Vertigo: Critical Reception

There are many who consider Vertigo to be one of the best films ever made while others are left wondering what the big deal is (Snider). It’s release in 1958 wasn’t particularly remarkable because it was released after many other successful Hitchcock films (Snider). It won only two Oscar nominations and was a bit of a disappointment to most critics and viewers largely because people thought it was too slow (Miller, and Cady). But the film’s real fame came much later when it was being re-evaluated and it became number 61 on the American Film Institute’s 1997 list of the best movies of all time (Snider). Upon revisions, the film was moved up to number 9 on the 2008 list (Snider). A film that didn’t fair well in comparison to many of Hitchcock’s other successes is now the most studied and discussed of Hitchcock’s entire career (Miller, and Cady). In fact, it was voted the second greatest film in the most recent Sight and Sound survey next to Citizen Kane (Miller, and Cady).

Although the film has reached a very high level of acclaim in modern times, many critics of the time were not as impressed. Specifically, there is a prevalent theme among critics that the film is too slow. Variety pointed out the film’s major fault, that the “film’s first half is too slow and too long,” but regardless of this “defect” it looks like a boxoffice winner (“Variety”). The Los Angeles Times explained that Hitchcock has tried his hand at a new dimension but has “taken too long to unfold it” (Miller, and Stafford). Bosley Crowther, of the New York Times, asserted that “there is a big hole---a big question mark---at a critical point” but he encourages the viewer to not get too caught up in it and still enjoy the film. Some critics were much more harsh, such as John McCarten of The New Yorker who said Hitchcock has “never before indulged in such farfetched nonsense” and the Los Angeles Citizen- News declared that this was not Hitchcock’s best picture. There were some critics who appreciated the film, such as Jack Moffit of The Hollywood Reporter, who stated that “Vertigo is one of the most fascinating love stories ever filmed” but such positive remarks were in the minority in 1958 (Miller, and Stafford).

Due to the rise in popularity and high regard for Vertigo, many are left speculating why the film seems to fair so much better with modern audiences. As with any film, there are no clear cut answers due to the variety of interpretations that exist in the viewers. Some people credit this film’s success to the notion that it is a very personal film for Hitchcock because it demonstrates his dedication throughout his career to “remaking blondes into his own vision of the perfect woman” (Miller, and Cady). Ebert further explains that Vertigo is the most confessional of Hitchcock’s films because it deals with “themes that controlled his art” (Ebert). Ebert asserts that the film is truly about how Hitchcock tried to control women and Scottie is really a representation of Hitchcock himself (Ebert). Looking at the film from Ebert’s perspective, as personal film for Hitchcock, it is more easily understood that this film is considered such a great work because it perhaps allows the viewer to peer inside the mind of an infamous filmmaker.

Other critics have focused on the darker elements of the film as the reason for it’s modern appeal. Kenneth Turan, of The A List: The National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films, asserts that the way the film resonates with modern audiences may be due to it’s themes of “sadism, masochism, fetishism, necrophilia, and more garden variety neuroses” (Miller, and Stafford). Danny Pear, of the Guide for the Film Fanatic, further explains that Hitchcock was attracted to the film project because Scottie essentially indulges in necrophilia by “resurrecting a dead woman and making love to her” (Miller, and Stafford). Seeing Scottie’s dedication to have Madeleine as the focus of the film has caused some critics to believe that Scottie is crazy, twisted, and a necrophiliac because he is “adamantly rejecting reality in favor of his morbid ideal” (Poznar 56-65)

Poznar, in his article Orpheus Descending: Love in Vertigo, argues that necrophilia and acrophobia are not the central themes of the film. Scottie’s determination to have Madeleine is the center of the film as Judy tries to remain Judy but she continually allows Scottie to remake her in the image of Madeleine. Poznar interprets Scottie in a much more positive light, rather than being obsessed and deranged, he simply sees the potential in Judy to become Madeleine and believes in her ability to fully realize her beautiful self, which is essentially Madeleine. Basically, Scottie is not simply crazy and pestering, rather, he is hopeful and helpful. Poznar goes on to compare Scottie to Orpheus going into the depths to Hades to revive Eurydice, but Poznar explains that Hitchcock has inverted the story because Judy chooses to not come back to life, she looks back which leads to her death. She chose death.

Another factor that has lead to the Vertigo’s development into an iconic film is the lack of accessibility to it for a period of time. Hitchcock owned Vertigo and due to disappointing initial reception, he removed it from distribution in 1973 (Snider). A decade later it was re-released and it attracted many viewers, partly because it was unavailable for some time and there is a tendency to want what we cannot have (Snider). Many critics had already began talking this film up since it had been removed from circulation which increased the anticipation of it’s rerelease.

Vertigo stands out from Hitchcock’s many other films because of it’s subtlety. David Ansen of Newseek asserted that other Hitchcock movies were more “on-the-surface fun” while Vertigo required time for the audience to “rise to its darkly rapturous level” (Ansen). Essentially, this film was deeper, less obvious, and took time for the viewers to full grasp it. As Snider said, “Vertigo is the type of movie whose quality increases after you consider its less obvious merits” (Snider). The power of the film is in it’s subtleties and intricate complexities that are mastered only by Hitchcock himself. Basically, Vertigo reveals Hitchcock’s artistry as a filmmaker and potentially the greatest reason for this film’s appeal is that it is the most reflective of Hitchcock’s style (Snider).

Evidently, Vertigo is a film that was not highly regarded in it’s time but has become an iconic film that is continually being interpreted and re-interpreted. Despite a slow start, dark themes have resonated with the viewers such as acrophobia and necrophilia or perhaps the confessional nature of the film as it reveals Hitchcock’s directorial control over women. Reviews are still somewhat mixed and there are no clear cut answers to clarify every intended meaning of the film. But upon careful consideration, many have found this film to be one of the greatest films of all time that is well worth watching many times over to continually interpret it’s complex themes and to better understand the artistic and highly visual film mastery of Hitchcock.

References

Ansen, David. “Hitchcock’s Greatest Reborn.” Newseek 21 October 1996: n. pag. Web. 29 May 2011. reborn.html>

Crowther, Bosley. “Vertigo,‘Hitchcock’s Latest; Melodrama Arrives at the Capitol.” New York Times 29 May 1958: n. pag. Web. 29 May 2011. B3668383649EDE>.

Ebert, Roger. “Vertigo (1958).” Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun Times. Web. 29 May 2011. /REVIEWS08/401010371/1023>.

Miller, John M., and Brian Cady. “Why Vertigo Is Essential.” TCM Turner Classic Movies. Time Warner, Web. 29 May 2011. /94742/Vertigo/articles.html>

Miller, John, and Jeff Stafford. “The Critics Corner on Vertigo.” TCM Turner Classic Movies. Time Warner, n.d. Web. 29 May 2011. http://www.tcm.com/this- month/article/89392%7C0/The-Critics-Corner-6-18-12-2-.html.

Poznar, Walter. “Orhpeus Descending: Love in Vertigo.” Saint Leo College. 59-65. Print.

Snider, Eric. “What’s the Big Deal?: Vertigo (1958).” Film.com. 27 April 2010. Web. 29 May 2011. http://www.film.com/movies/whats-the-big-deal-vertigo- 1958#fbid=1MbMEeWrmLG

“Vertigo.” Variety 14 May 1958: n. pag. Web. 29 May 2011. http://www.variety.com /review/VE1117796098

Mr Smith/North by Northwest Parallels (B. Kraegel)

In "Mr. Smith" and "North by Northwest", there are parallel story lines. Both Jefferson Smith and Roger Thornhill, as the movies open, live quiet, almost idyllic lives with their mothers playing prominent roles in their lives. Both men are then thrust into situations not of their own choosing where others mistakenly ascribe character traits to both men. When both men turn to their mothers for help, their mothers can't fix their boys' troubles. Confused and disoriented, both men initially fumble the ball. But, at pivotal points, Jeff's second visit to see Mr. Lincoln, along with Saunder's encouragement, and Roger's visit to the plaza and his meeting with Eve Kendall on the train, both men take hold and assert their masculinity to control their situations. Both men not only win control and a happy ending for themselves but, also get the girl. Moral of the story-you've got to leave mommy's apron strings, face the cold cruel world by yourself, and then you get the girl of your dreams, and a real life in the world of men.

Jimmy Stewart Biography--B. Kraegel

Although Jimmy Stewart, born James Maitland Stewart in 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, reached the pinnacle of Hollywood fame and leading man status, he never left his Midwestern roots. As the oldest and only son of three siblings, Stewart’s father expected that one day Jimmy would take over the family hardware store. In fact, for years, Jimmy’s only competitive Oscar sat in the window of the family store. When Stewart’s father insisted Jimmy attend Princeton instead of Jim’s choice of the Naval Academy, his future was altered forever. While attending Princeton, he found and developed his life long interest in acting. About this time, Stewart also discovered the University Players and made the acquaintance of Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan, also members. As a result, Fonda and Stewart became lifelong friends. When Stewart finally came to Hollywood, Margaret took Jimmy under her wing, rehearsing with him and encouraging him to embrace his unique charm. He would later star with Sullavan in The Shop Around The Corner. However, although Stewart received critical acclaim and box office success in “You Can’t Take It With You and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, his family still insisted he return home and leave Hollywood’s sinful ways. Shortly before his eightieth birthday, he was asked how he would like to be remembered. He said, “As someone who believed in hard work, and love of country, love of family, and love of community. (www.wikipedia.org)
   With the advent of World War II, and his family’s military heritage, Stewart enlisted. He was the first major star to don a uniform. Being an accomplished private pilot, he soon found his way into the Army Air Corps. When he was sent overseas, he flew numerous missions into the heart of Nazi occupied Europe. Although at his request, only twenty missions were officially recorded. Stewart however played an integral part in the war and was awarded many medals and citations. He continued his service in the United States Air Force Reserve, and after 27 years, he retired and was promoted to Major General by President Reagan.
After returning from World War II, Stewart was no longer under contract to MGM and signed with an MCA talent agency, which allowed Stewart to be one of the first independently contracted actors. (www.wikipedia.org).
   When many other actors such as Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis chaffed at the studio system, Stewart was quoted as saying, “You hear so much about the old movie moguls. The moguls you know weren’t anywhere near as bad as they’ve been painted. They knew film, they learned about making movies. In those days, you learned a lot about movies, not by reading, not by going to lectures, but by doing the job.” (Pickard, p. 178) Even though his acting career contained critical and commercial disappointments, Stewart was successful in all of the film genres making nearly 80 films and is now associated with such classics as Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, You Can’t Take It With You, It’s A Wonderful Life, Harvey, The Man Who Knew To Much, and Rear Window just to name a few. As of 2007, ten of his films have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry. Although he won many acting awards and is considered one of the finest actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood and was also named the third greatest star of all time by the American Film Institute, he won only one competitive Oscar in 1941 for Best Actor in The Philadelphia Story. (www.wikipedia.org) Stewart thought his performance was “entertaining, slick, and smooth” but lacking the “guts” of Mr. Smith. He went on to receive an Oscar for his lifetime achievements in 1985 presented by his friend, Cary Grant. (www.wikipedia.org) There are so many memorable moments in Stewart’s films: praying and near tears as he sits at a bar and contemplates suicide in “It’s A Wonderful Life; waltzing, intoxicated around a swimming pool with Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story; Stewart grabbing nervously for the flashbulbs to photograph and temporarily blind the lumbering killer, Raymond Burr in Rear Window. Always, he (Stewart) has been an American, but always he has been vulnerable. Idealistic but stubborn. Awkward but graceful. (Pickard p. 182) As Kim Novak, his co-star in Vertigo so graciously stated, “Heading my list of leading men is most definitely James Stewart. For me, he encompassed all the things I appreciated in a man: He always has been and always will be my ideal. Setting him apart is his endearing shyness, or innocence that I found irresistible. He was the sexiest man who played opposite me in thirty years.” (Eliot, p. 298)
       While Jimmy Stewart dated many Hollywood legends such as Norma Shearer, Marlene Dietrich, and Ginger Rogers and acted opposite many great actresses such as Grace Kelly, his favorite co-star, Jean Arthur, June Allison and Katherine Hepburn, he was happily married to Gloria Hatrich McLean from 1949 till her death in 1994. Jimmy told friends, “For me, it had been love at first sight. She was the kind of girl I had always dreamed of. The kind you associate with open country, cooking stew and not fainting because it was made of cut-up squirrels.” (Eliot, p. 233) While Stewart adopted Gloria’s two sons, Ronald and Michael, he and Gloria had twin daughters, Judy and Kelly. Although a fulfilling and lasting marriage in Hollywood is quite a feat, the Stewarts’ managed to have a productive and stable partnership for 45 years. Concentrating on the core values, they never let fame or fortune destroy their relationship.
     In looking at Jimmy Stewart’s life, it is clear his strong Scottish, Presbyterian upbringing, his conservative values, his sense of patriotism and love of country defined the man. It never occurred to him to be ungrateful or self absorbed. He told an interviewer, “It’s been a wonderful life.” (Pickard, p. 180) He instinctively knew this “star” business could be fickle, and he never allowed it to turn him into a “has been” or a one-dimensional idol. He was a fully formed man who not only left behind a body of film classics but a private life to be admired. His obituary from The New York Times stated, “His early screen image, like his personal life, epitomized a middle American ideal in a confusing sophisticated world.” (Eliot, p. 411) He never was too important to sign an autograph or too famous to answer his country’s call or champion an important cause. Stewart summed up his movie career with the quote, “And that’s the thing, that’s the great thing
about movies. If you’re good, and God helps you and your lucky enough to have a personality that comes across, you’re giving people little, little tiny bits of time—pieces of time they never forget.” And there are so many of these moments in all of Stewart’s films (Perkins, p. 180)

Works Cited
“James Stewart.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 15 May 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JamesStewart
Lemire, Christy, “Wedding Films Offer Wit, Heart.” Associated Press, the Journal Gazette 16 May, 2011, Fort Wayne, IN
Elliot, Marc. Jimmy Stewart: A Biography. Harmony Books, Crown Publishing Group, Random House, New York, 2006.
Pickard, Roy. Jimmy Stewart: A Life In Film, St Martin’s Press, New York, 1992
The Philadelphia Story, MGM, 1940

Midterm Readings--

For the midterm, be sure to have read Heroes, Antiheroes . . . Chapters 1-8 (until the end of the fifties).  Also, read the link for the Introduction on the homepage.  There will be a few questions on the text in the Identification section of the midterm

The Identification section will be available on Blackboard on Thursday and Friday.  We'll do the scene analysis in person in Science Bldg. 185, on the IPFW campus.

See the map below if you're unsure of the location.  Room 185 is just off the lounge on the quadrangle side of the building.


View IPFW--Science Bldg. in a larger map

Production of NBNW

The film was made in Paramount Vistavision and it was one of the few widescreen film that was made at MGM. The technology was capable of being screened at an aspect ratio of up to 2:00:1 and was also flexible enough to be printed on standard 35mm film.

The production of NbyNW were shot over 5 month period.

The production shot in Culver City, LA; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; and Keystone, SD. At the time the United Nation had strict rules and regulations around filming in the area.

The house at the end of the film was not real. The set was built in MGM's studios.

The gray suit worn by Cary Grant throughout almost the entire film was considered the "best suit in film history, and most influential on men's style," according GQ magazine in 2006. As well as stating that it has since been copied for Tom Cruise in Collateral and Ben Affleck's in Paycheck.

Eva Marie Saint's wardrobe for the film was originally entirely chosen by MGM. Yet, Hitchcock disliked MGM's selections and the actress and director went to Bergdorf Goodman in New York to select what she would wear in the film.

During the post-production, one of Eva Marie Saint's lines in the dining car scene was redubbed. She originally said "I never make love on an empty stomach," were changed to "I never discuss love on an empty stomach."

MGM wanted North by Northwest cut by 15 minutes so the film's length would run under two hours. Hitchcock had his agent check his contract, learned that he had absolute control over the final cut, and refused because he felt that 15 minutes are valuable information that he does not want his audience to miss.

Hitchcock used innovative camera viewpoints and movements, elaborate editing techniques, and effective soundtrack music to build and maintain suspense. A master at relating the setting of his films to their themes and at presenting a totally "closed" world on the screen

He shot most of his films in the studio, where he could have complete control. His suspense films were generally set either in a single, interior place or multiple interior and exterior places. When we can't shoot in the actual setting, I'm for taking research photographs of everything.

For the scriptwriting, Ernest Lehman won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture and the picture itself earned Golden Laurel Award

Cary Grant

Cary Grant was born Archibald Alexander Leach in Bristol, England, on January 18, 1904. His father, Elias, worked in a garment factory providing a lower middle class way of life which Grant’s mother, Elsie, resented (Flatow, par. 4). Their miserable marriage, with Elise’s criticism and Elias’s excess drinking was the backdrop of Grant’s childhood. One thing they did have in common was a love of movies, which they shared with Grant. His mother would take him to see romantic movies and his father would take him to see westerns and thrillers (Flatow, par. 5).

Everything changed for Grant, when at the age of 9 he came home to find his mother gone. His father told him that she was resting at a resort but she never came back. It wasn’t until 20 years later that Grant would find out that his mother had actually been committed to a mental institution. At that point, he reconnected with her and continued the relationship the rest of her life.

At the age of 14, he began performing with a troupe of acrobats, where he learned tumbling, pantomime, and to use stilts (Beer, par. 4). The skills he learned at this time contributed to his talent for graceful physical comedy, which he utilized later in his movie career. Grant came with the troupe on a U.S. tour. When the tour was over, he decided to stay in the U.S.

He supported him self with jobs on Broadway and touring with Vaudeville acts. When he was 25, he had a screen test with Paramount. They told him his neck was too thick and he was too bowlegged (Flatow, par. 10). This, however, did not discourage him, and a few years later he was given another screen test at Paramount. This time they gave him a five-year contract.

At this point, Archie Leach became Cary Grant. He picked the name Cary as a nod to a character he had played. The name Grant was chosen from a list provided by the studio. It is rumored that the initials CG were a nod to Gary Cooper and Clark Gable.

Prior to his contact with Paramount, Grant had worked hard to lose his working class accent. He developed a distinctive way of speaking, “vaguely British and vaguely American but not quite either” (Flatow, par. 9). The result was a delightful tone that many tried to emulate but few could pull off.

No detail was too small for the studio to scrutinize: Grant was naturally left-handed but had to be right-handed for his movies, no leading man at that time was left-handed (Smith, par. 9). Grant’s transformation to leading man was complete after the part in his hair was changed from left to right also (Beer, par. 5).

Grant did many films during his contract with Paramount but with a few exceptions the movies were unremarkable. When his contract was up, he decided to continue his career as an independent actor. This was a savvy business move that was almost unprecedented at the time. Grant signed contracts with RKO and Columbia that allowed him to choose the projects that he wanted and to work with other studios if he desired (Flatow, par. 14).

Grant’s career really took off in 1937 when he made the movies Topper and The Awful Truth. The Grant persona, the sophisticated, elegant, charmer first appeared in The Awful Truth (Gehring, par. 7). That persona is what Grant was best at playing. He was once quoted as saying, “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me” (qtd. in Flatow, par. 26).

Grant’s career could be separated into two parts. During the pre-war part of his career a lot of the movies he made were screwball comedies, like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday. As the U.S. became involved in the war, audiences’ tastes shifted away from the zany plots that marked the screwball comedies (Beer, par. 8). Beginning in this period, the movies that Grant made had a very different tone. He made more thrillers, including four with Alfred Hitchcock. His comedies became romantic comedies, focusing on romance more then over-the-top storylines and physical comedy.

Grant retired at 62. His primary reason was so he could focus on raising his only child, Jennifer. He also began to feel that there was no place in Hollywood any longer for actors like him.

Grant’s personal life was chaotic. He was married three times. His first marriage only last 13 months. Before and after this marriage, he shared a house with actor, Randolph Scott. Rumors surrounded the nature of their relationship, with many people believing they were lovers.

His second marriage was to Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress. Many people believed that he had married her for her money, dubbing them Cash and Cary. This outraged Grant who refused to take any of her money (Flatow, par. 15).

During his third marriage, Grant had a passionate affair with Sophia Loren. Grant, reportedly, continued to pursue Loren even after she made it clear that she was in love with another man.

Grant’s fourth marriage, which produced his daughter, ended in a bitter and public divorce and custody battle.

At the age of 77, Grant entered into his fifth marriage with a woman 46 years younger then himself. This marriage seemed to be the most stable and happy relationship of his life. The couple was married only five years when Grant died of a stroke at the age of 82.

Works Cited and Consulted

Beer, Tom. “Cary Grant.” Biography. Jul. 2003. 104.

Flatow, Sheryl. “Archie Leach’s Greatest Role: Cary Grant.” Biography. Jan. 1999: 98.

Gehring, Wes D. “Bringing Up Cary.” USA Today Magazine. Mar. 2004: 69.

Gehring, Wes D. “The Wonderful ‘Truth.’” USA Today Magazine. May 2007: 71.

O’Connor, Dale. “Biography of Cary Grant.” imdb.com. May 23, 2011. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000026/bio.

Smith, Ian. “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” New Statesman. Jul. 2004: 38-40.

Introduction to North by Northwest: A Look at the Director

Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, England. He began his film career in London in 1919 as an illustrator of title cards for silent films. During his first years at Paramount, he learned scripting, editing, and art direction, moving into assistant directing in only a few short years. He began a full-on directing career in 1925 (Berg). In 1926, Hitchcock married his assistant director, Alma Reville. They had daughter named Patricia. Alma collaborated with Hitchcock on many of his films, but avoided public acclaim.

From his earliest films, Hitchcock has a flare for suspense and thriller films. It is said he “virtually invented” the genre (Berg). Generally speaking, Hitchcock invented and followed a basic formula with his films: “An innocent protagonist is falsely accused of a crime and becomes involved in a web of intrigue” (Berg). This is definitely the case in North by Northwest, as Carey Grant’s character has a mistaken identity, which throws him into a series of events. However, Hitchcock’s films also study family relationships and dynamics, specifically of the feminine characters. There is an association between female sexual abuse with criminal or violent behavior, which is another plot element in more than one of Hitchcock’s films: sex and violence association (Berg).

Suspense and thriller films are Hitchcock’s legacy. As he developed as a director, the genre seems to have developed as well. He learned from mistakes, and really developed the genre almost single-handedly. He learned that he could let the viewers in on more information than the protagonist, but that the protagonist couldn’t come to unknowing harm (Berg). This kind of mistake (allowing the protagonist to be harmed due to lack of information) rendered the viewer responsible in a way. Two films that flopped as a result of this mistake were Secret Agent and Sabotage (1936).

Hitchcock directed his first Hollywood film in 1940. So his European career lasted just over two decades. He became an American citizen in 1956 while remaining a British subject. Shadow of Doubt was his first big hit from Hollywood. It contained his normal suspense plot—a niece who discovers her uncle is a murderer—but the film also made commentary about a woman’s loss of identity when she becomes a married woman. This kind of social commentary is peppered throughout Hitchcock films.

Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime, although many of the mysteries function as decoys or "MacGuffins" meant only to serve thematic elements in the film and the extremely complex psychological examinations of the characters.

Hitchcock liked to experiment with cinematography, as in Vertigo and Rope. Rope was intended to look like a single, unedited shot, while Vertigo is famous for the murder that takes place in the shower (Berg). He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. He framed shots to maximize anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. These kinds of successful experiments earned Hitchcock technical acclaim in addition to his directing success.

Hitchcock’s “most inspired period” has been said to be the decade between 1950 and 1960. He made North by Northwest in 1959, and it is easily one of his most noteworthy pieces. Vertigo was made in 1960 and is perhaps equally as noteworthy, so the claim would seem to hold up (Berg).

“North by Northwest (1959) is perhaps Hitchcock's most fully realized film…[This] quintessential chase movie is full of all the things for which we remember Alfred Hitchcock: ingenious shots, subtle male-female relationships, dramatic score, bright technicolor, inside jokes, witty symbolism and above all masterfully orchestrated suspense” (Weiler).

The critics seem to have really enjoyed the piece. Although they felt the plot surrounding the actual mysterious events was a little less than serious. “The director and Ernest Lehman, his scenarist, are not, to put a fine point on it, really serious about their mystery. With a tongue-in-cheek attitude and a breezy sense of humor, they are off in high gear right at the beginning as they spin the somewhat improbable yarn of a successful, handsome Madison Avenue executive, who is mistaken for a Federal intelligence man by foreign agents and forcibly pushed into a succession of macabre situations that shock, amaze, perplex, and anger our once-debonair hero” (Weiler).

It is true, that the whole plot of the films is unrealistic and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but as the critics also stated, the locations, pace, and acting make for the perfect entertainment package.

“Since he is a peripatetic operative who loves to beat about the bush while beating about the countryside, director Alfred Hitchcock and a covey of willing and able traveling companions have made "North by Northwest," which was unveiled at the Music Hall yesterday, a suspenseful and delightful Cook's Tour of some of the more photogenic spots in these United States” (Weiler).

The conclusion was, “Although they are involved in lightning-fast romance and some loose intrigue, it is all done in brisk, genuinely witty and sophisticated style. With Mr. Hitchcock at the helm, moving "North by Northwest" is a colorful and exciting route for spies, counterspies and lovers” (Weiler).

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades. Often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, he came first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph, which said: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else." Through his cameo appearances in his own films, interviews, film trailers, and the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he became a cultural icon.

His last film, Family Plot was done in 1976, and Hitchcock died in 1980 (Berg). So, his career lasted for nearly all of his adult life. He died from liver failure and heart problems.

Works Cited

Berg, Charles Remirez. "Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Biography." The Encyclopedia of Film. University Distinguished Teaching Professor Associate Professor Department of Radio-Television-Film The University of Texas at Austin, 1996. Web. .

Weiler, A. H. "North By Northwest (1959) Hitchcock Takes Suspenseful Cook's Tour; ' North by Northwest' Opens at Music Hall." New York Times (1959): n. pag. Web. 26 May 2011. .

Censorship in the Philadelphia Story?

We have talked about the censorship of these early movies and how certain things were listed as taboo and off limits. Did anyone else notice when Jimmy Stewart’s character is drunk and at Dexter Grant’s place after leaving the engagement dinner and all of the sudden his girlfriend shows up with Hepburn passed out in the back seat of her car, then all of the sudden both Stewart and Hepburn jump into the same car and Hepburn drives then back to her home. Was drunk driving an issue back then? We have all heard stories about people drinking and driving in the early days, was this just the norm back then? I don’t think there were any laws on the books for drunk driving and if there were shouldn’t the censors have caught this? Just an idea? What are your thoughts?

Frank Capra Political Comentator and Propagandist

Frank Capra was born in Sicily on May 18, 1897. In 1903 his family immigrated to the U.S. and moved to Los Angeles. During the First World War Capra served stateside and soon after the war became a naturalized citizen, in 1920. Capra started out his film career slowly in the 1920s eventually acting in the early 1930s and finally directing from the mid 30s on. Frank Capra is best known for " It's a wonderful Life" "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and the "Why We Fight Series". Capra stopped making films in the 1960s and eventually passed away on September 3, 1991.

Frank Capra has the unusual distinction of being a successful political director. While many filmmakers stay as far away from politics as possible, siting that it's box office suicide, Capra takes on political issues in many of his movies; even overtly so in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Donald Willis, who wrote a book on Capra said " Depending on one's Political point of view and on what Capra film or films or parts of Capra films one is talking about, Frank Capra is an advocate of communism, fascism, marxism, populism, conservatism, mccarthyism, new-dealism, anti-hooverism, jingoism, socialism, capitalism, middle-of-the-road-ism, democracy, or individualism." as this quote so ellequently points out, with subject matter such as politics, whether overt or hidden, people will have strong opinions. That being said Capra cleaned his movies well of any detail that would directly criticize any real individual. This can be seen in Mr. Smith as we never know exactly what state he is from or who the governor is. He did such a good job of this that academic debate still goes on today over exactly what ideologies Capra held.

Frank Capra holds another unusual distinction. Frank Capra helped the Allies win the Second World War by directing the "Why We Fight" series for the department of the Army. This series was Capra's response to Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will" a Nazi Propaganda Film; in fact Capra often used footage from Riefenstahl twisting it and putting it in a context advantageous to the U.S. propaganda goals. Capra was given the task of convincing an isolationist nation to go to war on the other side of the world. These films were propaganda and not merely documentaries; whether or not propaganda is acceptable is a debate for a different class, however there is no doubting the series effectiveness in convincing hundreds of thousands of drafted military personel of and the American public of their purpose.

Works cited

Hopwood, John C. "Frank Capra." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 24 May 2011. http://www.imdb.com/

Phelps, Glenn A. "Frank Capra and the Political Hero: A new Reading of "Meet John Doe,." Film cirticism 5.2 (1980): 49-57. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 May 2011.

Willis, Donald C. The Films of Frank Capra,. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1974. Print.

The Big Sleep: Novel vs. Film

IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES, BASED ON CHANDLER’S & HAWKS’S PERSONALITIES
Athanasourelis, John Paul. "Film Adaptation and the Censors: 1940s Hollywood and Raymond Chandler." Studies in the Novel. 35.3 (2003): 325-38. Print.

• Chandler’s fiction has an inherently cinematic quality; he was a Hollywood screenwriter
• Censorship from about 1930-1960 “regulated the transition of book-to-film projects”. The first Chandler adaptation was produced in the 40s and the Code “shaped narratives according to perceived mainstream moral values”.
• “Hollywood gravely misrepresented Chandler’s world-view, one which insisted on not reducing the moral complexities of modern American life to the convenient mythologizing of America’s self-appointed champions of the good.” Chandler did not compartmentalize people and rejected the possibility of an ideal society.
• The film “defuses Chandler’s social critique, transforming plot and adapting characters when not eliminating them outright.”
• “Chandler’s Philip Marlowe functions as a peacemaker and is far more likely to negotiate among warring individuals than incite them to violence.”
• “Another striking difference between the novel and the film can be seen in the treatment of the police. His interest lay in the critique of society in terms of its power structure, and he found in crime the ideal means by which to illustrate societal tensions. Thus, most specifically and consistently, his portrayal of the police and the private detective’s interactions with them constitute the core elements of his novels. Throughout all of Chandler’s novels, police corruption is examined as closely as any crime scene clue in whodunit narratives.”
• “Although Hawks’s stoic masculine ethos representation promises to reflect the introspective ethos of Chandler’s world, his film ultimately presents a hermetically sealed Hollywood world where conventional mores triumph.”
• Hawks shifts responsibility for the death of Rusty (Sean in the film) Regan from Carmen Sternwood to Eddie Mars. In the novel, Mars is not Regan’s killer; rather, he helps Vivian dispose of the body (to protect Carmen) and then blackmails her. Hawks chose not to punish Carmen, leaving Mars as the fall guy and allowing Vivian to be a love-interest for Marlowe.
• The film seeks to resolve the narrative into a “neat thematic package”.
• It was actually the censors who wrote the final scene in Geiger’s house where Mars becomes the guilty party—and Marlowe sends him out the door to be shot by his own men. They were “concerned, not with narrative credibility or aesthetics, but solely with placing the white and black hats firmly on the appropriate heads.”
• Chandler leaves Marks untouched by divine retribution (unlike the film), challenging his readers’ sense of justice.
• The novel features and ethically ambiguous cop: Captain Gregory of the Missing Persons Bureau. Gregory is never mentioned in the film.
• “Chandler is careful to expose societal inequities that Hollywood typically glosses over.”
• Vivian’s presence declines in the novel and Chandler does not develop a romance plot between her and Marlowe, as Hawks does. The film is a complex crime narrative; more so a love story.
• The kissing scene in the car: Chandler uses to underscore Marlowe and Vivian’s mutual antagonism; Hawks uses it to show their mutual concern and affection.

DIFFERENCES OF PLOT AND STYLE

Poague, Leland. “Detecting Happiness: Chandler, Hawks and The Big Sleep (Again.)”Australian Screen Education, Issue 33 (Summer 2004): 122-126. Print.

• Striking difference: Mrs. Vivian Rutledge (Vivian Regan in novel) and Philip Marlowe as romantic (“classic Hollywood”) couple.
• Chandler’s Marlow conspires with Eddie Mars and Vivian to cover up Carmen’s’ murder of Rusty (Sean in the movie) Regan.
• Critical feature of the film: “exuberant comic wit of its dialogue, especially the sexually loaded exchanges between Vivian and Marlowe.
• Reshoots were done specifically for this reason.
• Chandler’s Marlowe is devoted to solitude, but has positive relationship with Gen. Sternwood.
• Gen. Sternwood seen only in the beginning of the film.
• The world’s nastiness reflects little on Marlowe in the film; in the novel “everything is colored by Marlowe’s tartly cynical perceptions.
• Marlowe is much more at ease with women in the film than in the novel.
• Motivation for asking Vivian “What has Eddie Mars got on you?”
o Novel: masculine loyalty and private-eye skepticism
o Film: motivated by feelings for Vivian
• Novel: Eddie and Mrs. Mars are comfortably estranged; not so in the film.
• Biggest paradox of Hawks’ version: despite the dark subject matter and scenes, it is a delightful movie. The blocking, cutting, and soundtrack demonstrate mastery of the medium. The crime story itself is not nearly as important as the fun Bogie and Bacall were clearly having.

ONTOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES & EACH ARTIST’S STYLE OF STORYTELLING (Definition of ONTOLOGY: a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being; a particular theory about the nature of being or the kinds of things that have existence.

Librach, R. S. “Adaptation and Ontology: The Impulse towards Closure in Howard Hawks’s Version of The Big Sleep.” Literature Film Quarterly, 19.3 (1991): 164-175. Print.

Similarities:
• Hawks “reestablishes Chandler’s sultry, fog-shrouded Los Angeles as a city from which not even the rain can wash away the corruption.”
• Marlowe survives because he is tough, clever, and skillful.
• In both novel and film, Marlowe personally and professionally respects the “little man”.

Differences:
• Hawks ties up a loose end by having two cars leave the Geiger house; it was necessary for his Marlowe to know who killed Owen Taylor.
• Chandler supplies Agnes’s line that she has never had “a guy who’s smart all the way round the course”; Hawks expands on the racetrack metaphor in the famous exchange between Vivian & Marlowe.
• The film makes a crucial association between sex and intellect (more than the novel, which did not develop the romance between V & M). The scene w/Dorothy Malone, with its suggestive dialogue and innuendo, furthers Hawks’s assertion that the bonding between male and female is initiated on an intellectual premise.
• Screenwriters William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett added the alley scene.
• For Chandler, it is Rusty Regan who is intended to be Marlowe’s alter ego; in the film it is Harry Jones.
• Hawks eliminates three Chandler scenes: Mars’s presences in the house at Realito, certain exchanges between Marlowe and Vivian, and another Marlowe audience with Gen. Sternwood.
• Prior to the intervention of the censors, Hawks shared the premise with Chandler that Eddie Mars killed Sean Regan.
• Hawks endorses Marlowe’s belief that Joe Brody killed Owen Taylor and Eddie Mars killed Sean Regan, thought he cannot confirm his suspicion in either case. Both are “punished” in the film: Brody is shot by Geiger’s lover Lundgren, and Mars by his own men.

ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS

“The Big Sleep.” movie-censorship.com. 2 October 2010.
http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=1360265

• The Motion Picture Production Code prohibited nudity & sexual “perversions” being shown
• Explicit scenes from the novel were rendered more harmless

“The Big Sleep.” filmsite.org.
http://www.filmsite.org/bigs.html

• The Motion Picture Production Code limited the film’s references to pornography, homosexuality, drug use, Carmen’s nymphomania

Capra’s Jab at Democracy

The popularity of films in the 1930s, 40s and 50s not only depended on the reviews of critics and regular movie watchers, but the government as well. As said in class movie companies created censorship boards to review scripts, and films in order to keep the American viewers wholesome and pure. The censorship boards also wanted to portray good American ideologies and values for foreign audiences as well. In 1939, the film association was under pressure from the United States Senate for the rights over governing the censorship boards. The Senate wanted to create a government group, something like the FBI or CIA, which would operate and govern the censorship of all American films.
During the late 1930s, the Senate was voting over the Neely-Pettengill Bill. It would ban the selling of movies in blocks, two or movies at a time for a discount, instead of individually (Aberdeen). By doing this movie companies could throw in extra movies that were not worth much or were not blockbuster hist. The article : “Block Booking Battle in Congress: The Neely Anti-Block Booking Bill” explained, that not only were the big movie production companies and major actors for it, but independent film companies and even some actors, like Bing Crosby, were against it. It was said that Crosby was opposed to block booking because it made the film industry like a factory: movies could be quickly shot and edited and thrown into the blocks for a quick cheap sale (Aberdeen). In1939 the Senate passed the Neely Bill to ban Hollywood’s practice of distributing films to theaters in blocks rather than individually (Wolfe, 193). “The bill was still being voted on in 1940 when Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was released” (Wolfe, 193).
By the late 1030s, Capra was an established film producer whose heroes when extending their range into a wider experience of American life, began to encounter possessors of wealth and power with greater ambitions than to make the right match for the bored and restless daughters (Sklar 123). Capra found it harder to make movies about happy go-lucky people who had miniscule problems that were easily solved. Capra believed that Americans “were enough by themselves to present a convincing picture of order and stability” (Sklar, 134). Capra started taking real situations and problems and turning them into great movies.
Being that the Neely Bill was going to change how quickly Capra and other producers could make films and get them out to the public he decided to take a jab at the Senate by turning a true story, “The Gentleman from Montana” into Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. “The popular and critical success of his (Capra’s) films had given him a platform from which openly to criticize industry practices, including censorship and block booking, and to contemplate independent production” (Wolfe, 195). “Before World War II, Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington openly opposed wealth and power for the first time” (Sklar 123).
In the May 14, 1939 New York Times article, “Mr. Capra Girds (mildly) at the Government”, it was noted how physically correct the setting in the Senate House was. The article tells how Capra used James B. Preston, former superintendent of the Senate press gallery, to make sure the every detail, from the desk and chairs to the Presidential busts, to the layout of the room were as correct as possible. “It was said that the reproduction of the setting and actions were so true that the distortion in the Senate was so mind opening and dangerous “(Wolfe, 197).
When the film came out Capra held a special viewing, “An estimated four thousand congressmen, press correspondents, and invited guests crowed into the hall, while Capra and his wife shared a special box with the family of Burton Wheeler (the real Mr. Smith)…ended up an unhappy affair for all concerned” (Wolfe, 196). In his 1971 autobiography Capra told of the cool reception by the audience that evening and all the personal attacks by Washington press corps. He remembered, “Several congressmen let it be known that the Neely Bill hearings might be rushed through the House in retaliation” (Wolfe, 196).
To further push the idea that the Senate and some political friendly people were not happy with the portrayal of characters and actions many eastern papers’ documented and added to the dissatisfaction. In The Washington Post’s October 22, 1939 article, “’Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ Misses the Spirit of the Capital” Nelson Bell comments, “after a magnificent beginning in this vitally important subject, Mr. Capra not only stubbed his toe with sudden violence, but fell flat on his face.” Later on in November of that year, another article in The Washington Post, “Capra Hit is continuing at Metropolitan”, criticized the “film’s mealy mouthed tribute to democracy is thought by some to betray an insidious influence”. The article goes on to say that Capra sends Jimmy Stewart’s, “likeable young Senator into such a den of iniquity…newspapermen so weak-kneed…Senators so shallow, that it is the duty of us who know something of our neighbors’ integrity to shout, ‘Taint so’”.
The criticism went a little deeper than just the feelings of the Senators, to the worldwide effect on American politics. Many political figures were worried that the portrayal of their fellow government officials would taint the minds of people to believe that Washington and its correspondents were, “cynical but loveable drunkards” who “winked their eyes at political corruption” (Wolfe, 197).
On the opposite side of the political spectrum, let’s say the more westward the viewers were, the better reception the movie received. “Most critics in Los Angeles, who had previewed the film two weeks before, were on record as strong supporters…[and] accused the Washington insiders of being exceptionally thin-skinned” (Wolfe, 197). As well as, the more scandalous and extreme dislike written about the movie the more popular it became. “Protests against the film had stimulated box-office receipts during its opening run in Washington” (Wolfe, 197).
If Capra was trying to stir a political pot and widen the eyes to corruption in the government he met his mark. Viewers from the first opening until the end of time will forever remember the gangsters beating the scouts passing out papers, the police hosing down marchers and all the violence directed towards the believer of Mr. Smith, who fought for equality and true decisions. Some of the articles say that this movie was not so great, sure, it wasn’t a fanatical movie with all the themes and love like The Philadelphia Story, instead Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a didactic storm ready for any political party to take and learn what could happen. It’s a lesson book, or film, for a new democracy.

Works Consulted
Aberdeen, J. A.,. ”Block Booking Battle in Congress: The Neely Anti-Block Booking Bill” Hollywood Renegades Archive 2005. 5/24/2011 .
Bell, Nelson B. “’Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ Misses the Spirit of the Capital”. The Washington Post 22 Oct. 1939.
Churchill, Douglas W. “Mr. Capra Girds (Mildly) at the Government”. The New York Times 14 May, 1939.
Greene, Graham. “A Director of Genius: Four Reviews”. Frank Capra: Authorship and the Studio System. Ed Robert Sklar and Vito Zagarrio. Temple University Press. Philadelphia, 1998.
Glazter, Richard and John Raeburn, eds. Frank Capra. The University of Michigan Press 1975.
“The Screen in Review; Frank Capra’s ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ at the Music Hall Sets a Seasonal High in Comedy—‘Babes in Arms’ Opens at the Capitol”. The New York Times 20 Oct. 1939.
Wolfe, Charles. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”. Frank Capra: Authorship and the Studio System. Ed Robert Sklar and Vito Zagarrio. Temple University Press. Philadelphia, 1998.
Willis, Donald C. “The Films of Frank Capra”. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchan NJ. 1974.

Comment and questions

The first movie, The Big Sleep left me wondering one question. How did the leading actor know where all those guns were in the cars? It looked like everyone carried guns with them. I had a hard time following the story line, but I liked the movie. It had its humorous parts, but not as much as the next movie.

In the Philadelphia Story, I wondered if Katherine Hepburn liked being called a goddess. Why did Conner or Jimmy Stewart call her a goddess at the end? It seemed like two men fighting over one woman and the one she was supposed to marry didn't fight for her. I thought the beginning was strange because Tracy was just pushed her over and then she broke one of her husbands golf clubs. We are used to seeing bigger fights. I think the movie also could have been called, Love makes you do crazy things. I believe Cary Grant who played Dexter never stopped loving his wife and that is why they got married at the end.

Posting to the blog

Here are some instructions that might help with posting if you're having problems doing so.
Written instructions on posting to the blog

Youtube Video on Posting

Keeping up on the Discussions

Many of you may know this already, but in case you didn't, you can keep up on the posting easily with the email subscription available in the left margin.  Becoming a "Follower" through Google is another method, as you see in the righthand margin.

Those are more obvious.  It might be less obvious, though, that you can also subscribe to the comments, which for class purposes is probably the most useful.  They don't make it easy to see, but if you click on the comments from one of the postings, you'll notice at the bottom in small print "Subscribe by email."  This means you will get notifications when someone posts a comment, which is handy to keeping the discussions going--unless you'd prefer just to check periodically.  It's up to you of course.  Just want to make sure everyone knows what means are available.

Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks was born May 30, 1896 in Goshen, Indiana. He moved to Southern California when Hollywood was still young and studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University. He also served in the Army Air Corps. Hawks ended up starting his own independent productions and by 1924 was the head of the story department at Paramount and directing silent films for Fox. (LeVasseur)

Hawks didn’t have a particular genre as a director and his filmography contains almost every genre out there. His films were known to be no-nonsense, have influential images such as narratively significant cigarette lighting, and have rapid-fire dialogue. The lines in his films tend to overlap sometimes, giving the sense of urgency and tension that Hawks was trying to portray in his films. Even with his more serious films there tend to be comedic undertones. (LeVasseur)

His films also tend to value the group over the individual. Often, he will show this through giving characters nicknames and show how those groups bond through competition and rites of passage. David Boxwell, a professor of film and literature at the U.S. Air Force Academy and commentator for Bright Lights Film Journal, quotes Robin Wood on the ‘Hawksian’ use of nicknames in Hawks’ films stating, “In effect, the renaming serves as a kind of baptism into a masculinist world which would otherwise denigrate his real name, and hence identity, as ‘effeminate’ (Boxwell).

Though he started out making silent films, it was his first films with sound that began to give him a presence in Hollywood. His first sound films were The Dawn Patrol, The Criminal Code, and Tiger Shark. (LeVasseur)

One of his most influential films, made in 1932, is Scarface which went on to define a standard in the gangster film genre. (LeVasseur)

Hawks was known to help jump-start careers for major Hollywood stars. He gave Rita Hayworth a supporting role in his film Only Angels Have Wings and helped Lauren Bacall get her start in Hollywood by pairing her up with Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not, before they went on to play opposite each other in The Big Sleep. He helped to launch Marilyn Monroe’s acting career in the ‘50s with the comedy Monkey Business and the musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes. (LeVasseur)

Hawks also made some well-known westerns. He directed John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River and later again included Wayne in the well-known Rio Bravo. He began to slow his filmmaking in the ‘60s, and it wasn’t until 1974 when he received his first Oscar, honorary, before he died in Palm Springs, CA, in 1977. (LeVasseur)

Works Cited

Boxwell, David. “Howard Hawks.” Senses of Cinema. Issue 58. 21 May, 2002.

            < http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/hawks/>

LeVasseur, Andrea. “Howard Hawks.” The New York Times. Movies & TV.

            < http://movies.nytimes.com/person/93764/Howard-Hawks/biography>

Background on Bogart

Humphrey Deforest Bogart was born on December 25, 1889. There is some speculation out there that his real birthday was earlier that year, but that changing it to Christmas Day would increase the sense that he was a good guy. Regardless, most biographies that I came across, including the official Humphrey Bogart website maintains that his birthday is Christmas day.

He grew up in New York, New York with his father Belmont Deforest Humphrey, a doctor, and his mother Maude, a portrait artist. He had two younger sisters, and the family lived very comfortably.

During the end of World War One he joined the navy. It is here that many believe he received his well known scar on the right side of his upper lip. It was said that he was escorting an angry prisoner who attacked him and ripped his lip open. It is now a kind of iconic marker for Humphrey, and is believed to also be the incident in which his lisp resulted from.

In his career, Bogart appeared in more than 80 films. His journey to stardom began with experience on stage. In 1920 he was offered a job by the father of well-known stage actress, Alice Brady. He became a company manager, and was soon involved in acting. He began to rise in the field when his performance in The Petrified Forest was well received.

When the plays success ultimately inspired a movie version, Warner Bros. eventually hired him for the part through the persistence of actress Leslie Howard. This contract moved him to Hollywood where he made 12 films with Warner Bros. before he accepted the role as Sam Space in the Maltese Falcon in 1941. His popularity rose from there and he next appeared in Casablanca in 1942 in his first real romantic lead role. This role also vaulted him to the position of the highest paid actor in Hollywood as he made 460,000 a year by 1946.

Humphrey’s impact on American movie culture seems to be profound according to commentary after his death and even today. Terry Teachout, a drama critic for the Wallstreet Journal, said of Bogart,

“Of all the male actors of the studio era, Humphrey Bogart is one of the very few who still has a central place in American popular culture (though John Wayne and James Stewart come close). His raspy, lisping voice and bony face, which conformed to no known standard of masculine beauty, were easy to imitate but impossible to duplicate, as successive generations of Bogart impersonators have learned to their sorrow.”

I found this profound, because outside of multiple marriages, there is not a lot of controversy surrounding Bogart. It seems his popularity is tied to his personality and his acting, which is a different cultural marker than today’s celebrity. He did not make himself ridiculous to gain popularity.

It actually seems his image stemmed from his ability to come across, successfully, as multiple character types. Commentary on Bogart remarked on his aloofness to the Hollywood grandeur that actors can be caught up in, but conversely his commitment to his performance and the authenticity of his characters.

Teachout also talks about his ability to be successful as a mature character. He referenced Brad Pit and Leonardo DiCaprio as popular modern actors who struggle to consistently garner roles that do not involve crazy antics or a boyish nature. Perhaps that is not just the actors fault, as much as it may be the fault of the culture that movies can reflect, but there is an obvious distinction among critics of how masculinity has evolved through the years.

Bogart died on January 14, 1957 after a struggle with throat cancer.

His only academy award came from his work in The African Queen with Katherine Hepburn.

In 1999 the American Film Institute rated Bogart as the Greatest American Male Star in the history of American cinema.

Marriages:

Helen Menken (m. 1926 – d.1927)
Mary Philips (m.1928 – d. 1937)
Mayo Methot (m. 1938 – d. 1945)
Betty Joan Perske a.k.a. Lauren Bacall (m.1945 – w.1957 )

Children: (Bacall) Stephen and Leslie



Filmography:

The 1950s
1956 - The Harder They Fall (Eddie Willis)
1955 - We're No Angels (Joseph)
1955 - The Desperate Hours (Glenn Griffin)
1955 - The Left Hand of God (Jim Carmody)
1954 - The Barefoot Contessa (Harry Dawes)
1954 - Sabrina (Linus Larrabee)
1954 - The Caine Mutiny (Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg)
1953 - Beat the Devil (Billy Dannreuther)
1953 - Battle Circus (Maj. Jed Webbe)
1952 - Deadline - U.S.A. (Ed Hutcheson, Managing Editor of The Day)
1951 - The African Queen (Charlie Allnut)
1951 - Sirocco (Harry Smith)
1951 - The Enforcer (Dist. Atty. Martin Ferguson)
1950 - Chain Lightning (Lt. Col. Matt Brennan)
1950 - In a Lonely Place (Dixon Steele)

The 1940s
1949 - Tokyo Joe (Joe Barrett)
1949 - Knock on Any Door (Andrew Morton)
1948 - Key Largo (Frank McCloud)
1948 - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Fred C. Dobbs)
1947 - Dark Passage (Vincent Parry)
1947 - The Two Mrs. Carrolls (Geoffrey Carroll)
1947 - Dead Reckoning (Captain Warren 'Rip' Murdock)
1946 - The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe)
1945 - Conflict (Richard Mason)
1944 - To Have and Have Not (Harry Morgan/Steve)
1944 - Passage to Marseille (Jean Matrac)
1943 - Sahara (Sgt. Joe Gunn)
1943 - Action in the North Atlantic (Lt. Joe Rossi)
1942 - The Big Shot (Joseph 'Duke' Berne)
1942 - Casablanca (Rick Blaine)
1942 - Across the Pacific (Rick Leland)
1942 - In This Our Life (Uncredited cameo appearance as Roadhouse owner)
1942 - All Through the Night (Alfred 'Gloves' Donahue)
1941 - The Maltese Falcon (Sam Spade)
1941 - The Wagons Roll at Night (Nick Coster)
1941 - High Sierra (Roy 'Mad Dog' Earle)
1940 - They Drive by Night (Paul Fabrini)
1940 - Brother Orchid (Jack Buck)
1940 - It All Came True (Chips Maguire/Mr. Grasselli)
1940 - Virginia City (John Murrell)

The 1930s
1939 - Invisible Stripes (Chuck Martin)
1939 - The Return of Doctor X (Marshall Quesne)
1939 - The Roaring Twenties (George Hally)
1939 - The Old Maid (Clem Spender, replaced by George Brent, uncredited)
1939 - You Can't Get Away with Murder (Frank Wilson)
1939 - Dark Victory (Michael O'Leary)
1939 - The Oklahoma Kid (Whip McCord)
1939 - King of the Underworld (Joe Gurney)
1938 - Angels with Dirty Faces (James Frazier)
1938 - The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse ('Rocks' Valentine)
1938 - Men Are Such Fools (Harry Galleon)
1938 - Racket Busters (John 'Czar' Martin)
1938 - Crime School (Deputy Comm Mark Braden)
1938 - Swing Your Lady (Ed Hatch)
1937 - Stand-In (Doug Quintain)
1937 - Dead End (Baby Face Martin)
1937 - San Quentin (Joe 'Red' Kennedy)
1937 - Kid Galahad (Turkey Morgan)
1937 - Marked Woman (David Graham)
1937 - The Great O'Malley (John Phillips)
1937 - Black Legion (Frank Taylor)
1936 - Isle of Fury (Valentine 'Val' Stevens)
1936 - China Clipper (Hap Stuart)
1936 - Two Against the World (Sherry Scott)
1936 - Bullets or Ballots (Nick 'Bugs' Fenner)
1936 - The Petrified Forest (Duke Mantee)
1934 - Midnight (Gar Boni)
1932 - Three on a Match (Harve, Ace's henchman)
1932 - Big City Blues (Shep Adkins, uncredited)
1932 - Love Affair (Jim Leonard)
1931 - A Holy Terror (Steve Nash)
1931 - Women of All Nations (Stone)
1931 - The Bad Sister (Valentine Corliss)
1931 - Body and Soul (Jim Watson)
1930 - A Devil with Women (Tom Standish)
1930 - Up the River (Steve)

The 1920s1920 -
Life (uncredited Bit Part)




Works Cited
"Biography." The Official Humphrey Bogart Website. Web. 14 May 2011.
.

Teachout, Terry. "Humphrey Bogart, Grown-Up." Commentary 131.4 (2011): 67-70. Print.

Roy, Liebman. "Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart." Library Journal 135.19 (2010). Print.

Trice and Holland, Heroes, Antiheroes, and Dolts

It’s virtue is a clear organization of masculine cinematic personae, though in many instances the virtue looks more like the vice of oversimplification (as later chapters more or less admit).  Nevertheless, it does offer an example of how we might analyze male actors and their personae in connection with  social and cultural definitions of American masculinity.

For our first three films, read Part I: In the Beginning, an attempt at defining a sort of baseline Hollywood masculinity (Gone With The Wind; Wizard of Oz[need to read it to get it]) and Part II: Heroes, a view of how World War II shifted definitions of masculinity.  Watch for some glaring revelations that the authors are not as up on film history as on psychological interpretations of American society.

Where is Cinema Center?

View Larger Map

Cinema Center & IPFW present Hollywood's Leading Men

All shows are at 7:30 & are FREE & open to the public!

 Cinema Center, 437 East Berry, Fort Wayne, IN.  Our Panels will begin at 7pm, and the film will begin around 7.30pm.

Film Schedule

May     17 Hawks, Big Sleep
            19 Cukor, Philadelphia Story

24 Capra, Mr Smith Goes to Washington

26 Hitchcock, North by Northwest

31 Hitchcock, Vertigo

June    2   Midterm

7 Eastwood, Play Misty For Me

9 Nair, Mississippi Masala

14 Eastwood Bridges of Madison County

16 Demme, Philadelphia

21 Gilliam, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

23  Final

The Ones We Missed

Inevitably, we will miss some leads that might leap to mind in a course named Hollywood Leading Men.  Sadly, we don’t have room for everyone, some who you might prefer even.  To acknowledge those figures who might have been included, but who were not, I’ll name a few.  In another course, we should undoubtedly include Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Burt Reynolds, and Charles Bronson.   Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster, William Holden. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson

Montgomery Cliff, Marlon Brando
Sidney Poitier, Buster Crabbe, Pat Morita
Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Spencer Tracy
Gregory Peck, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin
Jack Nicholson, Hector Elizondo, Peter Falk
Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Paul Rubens
Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Chow Yun Fat, Harvey Keitel
Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vin Diesel
Nicholas Cage, Jackie Chan, James Garner, Mel Gibson, Martin Lawrence
Jay Silverheels, Forrest Tucker, Ed Ames, Gene Hackman
David Carradine, Keye Luke, Danny Glover, Freddie Prinze, Sr.
Edward Olmos, Clark Gable

This goes on (somewhat stretched), but obviously this is a big topic. Please add actors I’ve missed in the comments.