Julie Harris and Ethel Waters Skillfully Attend to Culler’s Eventful Member of the Wedding

 

The poetic, perceptive literature of author Carson McCullers has been the basis for several film adaptions of her prime works, featuring an array of unorthodox, complex characters and mature situations, found in such tales as Reflections in a Golden Eye and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. However, the first film produced from a McCullers’ story rates as possibly the most satisfying rendering of one of the Georgia native’s masterful works involving a Southern setting. Producer Stanley Kramer, after finding great success pairing with director Fred Zinnemann early in 1952 via the classic Western High Noon, sought a quality reteaming via an adaptation of The Member of the Wedding, a moving coming-of-age story based on McCullers’ classic 1946 novel and its 1950 acclaimed Broadway adaptation.  Featuring extraordinary, sensitive work by Zinnemann and stars Julie Harris and Ethel Waters, who beautifully recreate their original stage roles and make McCullers’ insightful prose constantly ring true to life, this lovingly crafted cinematic Member offers a mesmerizing view into the world of some of McCullers’ most haunting characters.

Zinnemann, after a 1936 directorial debut in film, was gaining respect as one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed filmmakers after finding success in the post-WWII era with realistically shot and expertly acted work such as The Search, Act of Violence, The Men, Noon and an Oscar-winning 1951 (pseudo) documentary short, Benjy. For Member, Zinnemann handles the Edna and Edward Anhalt screenplay adaptation with care and dexterity, wisely emphasizing the key work of Harris and Waters, allowing them to preserve their landmark, dedicated performances. With adeptly set up shots and close-ups artfully lensed by cinematographer Hal Mohr, Zinnemann is able to enhance his stars’ stellar work as they find a rhythm and spontaneity fit for the screen, while maintaining the theatrical vividness that made their singular depictions a Broadway talking point in 1950. With varying degrees of success, Zinnemann attempts to “open up” the play with some shots outside the Addam’s kitchen wherein most of the action takes place, including Frankie’s journey into town to see her father, then via her solo excursion later in the film, but fortunately keeps most of the action front and center around the Addam’s homestead and backyard, helping an audience to become fully enmeshed in Frankie’s isolated environment. After Member, Zinnemann would again show his knack for gaining top performances while depicting mature themes in compelling fashion with his follow-up, 1953’s From Here to Eternity, one of the biggest this and most lauded films of the era then, after a switch to musicals helming the large-scale production of Oklahoma!, returning to dramas of class and distinction via A Hatful of Rain, The Nun’s Story, The Sundowners, A Man for All Seasons and 1977’s Julia, a late-career success.

Julie Harris, recreating her star-making stage performance as Frankie Addams, the alternately sensitive and volatile 12-year-old tomboy eloquently yearning to find the “We of me” with her military brother and his bride-to-be (hence the title), gives a fearless, commanding performance that conveys every aspect of Frankie’s multifaceted persona, from the stubbornness that prevents the dreamy-but-difficult girl from listening to reason concerning the wedding, to a fragility that makes a viewer sympathetic to Frankie’s plight as a lonely outcast restless to find a connection. As Frankie, Harris switches from moments of calm to electrifying outbursts wherein she combines naked emotionalism and a more artful control of her craft with a flair belying her lack of experience in front of the camera. Harris understands the pain, imagination and intensity and that drive Frankie’s unpredictable actions and, although 26 at the time of filming, is so convincingly focused and involved in the part, she allows a viewer to suspend disbelief that she isn’t the preteen Frankie with her every look and gesture. With an adventurous spirit and complete absorption in her role, Harris gives a rare example of the magical affect a wholly realized performance can have on the screen. After this important start in movies, Harris would continue primarily on stage wherein she made her 1945 debut, becoming one of the most influential artists in her field with five Best Actress Tony awards, while also returning to film on occasion, with East of Eden, The Haunting and a return to McCullers’ territory in Reflections marking some of her finest screen efforts, and finding additional success on television, wherein her finely-pitched performances brought Harris three Emmy awards.

Ethel Waters is equally astonishing in transforming her role as Berenice, the worldly-wise, warm cook/housekeeper and mother figure for Frankie, to the screen. With a rich, rewarding career behind her on stage, screen and recordings, including an Oscar nomination for 1949’s Pinky, Waters utilizes her wealth of experience to give a faultless performance filled with wit, tenderness and intelligence. Clearly comfortable in a role she perfected and innately knew how to attune for the screen with subtle clarity, Waters embellishes Berenice’s every thought and mood with the force of her thespian talents in full evidence throughout. Whether Bernice is playfully teasing Frankie for her pretensions or, with profound depth, recalling her one true love in stunning close-up, Waters equals Harris in hypnotic watchability. In perhaps the film’s most unforgettable moment, Berenice sings “His Eye is On the Sparrow” to comfort Frankie and her little cousin, neighbor and best friend, John Henry, and Waters truly heartfelt rendition of the hymn rates as one of the most beautiful and moving moments found in film. Waters would act in a few more movies, ending with 1959’s The Sound and the Fury, but Member provided her with her most potent role, and serves as a reminder of Waters’ remarkable ability as a screen actor of the finest caliber.

Ten-year-old Brandon DeWilde, as the bespeckled, owlish-looking and precocious John Henry, also makes a fine film debut faithfully transferring his Broadway role to the screen. DeWilde lends a refreshingly straightforward and relaxed tone to his playing, meshing with his two dynamic costars to help bring a sense of effortlessness to their scenes, avoiding the overly cute and rehearsed type of acting sometimes found among child stars, or in stage-to-scene transitions, period. DeWilde appears completely at ease on camera, portraying John Henry, who in his way is as free-spirited and unique as Frankie, without a sign of awkwardness. Already making his mark via Member and a coveted appearance on the cover of Life magazine earlier in 1952, DeWilde would gain his biggest fame the following year as the hero-worshipping Jody in Shane, which led to him being (at the time) the youngest actor ever nominated for an Academy Award. Moving into his adolescent years, DeWilde would continue to flourish offering fine portraits of sensible young men coming of age, as opposed to the many peers striving in these type of roles for angst-filled acting in the wake of James Dean’s passing, with adroit work in such films as Blue Denim, All Fall Down and one of the 1960s chief film dramas, Hud. Member is largely centered around Frankie, Berenice and John Henry; however, among the rest of the cast, William Hansen does well as Frankie’s sometimes patient, sometimes exasperated father, Nancy Gates exudes compassion as Janice, the bride-to-be, James Edwards adds fervor to his playing of Berenice’s wayward foster brother, Honey Camden Brown and former child actor Dicke Moore makes his final screen appearance as the young soldier Frankie encounters in town.

                Released in December of 1952, The Member of the Wedding proved too offbeat to general audiences to repeat its Broadway success but found favor with critics impressed by Zinnemann’s moving stage-to-screen translation of the material, and the profound, overpowering work of Harris and Waters. During awards season, Zinnemann was singled out for his direction of the more popular High Noon over his conscientious, deft work on Member; however, the merits of the movie did attract some kudos, with inclusion on Time magazine’s top ten list, DeWilde earning a special Golden Globe for Juvenile performance, and Harris’ monumental film debut gaining the movie’s sole Academy Award nomination, for Best Actress. Although the movie remains something of a hidden gem for most audiences, the impactful nature of Frankie’s quest for happiness lingers in memory long after a viewing, and movie lovers interested in seeing a sublimely interpreted example of McCullers’ singular work will find ample rewards attending the stellar Member of the Wedding.