The Country Girl

Based off the Broadway play of the same name, George Seaton’s The Country Girl tells the story of three people.  There is the young Broadway director, Bernie Dodd (William Holden), who is in desperate need of a leading man for his new play.  He wants to hire Frank Elgin (Bing Crosby), who Bernie saw as a kid back when Frank was in his prime.  But Frank is nervous about taking such an important role, doubts himself and turns to drinking.  His wife, Georgie (Grace Kelly), who is also his manager tries to keep Frank in line, but Bernie thinks she is domineering  and holding him under her thumb.  Little does Bernie know what secret guilt is gnawing at Frank and what passion is hidden within Georgie.

The greatest drive of the story is the three-way tension going on between Bernie, Frank and Georgie.  Frank reveals things to Georgie that he tries to calmly cover up around Bernie to remain the likable lead.  To Bernie, this makes Georgie look like the bad guy causing all of Frank’s insecurities that interfere with his work.  Thus, in an effort to save his play, Bernie is pitted against Georgie telling her to stop being a critic and just a supportive wife.  But soon the whole truth comes out and a love triangle forms.

This is not our usual Bing Crosby character in The Country Girl, but a much darker and tormented person.  There is still room for a few songs to show off that beautiful voice, but in between we see a man filled with despair, self loathing and doubt.  He tries to hide all this from everyone but Georgie, the only one who understands his plight.  To Bernie and everyone affiliated with the play, he just tries to be likable and easy-going, but inside he is being crushed with his own insecurities and turns to alcohol.

Grace Kelly won her only Oscar for her stunning performance as Georgie.  It’s clear from her first scene that Georgie is a strong and opinionated woman, perhaps a ball-buster in the eyes of Bernie.  This enables her to support Frank by trying to manage his career and alcoholism.  As the film grows, we start to see a more fragile side of Georgie that Frank has not been nurturing well enough for a long while and that is what allows her to become closer to Bernie.

I especially love how this trailer narrated by Holden describes The Country Girl.  It really is a stirring, smart and beautiful film about three people in one of the most complicated moments of their lives.  If you want to see Kelly or Crosby in one of their most compelling roles, you have to see The Country Girl.

“No one has looked at me as a woman for years and years.”

High Noon

High Noon is described as “a western for people who don’t like westerns.”  That’s pretty accurate considering I loved it.

Minutes after Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) gets married to Amy (Grace Kelly), a young Quaker, the town gets news that a gang of bandits are waiting at the train station for the noon train to arrive.  On that train is Frank Miller, a criminal with a grudge against Kane and his town, just let out of jail.  Once that train arrives, they plan on killing Kane.  He’s urged by everyone to leave town with his new wife to think of, but he realizes that the new marshal won’t arrive until the next day and feels that it is his duty to stay and protect the town.  No one is willing to help him.

The bulk of the film feels like it takes place in real time, constantly checking the clock and counting down the minutes until the train arrives.  Like that shot of the red sand flowing out of the hourglass in The Wizard of Oz, the ticking clock becomes a morbid symbol of how much time Kane has to live.  The odds are against him, four against one, and that guy building something behind the barbershop might be the coroner getting a coffin ready.  We never find out, but that’s my bet.

The whole film is filled with tensions.  Time is running out, no one will help Kane, which makes Deputy Harvey (Lloyd Bridges) look like a coward.  Smart maybe, but still yellow.   Amy is morally against the violence Kane is about to bring so she plans on catching the noon train to St. Louis.  On top of that, she discovers an old friend (and possible flame) of her husband’s, Helen Ramírez (Katy Jurado).

One of my favorite scenes is when Kane walks into the church in the middle of service looking for men to stand with him.  Before he can even explain his intrusion, the pastor burns him since he hardly attends church and didn’t get married there.  Way to preach compassion.  Then the congregation seem to hold an impromptu town meeting debating whether to help Kane or not.  The few men willing at first are shut down realizing the social and economical impact a brawl with bandits will cause.

The ending action is perfect and stretches the anticipation to the brink.  There were points where I found myself yelling to Cooper where the bandits where and what to do, that’s how I know I’m enjoying the film.

The only thing that bothered me is the relationship between Kane and Amy.  For starters, he’s got to be about thirty years older than her, and what does she see in him?  She’s a Quaker and completely against violence, yet she knows he’s a law man and probably shot a few guys in his time.  But of course, this is the old west and if she gets taken care of he can have his young bride and everyone’s happy.  Still, if the romance was more convincing, made more sense to their personalities and wasn’t such a creepy age gap, I would’ve been on board, no problem.

Besides that, I loved this movie.  The anticipation to the climax wonderful, Cooper is an actor I can always enjoy and it’s no wonder he won Best Actor for this role.  The message about standing up and finishing what you started is wonderful and doesn’t feel preachy (even though it was a slap in the face to some people in Hollywood at the time.)  If you don’t like westerns, you’ll probably like this one; if you do like westerns, I’d like to know what you think.  John Wayne hated High Noon, but don’t let him influence your decision.

“Kane will be a dead man in half an hour and nobody’s gonna do anything about it. And when he dies, this town dies too.”