Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien Impeccably Meet in Minnelli's Masterful St. Louis

             A beautiful slice of early 20^th Century Americana, which movie-loving WWII audiences turned out for in droves, 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis offers a supremely tuneful, charming tale involving a year in the life of the Smiths, leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair. Crafted with care and exquisite taste by director Vincente Minnelli, St. Louis (based on Sally Benson’s 1942 novel, which originally appeared as a series of vignettes in The New Yorker) blends humor, drama, romance, nostalgia and a great roster of songs, both of the period and newer compositions by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine, in lovingly recreating a specific time and place, as the viewer is drawn into the Smiths’ personal successes and travails throughout the 1903-1904 seasons. With typical MGM glossy production values (via Arthur Freed and Hal Pereira) ideally utilized, lush Technicolor cinematography by George J. Folsey, an era-evoking score by George Stoll in sync with each season presented, and a colorful, entertaining screenplay by Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe that artfully incorporates key songs into the proceedings, St. Louis is the rare original film musical that works on every level, with credibility never strained as a variety of scenarios and moods are conveyed with freshness and creativity by Minnelli and a glorious cast.

                For Minnelli, St. Louis served as affirmation he would be the major player at MGM he indeed became for the next two decades, after making an impact via his directional debut at the studio the previous year via Cabin in the Sky. Starting out in theater as a costume and set designer (at no less than Radio City Music Hall) and artistic director for multiple productions and also working at Paramount Studios in the 1930’s prior to his MGM tenure, Minnelli’s taste, style and exacting process with each film would serve in him well in a variety of genres, and this is clearly evident in St. Louis. Although at heart a musical, there are also sequences of drama, suspense (specifically the Halloween passage) and comedy that lend much more believability and truth to the characters and situations involving the Smith’s strong family dynamic than normally found in a musical. He seamlessly switches from one season to the next without harming the overall tone of the film and stages each musical number and set piece with skill and beauty. Minnelli would continue to turn out Class A productions at MGM, including two Oscar-winning Best Pictures, An American in Paris and Gigi, which also brought Minnelli his Best Director Academy Award. Although his output would become more uneven in terms of box-office returns and critical reaction as the Studio Era waned in the 1960’s, the superb quality of Minnelli’s work during his peak years at MGM stand tall among the most entertaining and enduring movies of their day, with St. Louis holding a chief position among his oeuvre.

                By 1944, Judy Garland was near her apex as one of MGM’s top talents and box-office names, after achieving stardom with The Wizard of Oz and a string of ideal outings with Mickey Rooney in light musicals, including possible hitting their peak as a team via the previous year’s Girl Crazy. With St. Louis, Garland’s stock among the Hollywood elite would continue its steep rise, with her ingratiating, touching and humorous playing and unmatched vocal prowess creating one of her signature performances as the romantic, jaunty and alert Esther Smith. Working in flawless accord with Minnelli after an uneasy start, the director shows Garland to her best advantage, and at her loveliest in every shot, and his leading lady consistently rewards him with a seemingly easy, natural professional grace in each scene, incorporating each of Esther’s changing moods in deft, believable fashion. As for her big musical numbers, Garland switches from melancholic while Esther yearns for “The Boy Next Door” to ebullience in the uplifting “The Trolley Song,” expertly staged by Minnelli on the title vehicle, and possibly the liveliest moment in the film, then back to a more somber rendering for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” as Esther ponders the family’s future while serenading a downcast Tootie. After her triumph in St. Louis, Garland would reteam with Minnelli for possibly even better work in 1945’s The Clock, one of the best WWII romances, while romance was in the air as well off-screen, with Garland and Minnelli marrying in 1945. Garland would go on to more success at MGM with The Harvey Girls, Easter Parade and In the Good Old Summertime, before leaving the studio after 1950’s Summer Stock, going on to cement her legend as one of the centuries’ finest performers with constant concert work on stage, including a legendary Carnegie Hall outing in 1961, a recording of which took Garland to the top of the Billboard album chart and won her richly-deserved Grammys, and occasional forays back into film, with many still of the mindset Garland warranted another top award for her prime post-MGM movie, 1954’s A Star is Born. A second Oscar nomination came for stark work in Judgement at Nuremberg, then Garland took on the onerous task of doing a television show during the 1963-64 season, before continuing as a headliner on stage and television until her passing in 1969 at age 47.

                Margaret O’Brien found herself a sudden star at MGM as, after gaining a bit in the Garland-Rooney 1941 tuner Babes on Broadway, she was selected for the title role in 1942’s Journey for Maragret, wherein the five-year-old astounded critics and audiences by displaying some of the best dramatic gifts ever seen by a moppet on film. Duly impressed and knowing what they had, MGM swiftly maximized her innate, prodigious thespian skills in top productions such as Madame Curie, Lost Angel and The Canterville Ghost (and on loan-out to 20^th Century Fox for Jane Eyre, wherein O’Brien impressed along with two other usually gifted child thespians, Peggy Ann Garner and Elizabeth Taylor) before St. Louis offered the precocious talent her most iconic role. As Tootie, the Smith’s inquisitive, somewhat morbid youngest (Tootie explains her doll has four fatal diseases) O’Brien handles her choice assignment with a minimum of cuteness and maximum conviction. She pairs beguilingly with Garland for the “Under the Bamboo Tree” number and is mesmerizing in the Halloween segment Minnelli artfully builds around Tootie and her desire for acceptance by the older children in her group. O’Brien goes even deeper in the movie’s most piercing emotional moment, wherein Tootie destroys her “snow people” while hysterically sobbing to Esther she’d rather kill them if they can’t move with the family to New York. The depth of feeling O’Brien exhibits in this extraordinary scene powerfully resonates with a viewer, making it easy to understand why O’Brien was rated the preeminent child star of her era, both in terms of skill and audience appeal, as O’Brien placed in the Quigley poll of Top Ten Box Office stars for 1945 and 1946, following her ascendancy to top-tier stardom via St. Louis. O’Brien would remain a top draw for the rest of the decade, with Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (opposite another great child star, Jackie Jenkins) and Little Women two of her best efforts, before the onslaught of adolescence found O’Brien moving on to stage and television work, with outstanding comic work in George Cukor’s 1960 Heller in Pink Tights providing a later-career screen highlight for O’Brien.

                As Esther’s intended, John Truitt, Tom Drake also gains his signature role, lending appropriate boyish charm to the proceedings and matching up very well with Garland. Mary Astor brings warmth and strength to her portrayal of the matriarch of the family, while Leon Ames as Mr. Smith is amusingly blustery for most of the film, before sharing some calmer, moving moments with Astor and others as more serious issues are addressed by the Smiths. Lucille Bremer, owning a beauty and poise exactly right for the period, makes a lovely impression as Esther’s older, marriage-minded sister Rose, leading to her teaming up with no less than Fred Astaire onscreen directly after her impact in St. Louis. Marjorie Main and Chill Willis add humor to the film, utilizing their colorful, patented rural personas to great effect, while young Joan Carroll and mature Harry Davenport also help to keep the tone light and lively. Finally, Hugh Marlowe and June Lockhart can briefly be seen to good advantage in early roles.

                Released in November of 1944, St. Louis quickly became one of the top hits of the war years, with the January 5, 1949 Variety “All-Time Top Grossers” list placing the film second in revenue for 1944 to Going My Way. The movie also gained placement on the National Board of Review’s Top Ten list, with O’Brien mentioned on the “Best Acting” list, and garnered four Oscar nominations (for Adapted Screenplay, Color Cinematography, Score and Best Song for “The Trolley Song”), while O’Brien won a special Oscar for Best Juvenile. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” has of course gone on to become a Christmas standard, in the process helping St. Louis to also become a holiday perennial, with viewings of the movie every Yuletide season on TCM and elsewhere exposing the classic to new generations. Meet Me in St. Louis’ ability to captivate, amuse and move audiences as impactfully as it did on initial release attests to the sublime, enduring work Minnelli and company generated while creating one of the best film musicals and holiday-themed entertainments ever. 

Judy Garland Follows the Road to Cinematic Immortality in The Wizard of Oz

              One of the most perfectly crafted and renowned films ever produced by Hollywood, 1939’s The Wizard of stands tall in the pantheon of Classic Hollywood films. Based on the 1900 novel by Frank Baum, director Victor Fleming (having one of the all-time banner years, with Gone with the Wind also on his roster), working with top MGM production values across the board, somehow manages to pull all the creative forces involved in this monumental undertaking into a cohesive, gratifying whole, allowing the film to convincingly shift from the early sepia-toned Kansas sequences to the florid Technicolored fantasy of Oz, with all its equally colorful characters, without any awkwardness or sense of phoniness coming into play. One of the greatest assembled casts and original music (composed by Harold Arlen, adapted by Herbert Stothart, with ingenious lyrics by Edgar “Yip” Harburg) aid Fleming in bringing life, humor and conviction to the tale of young Dorothy Gale who, accompanied by her faithful dog Toto, encounters the denizens of Oz, and learns many life lessons in the process.

The seventeen-year-old Judy Garland was rapidly ascending at MGM in 1939, after first making an impression onscreen in 1936 via an appealing film debut (on loan out to 20^th Century Fox; MGM signed Garland in 1935) in Pigskin Parade, and alongside Deanna Durbin in the MGM short Every Sunday. Following much vaudeville work with her sisters, after a debut at the tender age of two singing “Jingle Bells,” the phenomenally gifted Garland would spend her early years at MGM learning her craft in a few programmers and larger-scale productions, including costarring with ideal partner Mickey Rooney for the first time in 1937’s Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry and stealing the show singing “Dear Mr. Gable” in Broadway Melody of 1938. Gaining this viable film experience, Garland was ready for the major breakthrough Oz granted her.

As the sensitive Dorothy Gale, Garland’s prodigious talent as a singer, dancer and powerhouse actor were given ample opportunity to shine. Using an emotionally-driven performance style, Garland is in beautiful synch with Dorothy’s every desire, from her yearning for a life “Over the Rainbow” to her quest to meet the Wizard in order to return home. Singing “Rainbow” with a plaintiveness, maturity and sincerity that would help establish the song as her signature tune, Garland expresses the dreamy longings for all those seeking happiness outside the norm. Interacting with her costars in a graceful, earnest manner, Garland’s believably “in the moment” throughout, allowing viewers to fully buy into the story’s fantastical premise as the awestruck Dorothy meets a wide variety of colorful Oz characters in creative, unusual surroundings. She adeptly alternates between joyful, comic musical sequences and interactions with some of the most convincing, riveting dramatic acting yet seen on film, as the tremulous Dorothy plunges the depths of despair when faced with serious conflict, causing audiences to strongly identify with Dorothy on an unusually personal level, and resulting in an unforgettable characterization that still stands as one of the ultimate performances committed to film.

After Oz, Garland immediately confirmed her status as one of the brightest new stars in film alongside Rooney in Babes in Arms, a major 1939 hit released just after Oz, and would go on to become one of MGM’s biggest draws in the 1940s in a slew of hit, Grade-A musicals, For Me and My Gal, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Harvey Girls and Easter Parade among them, with 1945’s The Clock (directed by husband Vincente Minnelli) showing what Garland could do dramatically, and as a romantic lead in a beautiful pairing with Robert Walker. Leaving MGM, which had worn the constantly in-demand Garland down with little regard for her welfare, after 1950’s Summer Stock, a revitalized Garland went on to conquer stage, film and television during the 1950’s and 1960’s (with 1954’s A Star is Born and her #1 1961 Judy at Carnegie Hall Grammy-winning album highlights), before her untimely passing at 47 in 1969, leaving behind a legacy unmatched in entertainment history.

Ray Bolger utilizes his dexterity and skill as a veteran dancer to fill the role of the Scarecrow, the animable, smarter-than-he-thinks colleague Dorothy first encounters on her path down the yellow brick road to Oz. The nimble Bolger adopts a pleasant, airy style to match the light-on-his-feet physicality he displays as the Scarecrow ambles his way along with Dorothy. Jack Haley also scores strongly as the dreamy, serene Tin Man, specifically impressing with his ability to remain dexterous dancing around during his “If I Only Had a Heart” number in one of film history’s most inhibiting costumes. As the Cowardly Lion, Bert Lahr uses his extensive vaudevillian background to squeeze every drop of comedy gold out the juicy character. Lahr’s gusto-ladened line readings (“Tell Me When It’s Over!” “I Wanna Go Home!”) prime mugging and all-out spontaneity, wherein he often appears to be adlibbing with fearless comic abandon, allows for some of the choicest laughs in the film, with Lahr still managing to work in beautiful synch with his trio of adroit costars.

Margaret Hamilton stakes her claim as one of the screen’s most sinister and electrifying miscreants as the Witched Witch of the West, who is green with envy over Dorothy’s possession of the prized ruby red slippers and determined to get them at any cost. Hamilton’s intense, fireball (literally, at one point) approach is so transfixingly real, her ability to terrify viewers of all ages has remained undiminished. In contrast, Billie Burke’s bubbly persona, sing-song vocal delivery and beatific appearance in a stunning pink gown as Glinda the Good Witch helps to assuage audiences’ qualms, although one wonders if Glinda might have offered Dorothy a little more info up front, regarding what to do at a fork in the road, how to utilize those slippers to take a fast track back home, etc. Finally, as Dorothy’s most loyal and true supporter, Toto, the gifted terrier Terry steals many moments and must be in the running for the most beloved pet in film history.

With Fleming’s firm hands at the helm, Oz overcame a plethora of challenges (such as cast changes and filming issues) to achieve timeless perfection on screen. Upon release in August of 1939, Oz gained solid box-office returns, but would not initially make back its understandably high cost of production. Aided by largely excellent critical notices, the film would fare well in at the Academy Awards in a landmark, very competitive year, scoring five regular Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Bets Art Direction and Best Special Effects, and richly-deserved wins for Best Original Score and Best Song. Judy Garland was bestowed a special Academy Juvenile Award (for both Oz and Babes in Arms), while the timeless appeal of the film has kept it a favorite among audiences for over eight decades, greatly assisted by regular television broadcasts starting in 1956, which continually reaped huge ratings while exposing the wonders of Oz to several generations. The movie has been popular via VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and 4K presentations, often in elaborate special edition packages offering abundant extra features detailing the history of the film. In the process of becoming one of the cinema’s most beloved films, Oz has gained ever-increasing accolades, which include (among many others), placement among the inaugural films chosen by the National Film Registry for preservation; coming in at #6 and #10 on the American Film Institute’s 1998 and 2007 lists of the 100 Greatest Films; and gaining the #1 slot on the AFI’s 2004 list of best songs for “Over the Rainbow.” The film’s influence has spawned sequels and prequels, which have met with various degrees of success with critics and audiences, without any of them supplanting The Wizard of Oz in the hearts of fans old and new, with countless repeated viewings simply confirming Oz to be one of the greatest, most enchanting movies ever made.

                On another note, the newest take on the Oz legend to hit the Silver Screen, Wicked (based on the smash Broadway production culled from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel) covers the musical’s first act (Part II is coming next year) and serves as a prequel to Oz, starting with the demise of the Wicked Witch, then working back to tell the story of how the friendship between the outcast Elphaba and the popular Galinda evolved. Although the production is super-scale and at over 2.5 hours lacks some of the focus and charm of Oz, the sense of fantasy and joy found in the 1939 classic is strongly conveyed by director Jon M. Chu, with mega-talented stars Cynthia Erivo and Adriana Grande beautifully meshing to illustrate the depth of friendship existing between Galinda and Elphaba, while giving dynamic, moving and funny performances that keep the film centered and riveting (Chu, knowing what he had, wisely keeps the focus on Erivo and Grande). Wicked has met with major and deserved critical and box-office success, and it's easy to see the endearing 2024 film serving as a quality companion piece to the 1939 classic at many future viewings.

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder Bring Comic Glory to Young Frankenstein

             A top contender for one of the most original and hilarious comedies to come out of Hollywood, 20^th Century-Fox’s Young Frankenstein from 1974 lovingly pays homage to the classic Universal films, while seamlessly blending riotous situations and dialogue to create one of the most satisfying entertainments of a rich cinematic decade. Director Mel Brooks, armed with an ace script (based on the famous Mary Shelley tale) he concocted with star Gene Wilder, fruitfully reteaming with Brooks after The Producers and their early 1974 smash, the un-PC but wildly funny Blazing Saddles, hones in his perchance for uncontrolled humor, but not to an extreme, thereby excellently setting up each gag while allowing his terrific cast to offer performances that remain convincingly true to the material, regardless of how subtle or wild circumstances evolve during the film’s fast-paced 104 minutes. Brooks illustrates great taste and precision in re-creating the tone of look (some of the original sets from the old Frankenstein films were utilized) of the previous horror classics, allowing fans of the genre to fully buy into Brooks’ lighter revisionist take on these beloved films, while introducing a new generation of audiences to key characters and storylines found therein.

As Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Gene Wilder has perhaps his best screen opportunity to showcase the off-kilter comic sensibility at the center of many key Wilder performances. From the outset of his screen career, via a brief but vivid film debut in 1967’s landmark Bonnie and Clyde (after a series of Broadway roles, including originating Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Wilder exhibited a genius for portraying pent-up, edgy characters liable to explode in manic, panic-stricken, and hysterical fashion at any moment. In this vein Wilder scored his major breakthrough and won an Oscar nom as the highly strung Leo Bloom in The Producers, leading to his status as one of filmdom’s most adept comics, including playing in an admirably more mellow key (while still adding his uniquely bizarre tinge) in Willie Wonda and the Chocolate Factory and Saddles. For Frankenstein, from the opening scene its evident Wilder is in peak form, masterly nailing every comic bit, whether it be an exasperated eye roll, suppressed anger, or one of his classic outbursts, with the relish and skill of a born clown. Post-Frankenstein, Wilder would find continued success, specifically when pairing with the equally-talented Richard Pryor in two major hits, Silver Streak and in 1980’s Stir Crazy, before uneven output (with 1984’s The Lady in Red possibly his best offering during this period) would lead to Wilder exiting movies, with a final hurrah occurring via an Outstanding Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Emmy win for Will and Grace in 2003.

Marty Feldman also hit a cinematic peak as Igor, the doctor’s simultaneously impish and inane (yet well-meaning) right-hand man. Starting his career as a writer for British television and films, he gained fame as a performer in the late sixties, eventually landing his own BBC show, Marty, before turning to films as writer, director and (eventually, post- Frankenstein) star. Using his hugely expressive eyes and perfect timing, Feldman appears to be having a ball utilizing an all-out playing style as Igor, and his high spirits constantly bemuse viewers in infectious fashion, including directly addressing the camera, beautifully setting up jokes (“Walk this way,” “Could be raining,” “Abby Normal” etc.) and via a sudden Groucho Marx imitation for the ages. Feldman would build on the momentum from his major success as Igor throughout the rest of the decade, including a reteaming with Wilder the following year in Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother, working with Brooks again in the all-star Silent Movie, and in perhaps his best outing in the aforementioned mode of writer-director-star via 1977’s The Last Remake of Beau Geste, before his premature passing in 1982 at 48.

Madeline Kahn, continuing a spectacular run in films since her big screen debut in 1972’s What’s Up Doc?, followed by funny and touching Oscar-nominated work in Paper Moon and a beautiful send up of Marlene Dietrich in Saddles which would lead to Oscar nom #2, cemented her status as one of the 1970’s preeminent (with a nod to Barbra Streisand) and most talented screen comediennes with her sage, mock serious work as Frederick’s initially uptight fiancé Elizabeth, who loosens up considerably in one of the most amusing character arcs found in film. Kahn is clearly in her element, both as the reserved, snobbish Elizabeth and her liberated counterpoint, mixing zany comedy with an above-it-all air in the early scenes, before memorably meeting up with the monster, resulting in her operatic trilling of “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life,” to gain some of the movie’s biggest laughs. After her triumph here, Kahn would alternate between films, reteaming with Brooks for High Anxiety and History of the World, Part 1, while winning Emmy and Tony awards for her work in television and on Broadway, respectfully, before exiting movies with lovely dramatic work in Judy Berlin, just before her passing in 1999.

Toiling away for a decade in films and television, including work as a dancer in several Elvis Presley films (Viva Las Vegas chief among them) Teri Garr came to the fore in movies during 1974, first in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation before making a bigger impact in Frankenstein. As Inga, the doctor’s sweet and saucy assistant, Garr shows the comic instinct that would become a beguiling component of several major films to come, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Tootsie, and admirably makes her presence felt while gaining plenty of laughs amid a cast of inspired clowns. Deftly instilling Inga with both a good natured, naïve quality and a more flirtatious side, Garr creates one of her most endearing portraits in her admirable screen catalog of friendly, eccentric blondes, setting her up for continue success in this mode throughout the rest of her richly rewarding career.

In other key roles, the imposing Peter Boyle, in the midst of one of the busier character actor careers in cinema after establishing himself with honest, harsh work as the title figure in 1970’s Joe, brings humor and tenderness to his work as the Monster, including dueting with Wilder for an unforgettable version of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” Cloris Leachman, enjoying a great early-1970’s run with an Oscar for dramatically-impactful work in The Last Picture Show and Emmys in a comic milieu for The Mary Tyler Moore Show scores in the later vein as Frau Blucker, the housekeeper so sinister horses neigh in fear at the sound of her name. As Inspector Kemp, who’s determined to destroy the monster, Kenneth Mars sports an accent so thick townspeople can’t follow him, and brings plenty of bemusement, particularly in a “dart-off” contest with Wilder. Lastly, the normally intense, dramatic Gene Hackman gets right into the high comic spirts of the piece as the gentle, lonely, blind woodsman who takes in the creature for a meal, with many guffaws ensuing.

                The December 1974 release of Young Frankenstein brought plenty to 20^th Century Fox’s bottom line, ending up with $34,600,000 in rentals (according to Variety), to place it near the top of year’s top money spinners, while also gaining Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and the expert Brooks/Wilder script. The film has only grown in popularity, status and influence (including Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” thanks to Feldman) in subsequent years. On the event of its 50^th anniversary it now rates for many as the top offering in Mel Brooks‘ filmography, placing at #13 on the American Film Institute’s “100 Years. . .100 Laughs” list of top comedies (with Saddles at #6). A rare comedy wherein a perfect fusion of cast, script, production values and direction guarantee its ability to draw laughs as copiously as upon its initial release will endure for another 50 years and beyond, Young Frankenstein serves as a prime choice for anyone looking for a glee-filled night at the movies, seasoned with a touch of the macabre.

Anthony Perkins Gains Stardom via William Wyler's Engaging Friendly Persuasion

Among the most enjoyable and moving family-friendly films of its era, director William Wyler’s richly entertaining 1956 comedy-drama Friendly Persuasion offers memorable roles for a talented cast, led by Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire and newcomer Anthony Perkins in a breakout performance. With its sometimes gentle, sometimes stark depiction of the events impacting the Birdwells, a peaceful Quaker family at the outset of the Civil War, the movie provides a warm, funny, compelling viewing experience. Wyler applies his typical skill and verve in bringing Michael Wilson’s excellent screenplay (based on Jessamyn West’s 1945 novel) to the screen with care and distinction, pulling top-quality performances from the entire cast and skillfully handling the story’s various shifts in tone, which range from high comedy to imposing drama, resulting in a robust, thought-provoking work that leaves viewers fully vested in the movie throughout the 137-minute running time.

                Starting in films in 1925, by Persuasion William Wyler had firmly established himself as one of Hollywood’s preeminent directors, with Oscars for two of the 1940’s top hits and Best Picture winners, Mrs. Miniver and The Best Years of Our Lives, as well as equally fine work (at least), in such landmark classics as his great 1936 triple header, Come and Get It, Dodsworth and These Three, as well as Wuthering Heights, The Letter, The Heiress and Roman Holiday. Persuasion shows Wyler’s gift for subtlety suggesting complex themes and behaviors in a mature, riveting fashion, trusting the audience to draw their own conclusions concerning character motives and actions. His power to capture prime, often multi-faceted acting is also evident in Persuasion, with Cooper playing in his relaxed, simplistic mode without any trace of coyness, McGuire exuding both warmth and grit as Mrs. Birdwell, and Perkins proving himself to be at the forefront of gifted, powerful young actors. Post Persuasion, Wyler would gain Oscar #3 via 1959’s Ben Hur, the blockbuster of its era, and gain further success in the 1960’s with The Collector and Funny Girl, then gain a richly warranted AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1976, before passing in 1981.

                Gary Cooper, well into his third decade as a top star after first making an impact in 1927’s Wings, works splendidly under Wyler’s direction, resulting in one of the best-modulated depictions to be found among his gallery of genial, easy-going heroes, including Longfellow Deeds, Alvin York and Will Kane. After his terrific teaming with Burt Lancaster in 1954’s Vera Cruz, Cooper would remain a top draw until his passing in 1961, with his earnest work as the morally sound yet often playful Jess Birdwell standing out as possibly his best work post Cruz. Cooper’s simplistic, direct playing allows him to believably form a complete portrait of Jess and put his unique stamp on the role, whether he’s impishly racing a neighbor to church, trying to reach a resolution after a dispute with his chagrined wife, or coping with the onslaught of the Civil War, and how it stands to affect the Birdwells. Cooper’s fully-rounded, good-natured interpretation of Jess helps viewers become involved with the Birdwells’ lifestyle, while also allowing them the chance to see the star thriving in a superior movie late in his career, as Cooper’s film output would prove uneven after Persuasion, until his untimely death at 60 in 1961.  

                Dorothy McGuire had been among the loveliest and most skillful leading ladies in Hollywood since her star-making role as the title character in Claudia, which she originated on Broadway before, under contract to David O. Selznick, she recreated the role on film in 1943. Following this success, McGuire moved from one exceptional movie to the next, including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, outstanding work in The Spiral Staircase, an Oscar nomination for 1947’s Best Picture Academy Award winner, Gentlemen’s Agreement and in 1954’s big hit Cinemascope travelogue-style escapism about three women looking for love and/or fortune in Rome, Three Coins in the Fountain. The role of the soft-spoken, caring Eliza Bridwell in Persuasion ideally suits McGuire’s talents, allowing her to create one of her most indelible portrayals. Along with her sincere, seemingly effortless acting approach, McGuire brings class and dignity to the role, helping to suggest Eliza has inner strength and spirit not immediately apparent given her calm, quite façade. After this peak McGuire would continue fruitfully in films, working in “mom” mode for Disney in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson, and adding gentleness and grace to a couple of classic, juicy potboilers, A Summer Place and Susan Slade, while making a rewarding segway into television, including Emmy nominations for 1976’s huge mini-series, Rich Man, Poor Man and her touching work in 1985’s Amos.

The son of Osgood Perkins (of Scarface fame), Anthony Perkins first hitchhiked to Hollywood and scored his film debut in George Cukor’s 1953 The Actress, before making a bigger name for himself on Broadway as the troubled young Tom Lee in Tea and Sympathy, which led directly to his Persuasion casting. As the contemplative, sensitive Joshua Birdwell, Perkins brings the role to vivid life, adding intelligence and intensity to the introspective young man. In one of the central storylines, Joshua finds himself torn between fighting in the war or maintaining his Quaker beliefs, and Perkins dynamically illustrates how this conflict wreaks havoc on Joshua’s psyche. His honest, emotionally devasting work in these sequences, after first showing a more amiable side to the gentle Josh, results in one of the most convincing and transfixing performances by a young actor of the period. Gaining a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his work, Perkins would go on in 1957 to win a Most Promising Male Newcomer Golden Globe and top placement in Quigley’s Star of Tomorrow poll, then for the rest of the 1950’s essentially take over from the late James Dean in regards to consideration as the most dramatically-gifted young actor of his generation, combining vulnerability and neurosis with great skill in films such as Fear Strikes Out, and on Broadway in his biggest stage success, Look Homeward, Angel. 1960 of course would change the course of Perkins’ career, for better or worse, with his legendary work in Alfred Hitchcock’s shocking smash hit Psycho, as thereafter Perkins would forever be associated with the nightmarishly charming Norman Bates, leading to Perkins playing variations on the role via Psycho sequels and elsewhere, perhaps most effectively in 1968’s supreme sleeper Pretty Poison, wherein Perkins works in flawless tandem with the equally-talented Tuesday Weld. Perkins would continue in leads (winning a Cannes Best Actor award for 1961’s Goodbye Again) and character parts (Murder on the Orient Express, Crimes of Passions) with varying degrees of success, until his untimely AIDS-related death at 60 in 1992.

Marjorie Main, in her penultimate film and in full Ma Kettle mode, has one of her choicest roles as the widow Hudspeth, a rural matron Jess and Joshua visit. The widow has several horny daughters with unabashed eyes for Josh, resulting in possibly the broadest comedy in the film, and the earthy, non-nonsense Main garners her share of laughs displaying her typical homespun zeal. Among the others, Phyllis Love is endearing as Josh’s dreamy, shy sister, Mattie, while Richard Eyer is properly feisty as the youngest Birdwell, who factors into some high comedy of his own battling the Birdwell’s mischievous goose Samantha, who’s a born scene-stealer. Peter Mark Richman makes a strong impression as the handsome calvary officer involved with Mattie, and Robert Middleton, John Smith and Joel Fluellen are also seen to good advantage as Sam, the neighbor and racing rival to Jess; Cabel, the strapping but kind Quaker who, in a memorable sequence, faces ridicule and bullying due to his peaceful beliefs; and Enoch, a laborer who works on the Birdwell’s farm.  

A box-office success upon its release in November of 1956, Persuasion saw $4,000,000 in U.S./Canada film rentals (according to Variety) placing it among the top twenty hits of the year. The movie also fared very well during the award season, with McGuire winning the National Board of Review’s Best Actress prize and the film placing fifth among the Board’s Top Ten films, while also landing on the New York Times Top Ten list. Cooper and Main received Golden Globe nods and Dimitri Tiomkin won a Globe for his lush, evocative score, while Michael Wilson won the “Best Written Drama” prize from the Writers Guild of America. Persuasion would also be voted Best Film at Cannes, while regarding the Academy Awards, besides Perkins’ Best Supporting Actor bid, the film scored a Best Picture nod in a very competitive year, with Wyler gaining a Best Director nod. The lovely title song was also short listed although, unforgivably, Wilson was deemed ineligible for his Adapted Screenplay nomination due to the prevailing blacklist of the time- yuck. The film has maintained a reputation as one of Wyler’s best, with releases on VHS, DVD and recently a Warner Archive Blu-Ray, which allows viewers the best print ever of the classic, helping the film reach new audiences across several generations. The overall tone of the film, with its deft blend of comedy and drama, including moving, striking passages while illustrating the kindness, loyalty and trust existing among the Birdwells and their relations marks Friendly Persuasion as a richly satisfying watch guaranteed to lift one’s spirits, during the holidays or at any other time of year. 

Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray Arrestingly Team for Double Indemnity

            One of the signature and earliest entries in the film noir cannon, Paramount Pictures’ Double Indemnity brought the genre to Hollywood’s forefront, with healthy box office returns and critical response, leading to high placement among 1944’s best, and several major Oscars nominations. After his debut as a director via 1942’s The Major and the Minor, Billy Wilder entered the big league as an elite writer/director with this beautifully produced adaptation of James M. Cain’s classic crime novel. Wilder, working with the legendary Raymond Chandler, crafted an ingenious screenplay with some of the best dialogue found in noir (or anywhere), which his star trio of Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson, all working at the peak of their powers, put over with great style and conviction. A pulsating score by Miklôs Rôzsa and magnificent black-and-white cinematography by John Seitz that help set the standard for the visual style found in noirs to come are other key assets that allow Double Indemnity to endure as one of the great, freshest and most entertaining works from Cinema’s Golden Age.

Although the Production Code limited just how far Wilder could go in depicting one of the most unsavory storylines yet seen in a Grade A Hollywood production the director artfully addressed plenty of then-taboo themes, including insurance fraud, adultery and murder in vivid fashion. Also, at a time when optimism was a standard component of movies as WWII audiences looked for light relief from the stark realities of the era, Wilder daringly allowed for a very bleak ending to Indemnity and filmed an even darker gas-chamber scene that, with the Code’s input, was eventually nixed before the general release of the movie. However, despite Code restrictions Wilder and his sterling team of collaborators managed to suggest much of the starkness found in Cain’s novel, allowing Indemnity to serve as a prime example of how effectively a classic era studio production could depict mature themes. With Wilder’s sure hand in evidence throughout, the film retains its power to enthrall, placing among the elite bunch at the forefront of Wilder’s best, which also include Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend, Stalag 17, Some Like it Hot and The Apartment.

                Barbara Stanwyck, at the top of her game after proving herself in both dramas such as Stella Dallas and lively romantic comedies (The Lady Eve, Ball of Fire) during her first fifteen years in film, reportedly was reluctant to take on the unsympathetic role of one of noir’s coldest-blooded femme fatales, until Wilder challenged her with a query to the effect of “Are you an actress or a mouse?” Answering his directive using the full measure of her exceptional talent as an intuitive screen artist of unsurpassable ability, Stanwyck lends her modern, straightforward acting style to create in Phyllis Dietrichson a spellbinding portrait of an evil-yet-enticing woman who cooly works towards obtaining financial gain with a fascinating combination of detachment and ruthlessness. From Phyllis’ memorable entrance in a towel and iconically synthetic blonde wig, Stanwyck utilizes a largely subtle approach, but adds vivid reaction shots and swift mood changes at key moments to indicate the nefarious nature behind Phyllis’ calm exterior. Stanwyck is so in sync with the many facets driving the character’s pernicious actions it may appear she’s performing effortlessly, but watching something like the “I loved you Walter, and I hated him” confrontation, it’s hard to imagine any other female star of the period bring off the scene with the naturalness and persuasion Stanwyck lends to the role. Among one of the richer filmographies, her acute, peerless work in Indemnity makes it an easy choice for the desert island Stanwyck performance.

Fred MacMurray also scored heavily cast against type, after years of service as a low-keyed, handsome and amiable costar opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest leading ladies, starting with Claudette Colbert in 1935’s The Gilded Lady and including Katharine Hepburn, Carole Lombard and, memorably, Stanwyck in a top holiday offering, 1940’s Remember the Night. In Indemnity, MacMurray ideality utilizes his sage, stoic reserve and tough, observant demeanor to suggest the underlining motives that drive insurance salesman Walter Neff to begin a torrid relationship with Phyllis against his better judgement, then mastermind a ploy to obtain the title asset. Although Walter’s criminal actions should place him as a co-villain of the piece, MacMurray clearly outlines the passions pushing the helpless Walter to his grim destiny, adding redeeming features to the role and drawing audience sympathy in the process, thereby making Neff an early example of the many screen anti-heroes to come. Post-Indemnity MacMurray would continue to thrive as a calm reassuring presence in romantic comedies, then later as a father figure in Disney hits such as The Shaggy Dog and the Absent-Minded Professor, as well as on television in the ling-running My Three Sons, with his deft work in 1954’s The Caine Mutiny and reteaming with Wilder as the heel of 1960’s The Apartment reminding viewers how impactful he could be when playing in an ignoble vein.

                As Barton Keyes, Walter’s supportive, alert boss, Edward G. Robinson maintains the high-performance level set by his costars. The vibrant, fast-talking Keyes could come across as abrasive in the wrong hands but, with juicy-yet-convincing emoting, Robinson elicits a viewer’s empathy by showing how fully dedicated Keyes is to solving any crime connected to his field, and how passionate he is regarding his work, while also displaying great loyalty and affection towards Walter. When Keyes discusses “the little man” who eats away at him when he feels something is wrong with a case, Robinson is so great in detailing Keyes’ exacerbation when he’s befuddled, one starts to root for him to achieve peace of mind by resolving the mystery at the heart of the story, even at the expense of Walter’s welfare. Robinson’s pitch-perfect work as Keyes’ places high in the actor’s cannon, alongside his star-making turn as Rico in Little Caeser and, also in gangster mode, his vindictive Rocco in Key Largo. Robinson would continue in high profile lead and character parts, in such top-grade fare as Scarlet Street, House of Strangers (earning Best Actor at Cannes), The Ten Commandments, The Cincinnati Kid, Planet of the Apes and moving work in his final film, Soylent Green, released posthumously after Robinson’s death in early 1973, after which he also was awarded a highly-warranted Honorary Oscar at the 1973 ceremony.

                Among the rest of the cast Jean Heather, having a great ingenue year with both this and Going My Way to her credit, is competent and often teary in the other sizable role as Lola, Phyllis’ wary stepdaughter. Porter Hall makes his typically strong impression as a witness called in by Keyes to discuss the central crime, and Fortunio Bonanova has an amusing moment early on with Robinson as a would-be insurance scammer. Finally, Bess Flowers, who in Twilight Zone manner seems to appear briefly in every other great classic film is at it again, here as a secretary. Prominent character player Norma Varden (Casablanca, Strangers on a Train) also can be glimpsed in the same mode, while no less than Raymond Chandler is also on view, in a cameo as a man reading a newspaper.

The film received largely positive reviews upon its release in July of 1944, and while at the Academy Awards the following year a Going My Way juggernaut prevented Double Indemnity from winning any Oscars, seven nominations found the movie deservedly in the mix for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Screenplay, Cinematography, Music and Sound Recording. However, MacMurray and Robinson, both of whom would never receive an Oscar nod, were unjustly overlooked when they should have been serious contenders (one wonders if they both were deemed Best Actor possibilities and split the vote; today, they could legitimately vie in different categories, and win). The decades subsequent to the film’s release have only witnessed a continual rise in stature.  Pointing to how well the film has stood the test of time as a prime Hollywood classic, Indemnity has placed high on “Greatest of All Time” lists, including those from the American Film Institute, with the film coming in at #38 on the AFI 1998 poll of the best American Films, then rising to #29 on the 2007 poll, while Stanwyck’s remarkable portrayal help Phyliss Dietrichson place at #8 on the AFI list of top villains. In 2005 Time magazine also listed Indemnity among the 100 greatest films, and the following year the Writer’s Guild of America voted the trenchant screenplay the 26^th best ever. Watching the movie anew eighty years after it’s first release via a sublime 4K Criterion print justifies the many hosanas Double Indemnity has been granted, as regardless of number of viewings, the film holds up as a gripping, never-bettered noir sure to pull in an audience as seductively as Phyllis Dietrichson does with poor Walter Neff.

A Fond Farewell to a Sweet, Invaluable Comic Presence, Teri Garr

 With the passing of Teri Garr, the cinema lost one of its most unique and endearing talents. Possessing a fascinating career arc, Garr started out dancing her way through a multitude of 1960’s Elvis Presley and other teen-oriented musicals (Viva Las Vegas and Pajama Party among them). After ten years in the business, including a stint honing her comedy chops on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, Garr suddenly broke through onscreen in 1974 with key roles in two major films, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and, showing great comic flair amid a cast of comedy heavyweights, as Inga, the flirtatious assistant to the title character in possibly Mel Brooks best and funniest film, Young Frankenstein.

                For the next decade, Garr had a terrific run in movies, with 1977 proving another boost via standout work in Oh God! and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (with Garr’s priceless reaction to Richard Dreyfuss building a tower out of mashed potatoes providing the film’s funniest moment), followed by an effective low-key performance in 1979’s The Black Stallion. 1982 would again find Garr in prime form, as after re-teaming with Coppola for One from the Heart, she would grace the screen with her great comedic skills fully on display in one of the era’s biggest hits and best comedies, Tootsie. As Sandy, the insecure costar involved with egocentric actor Michael Dorsey (a never-better Dustin Hoffman), Garr invests the part with spirit and spontaneity, allowing a character who could be a tiresome pain to come across as likable and touching. Garr draws the audience firmly on her side as Sandy faces dilemmas in her career and relationships, while constantly gaining laughs with her jittery, zany behavior and unpredictable line deliveries, helping her work as Sandy linger in the memory as one of the most entertaining contributions to a classic comedy.

                As her career peaked with an Oscar nomination for Tootsie, followed by yet another big hit opposite a rising Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom, Garr gained further fame with frequent appearances on the hip David Lettermen show, wherein their playful banter proved a highlight of late-night television, as well as appearing as one of the stars in the "Ghostbusters" video for the #1 Ray Parker Jr. hit. Garr would continue to star in films and television, with more deft comic work in 1986’s After Hours, Dumb and Dumber and a role as Phobe’s mother on Friends ranking among her higher-profile output. Multiple sclerosis would limit Garr’s career opportunity during the last few decades of her life, but not before she had built a resume filled with landmark films and performances. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, the author was consistently delighted with every Garr appearance, from his first look at her as Inga, then onward through her many career achievements. R.I.P. to an original and compelling star who always twinkled with a great comic touch, Teri Garr.

A Spellbinding Deborah Kerr Seeks the Truth of The Innocents

             One of the most atmospheric and chilling ghost stories found in cinema, 1961’s The Innocents, a hypnotic adaptation of Henry James’ 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw, leaves it to viewers to determine what is reality and supernatural in regards to the tale involving Miss Giddens, an inexperienced, eager governess placed in charge of two children, Miles and Flora, at a remote country estate, and thereafter becoming concerned the brother and sister are being haunted and possessed by the previous, deceased governess and her lover, who she believes may have corrupted the youths. Director Jack Clayton, fresh from resounding success via his first feature-length directorial assignment, 1959’s Room at the Top, suffered no sophomore slump with his second endeavor, facing the challenges of convincingly suggesting paranormal activity without blatantly showing much with the artfulness of a much more experienced film master. Clayton details the surprising turns found in the expert script by William Archibald, Truman Capote and John Mortimer with great panache, alternating a tranquil, dreamy quality with the darker undertones central to the story, maintaining a suspenseful mood that builds to the film’s tense, mysterious climax. Clayton is also aided by a superb cast lead by Deborah Kerr at her zenith, and Freddie Francis’ evocative, black and white cinematography, which captures every eerie moment with maximum impact, including several shocks sure to keep patrons jitterily on the edge of their seats.

                By 1961, Deborah Kerr was enjoying peak success after a phenomenal career that had seen her go from strength to strength since her screen debut in 1941’s Major Barbara. Kerr would build on this start by first becoming one of Britain’s top leading ladies in fare such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I See a Dark Stranger and 1947’s masterpiece Black Narcissus, before an MGM contract beckoned her to Hollywood for The Hucksters opposite no less than Clark Gable. One of the publicity angles for the film reminded viewers that “Kerr” rhymed with “Star,” and in short order Kerr lived up to the hype, becoming a beautiful, charming figure in a host of major MGM titles, such as the rousing adventure King’s Solomon’s Mines and 1951’s epic Quo Vadis, while feeling somewhat underutilized by the studio in regard to developing her talent. 1953 offered a huge career boost, with Kerr going against her ladylike image to famously play in seductive mode on a beach with Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity. Thereafter Kerr was offered her pick of prime roles, and scored in an array of films, such as The King and I, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Separate Tables and one of her warmest, most moving performances in The Sundowners, just prior to making The Innocents.

                Kerr tackles the role of the nervous, inquisitive governess with passionate resolve, carrying the audience with her as the governess becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding her young charges. Kerr does an expert job detailing the naïve, skittish nature of the role at the film’s outset, allowing a viewer to have sympathy for Miss Giddens as they then become progressively unnerved by the disturbing aspects of the character, especially as her sightings of ghostly apparitions around the manor increase, and her conviction they are after her charges become stronger. Kerr’s intensity in these scenes allows Miss Giddens to become spooky herself, as she tries to force the children to face the spirits and reveal more about their past. In these latter scenes, Kerr makes it clear Giddens is fervent in her belief she must compel Miles and Flora to acknowledge what she feels is the truth, and does a great job of maintaining enough subtility in her portrayal to leave it to the audience to determine if Giddens is right in what she sees and believes, may have repressions of her own that are causing her to become increasingly delusional, or possesses a combination of these traits.

                Although still a pre-teen, Martin Stephens had built an impressive screen resume prior to filming The Innocents, with over a dozen British movies to his credit, starting in 1954 with The Divided Heart, released when Stephens was five years old. Reaching greater prominence in 1960 via the sci-fi cult classic Village of the Damned, the experienced Stephens was perfectly poise to play the confident and prematurely mature Miles. With his placid demeanor and unforgettably calm, cultured voice Stephens works in wonderful tandem with Kerr, with the pair at times suggesting adult dynamics to their characters’ relationship that must have raised plenty of Production Code associates’ eyebrows. Stephens also leaves it open as to how much the troubled Miles has been affected by past events, and if he witnessed any untoward events therein, making one wonder if any evil nature exists in his makeup, or if he simply is a wise-beyond-his-years child. After his outstanding work in The Innocents a promising future in films appeared a given, but Stephens would only partake of two more movies, leaving his precocious, highly individual work as Miles (and in Village) to serve as reminders of his rare ability onscreen.

Pamela Franklin matches her costars in giving a vivid, compelling performance. However, unlike Kerr and Stephens, Franklin had no prior experience in film, making what she pulls off in the difficult role of Flora all the more remarkable. In a similar vein to Stephen’s deft work as Miles, many scenes hold an enigmatic air concerning Flora’s true mindset, and Franklin does a perfect job in never overplaying this puzzling aspect of Flora’s personality. When Flora does face confrontation at a critical juncture in the story, Franklin enacts the child’s abrupt emotional outburst with stunning force, further adding to the complexities found in Flora’s makeup. Her breakthrough work in The Innocents would launch a fine career in films and television during the next two decades for Franklin, with her peak possible coming via 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, wherein again Franklin plays a juicy, hard-to-read role with great skill, polish and conviction.

The esteemed Michael Redgrave, no stranger to the suspense genre after his brilliant performance as a tormented ventriloquist in the grandaddy of horror anthology films, 1945’s Dead of Night, brings a calm-yet-uneasy quality to his brief but critical role at the film’s outset, as the uncle hiring Miss Giddens to care for his niece and nephew, while making it clear he wants nothing to do with them. Megs Jenkins is also spot on as Mrs. Grose, the warm, earnest housekeeper who tries to support both the child and Miss Giddens as turmoil increases, while becoming perplexed concerning what exactly to believe- in many respects Mrs. Grose serves as an audience identification point, reacting to situations as a viewer might, with Jenkins admirably allowing the character to maintain a sense of normalcy not found elsewhere in the film. Finally, as the chief figure of Miss Gidden’s visions, Peter Wyngarde powerfully conveys a diabolical, smoldering presence in just a few moments onscreen, establishing himself as one of the scariest but sexiest ghosts in movies.

The Innocents found favor with audiences and critics upon its late-1961 release, with reviewers citing the film as one of the best adaptations of a James’ novel, and one of the best ghost stories ever seen on screen. The National Board of Review included the film among its Top Ten for the year, with Clayton winning for Best Director. Clayton also was a nominee at the Director’s Guild of America, as was the screenplay at the Writers Guild of America. The British Academy named the movie as a contender for both Outstanding British Film and Best Film from Any Source. Kerr was lauded for giving one of her most impactful performances, but somehow missed out on a deserved Oscar nomination after previously being cited six times, an injustice as eerie as the film itself. The Innocents sterling reputation has only increased over time, with the bewildering nature of the story, superior direction and acting, and top production values continuing to render lovers of great cinema agog while viewing this bewitching classic filled with intrigue and excitement galore.

And a fond farewell to Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away on September 27th at age 89. A leading talent on stage, television and in films for eight decades after her Broadway debut in New Faces of 1956, Smith thrived in comedy, drama and by deftly combining the two genres in many of her best roles, collecting two Oscars, a Tony, four Emmys, and a wealth of other awards for her always sublime work, while entertaining a vast fanbase in projects both high-profile (the Harry Potter series, Downtown Abbey) and smaller in scale. For this viewer, as a longtime Smith fan her powerful, expert playing in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie stands out, offering Smith in her prime as a major force onscreen, as she passionately enacts every facet of the complex title figure with memorable aplomb while, as she always managed to do, keeping the character relatable to audiences, leading to her surprise but richly warranted Best Actress Oscar. R.I.P. to a great, reliable and unique talent.