, she feels left out that she isn’t allowed to go to dances.  As a young man, Hartzell (Frankie Thomas) is unsure of himself in a modern dating situation.

One of the best scenes in this film is when Hartzel is just a boy, after he is caught exiting the movie theater, Will takes him to the movies to explain to his son how immoral they are.  They see a silent picture called The Silent Man, a good old western.  The theater is full of the town’s children who aren’t sure how to react seeing the minister at the movies.  Will takes the first chance he sees to teach his son about the immoral behavior on the screen once the outlaws are shown whooping it up in a saloon.  As the film goes on, the kids in the audience boo and hiss at every dastardly move the villain makes and cheer for the dashing hero.

By the end of the film, Will sees that the film is not glorifying any bad ideas, but in fact has a good moral.  Even better, the children in the audience are obviously understanding that, distinguishing the good and the bad with their boos and cheering.  Afterward, Will is inspired to preach about being more open minded about new ideas emerging in the culture.

Later in the film, Will is minister to another church full of rich snooty people who only use the church to improve their social status.  They especially love being in the choir, just to be heard and seen at the front of the church.  It’s obvious that they do not donate like they should, since the house the Spence family lives in is unbelievably leaky.  One day, Will hopes to rebuild the whole rickety church and even add a youth recreation center, but first he has to fix the church from within the community.  Rather than be angry and ask for more donations, Will finds more creative ways to quietly punish the old crones by forming a children’s choir to give them a break during the summer.  You may be able to guess how the rich choir ladies react to this isn’t exactly wholesome.

The whole film is a wonderful display of heartfelt and realistic approaches to modern Christianity, as well as pointing out the hypocrisies present in many communities.  Will and his family are not perfect, but they are good people who live well for each other and for the parish they help represent, no matter how humbly they have to live.

I strongly suggest this film for anyone who considers themselves part of a religious community.  Some of the struggles the Spence family faces are not too far from what many people may be struggling with today.  Not everything they do has to do specifically with religion and the church, but simply living in an ever changing community.  Regardless of creed, everyone today can recognize that old ideas cannot always meet the new needs of the youth.  Though this film is seventy years old, yet it holds enough merit for the new generations who have graciously put it on YouTube for all to see.

“He who speaks to only one generation is already dead.  And he who listens to only one generation is deaf.”

The Best Years of Our Lives

It was 1946 and the men were returning home from the war.  To some extent, they were expected to just come home and return to their former lives as if nothing happened in between.  But the world and every man has changed, some more than others.  The challenge of coping with their new world or new lifestyle can be just as heroic as the battles they have just returned from.  The Best Years of our Lives tells the story of three different men as they return to their hometown.

Fred (Dana Andrews) is a young man who married his girlfriend quickly just before he left for war.  His job was to drop bombs, he was good enough to receive medals for it, but now that he is back home he has no real job skills and finds himself back working at the same pharmacy before he left.  It seems that his wife was more in love with his money and uniform than him and they both begin to think about other people.

Al (Fredric March) is a middle-aged man who returns home to his children suddenly grown.  While he brings his teenage son a sword and flag from Japan, the boy is quite intelligent and asking questions about the effects of radiation on the Japanese.  His daughter Peggy (Teresa Wright) is old enough to go out on the town with her parents and be the designated driver.  At his old job at the bank, Al realizes he isn’t the stingy bank man he once was and approves loans that get him in trouble.

Lastly, young Homer, played by real life amputee WWII veteran Harold Russell, has lost both his hands in the war.  While he has already informed his family of his condition, seeing it in person is still a heartbreaking experience.  Throughout the film, Homer is constantly trying to prove his worth and abilities, showing that his hooks can do anything hands can.  His little sister and her playmates find Homer and his hooks fascinating, this just infuriates him and makes him feel less confident.

Homer’s girl next door girlfriend, Wilma (Cathy O’Donnell), still loves him, but poor Homer is afraid to ask her to marry him.  He does not want to tie her down into his crippled lifestyle.  The scene where Homer shows Wilma how he has to take his hooks off every night is especially moving.  Once his hooks are off, he is completely helpless.  Men returning from war are supposed to be a strong and capable, to show that level of vulnerability is such a high level of honest bravery.  To thank Russell for sharing his condition and bringing an understanding of other amputee veterans, the Academy awarded him an honorary Oscar for his role.

I completely understand why The Best Years of Our Lives won for Best Picture.  This was the story of the nation’s lives at the time.  A film illustrating the hardships of coming home in an honest way was exactly what the people of 1946 needed to understand each other and know they are not alone.  Unfortunately for today’s average viewer, it can miss its mark and comes off as melodramatic.  If you want to appreciate this movie, think about how the WWII generation was affected by this film.  Perhaps watching it with a grandparent would be a good idea.

“He used to read me lectures on the curse of drink, now it’s different.  I’m a veteran.”

Smilin’ Through

Three and a half hours after the Academy Awards ceremony had ended, I was catching Smilin’ Through on TCM.  I’m not much of a night owl, by ten my eyes are usually drooping.  Being up in the middle of the night to watch a predictable 1930’s melodrama did not make me a happy camper, but I’m committed to this damn blog.  And I can’t justify paying for a DVR.

Anyway, Smilin’ Through is the story of Sir John Carteret (Leslie Howard), a man who has lived a solitary life since his beloved Mooney tragically died.  He likes to talk to her spirit in the garden.  A nice ghostly visual effect is used.  After thirty years of watching this, his friend Owen (O.P. Heggie) has finally found a way to give John something more to live for.  His five year old niece, Kathleen, has just become an orphan, losing both her parents at sea.  Though John is against it at first, he grows to love his newly adopted daughter

Kathleen grows up (now played by Norma Shearer) and looks just like Moonyeen, and as girls grow they will find suitors.  Things are going well with Willy (Ralph Forbes) until one stormy night, they seek shelter in an abandoned house and meet Kenneth Wayne (Fredric March).  Being a charismatic young man, Kenneth and Kathleen have an instant chemistry and later go on a makeshift date.  But when Kathleen comes home to tell John about Kenneth, the name brings heartbreak and he tells Kathleen the tragic story of Moonyeen’s death.

The flashback to John’s romance with Moonyeen is done very well.  The transitions are visually compelling.  Basically, the tragedy is told in the most melodramatic way that Moonyeen was being pursued by Kenneth’s father, Jeremy Wayne, and in his heartbroken rage, killed Moonyeen on her wedding day.  Right there in the church with John holding her.  It’s one of those wonderful, old-timey, drawn out death scenes with violins playing, topped off with a gang of weeping bridesmaids.

No matter how cheesy the story was told, Kathleen is moved to tears and understands John’s ill feelings toward the Wayne family.  But we know how young love is, though she tries at first, she can’t stay away from Kenneth.  That is, until he’s called off to war.

At three in the morning, I was making making absurd comments and laughing quietly to myself, trying not to wake my husband in the next room.  Throughout the course of this blog, I’ve seen enough forbidden love and romantic tragedies to sink a second Titanic.  Smilin’ Through (named after a song Moonyeen sings in the flashback for no real reason) is too melodramatic to be taken very seriously today, but the few visual effects and transitions are very nice work for the time period.  Even I can appreciate that in the middle of the night.

“I know someone who would be glad of what you have done tonight.”

A Star is Born

Before inventions like reality tv and Youtube, Hollywood hopefuls would have to pack up and actually move to Hollywood to have any chance at stardom.  With the aid and well wishes from her grandmother, Esther Victoria Blogett (Janet Gaynor) ventures to Hollywood, convinced that she can become a great actress.  Things look pretty bleak when she’s told over and over again that there’s no work, not even as an extra.  With the help of an out of work director, Danny (Andy Devine), she gets a job as a waitress serving orderves at parties for celebrities.  She sees this as a chance to act in front of directors, a pretty funny scene.  When the famous actor, Norman Maine (Fredric March) gets drunk at the party, he takes an interest in Esther and whisks her away from her waitress job.  At first, it’s not quite clear whether Norman is looking for a new actress or a girlfriend, but he ends up with both.  He gets Esther her first leading role and she’s an instant star.  The problem is that she is getting all the limelight while Norman is slowly being forgotten.  After they marry, this problem only grows and eventually Norman turns back to the bottle.

Talk about your Hollywood drama, it’s all here.  Actors beat up photographers, marriages are performed in secret, there’s even an Academy Awards night gone horribly wrong.  In one scene, Esther’s managers figure out a new name for her: Vicki Lester.  It sounds much more cute and appealing than anything beginning with Esther.  It seems that much of the plot was taken right out of the private lives of movie stars, and it works quite well.

Both Janet Gaynor and Fredric March shine and were nominated in their respected lead acting categories.  Gaynor rises from a hopeful girl in North Dakota with such elegance and sincerity we believe every sweet smile on her face.  March is wonderful as a drunk who tries to shape up, we really believe he can clean up for Esther.  The love between the two characters is there, we never doubt their chemistry, we just feel sorry for Esther more as the film progresses.

My favorite scene is far from Hollywood, where the couple are driving around with a trailer in tow on their honeymoon.  Esther is in the trailer trying to fix a dinner, with everything bouncing around her and suddenly, something happens to the truck Norman is driving.  It’s when they’re broke down, dishes all over the trailer, Norman trying to fit into the tiny shower and Esther is wiping the dirt off a steak that they feel like real people.  The whole scene is comical, fun and very humanizing.

This is a great film for anyone aspiring to go into the movies, a whole lot has changed since the 30’s.  And for those of you who fear black and white movies, this is the very first film nominated for Best Picture to be in full color.  Celebrate!

“Some day you won’t laugh at me! I’m going out and have a real life! I’m gonna be somebody!”