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.