Today being Ronald Colman day on TCM’s Summer Under the Stars schedule, I was so pleased to see that Random Harvest had been scheduled for the primetime slot. One of the greatest screen romances and nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1942, this is one of my all-time favorite movies.
A brief speed-through of the (rather complicated) plot: The story is of Paula (Greer Garson), a chorus girl who befriends a shell-shocked army veteran (Ronald Coleman) who has lost his memory. The man calls himself “John Smith” or “Smitty,” though he knows that is not his real name. Paula and Smitty become great friends, ultimately falling in love and getting married. Smitty’s condition improves and he finds work, and after Paula gives birth to their child, a boy, he goes off to an interview. He is hit by a taxi on the way and the shock reverses him back to his old self–his life with Paula is completely erased from his memory. He returns to his original life and family, and becomes a successful businessman named Charles Rainier, taking over the family company. By this time Paula has lost her son, and having searched for Smitty for many years, she finds his picture in the newspaper as Charles Rainier. Under the name of Margaret, she goes to work as his secretary, hoping to jog his memory. He does not remember her, and she does not tell him of her true identity. She constantly drops clues about his identity, but to no avail–the memories do not come back. Eventually Charles goes into politics, and proposes to Margaret. She accepts. As they build (or rebuild) a life together and Charles’ political life flourishes, Margaret tells Charles about her life before him–not revealing that the man she lost was him. He tells Margaret of the past he doesn’t remember, and hopes that their marriage can help heal their heartbreak. Margaret finally can’t take it anymore and goes on a vacation–visiting the little cottage in Liverpool that she and Smitty inhabited when they were married. Charles is called to handle a strike in Liverpool, and when he goes to mediate, the surroundings trigger memories in him. His life as Smitty slowly comes back, and he makes his way to the cottage, he and Margaret/Paula meet–and Smitty’s memory comes back. The film ends with Smitty yelling “Paula!” and a passionate embrace.
It is a beautifully done film in all respects. Despite its intense romantic tone, the plot is pretty believable (and probably even more so to 1942 audiences, who were accustomed to hearing about shell-shock victims) and we really identify with and feel for the characters. Greer Garson is magnificent, as is Ronald Colman. I must say that there is really something about Greer Garson in black and white. We all love seeing her flaming red hair in the color movies she made, but her lovely chiseled features are better accentuated in black and white and I actually prefer her in films like Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest rather than her color films. She is certainly a stunningly beautiful woman, and the softness of the photography in Random Harvest really serves her well. Not to mention, of course, the quality of the material shows us her tremendous skill as an actress. Both she and Ronald Colman were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances, in addition to 6 other nominations for the film:
Best Picture
Best Director (Mervyn LeRoy)
Best Supporting Actress (Susan Peters, for the role of Charles’ stepniece, with whom he has a love affair)
Best Screenplay
Best Music
Best Art Direction
This song, sung at the very beginning of the film, when Paula and Smitty first meet, I think is the highlight of the film:
I truly adore Random Harvest. If you haven’t had the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
Lucille Ball is Backlots’ Star of the Week, and Stage Door is one of her best and most prominent early films, not to mention one of my favorites. Here is a compilation of Lucy in the movie. Enjoy!
For the Ida Lupino blogathon over at Miss Ida Lupino, I am going to profile Devotion, a film that stars both Ida Lupino and my favorite lady Olivia de Havilland. I first saw the film last year, during TCM’s Olivia de Havilland “Summer Under the Stars” day, a day on which I had been taping every single movie that came on (I am a huge Olivia de Havilland fan). I thought it a travesty that I had never seen Devotion, so I rushed home from my summer class to see it live as it aired.
The film concerns itself with the true story of the Bronte sisters–their lives, loves, and writings. As they compete with each other over the affections of Reverend Arthur Nichols, their brother is struggling desperately with alcohol and they try to save him from its ravages. Ida Lupino plays Emily Bronte, Olivia de Havilland plays Charlotte, and Nancy Coleman plays Anne, in a film that has a magnificent subject–but somehow misses its target.
Despite a brilliant cast that I have just outlined, the film itself could not be totally saved. It runs very slowly, with a plot that doesn’t really seem to know where it’s going, and the very seasoned actors seem to be lost in the material. This is a film that could have been so amazingly done, à la Wuthering Heights, but it seems as though the heart of Warner Brothers wasn’t in this one. However, I think that Lupino and de Havilland can really do no wrong, so the film is worth watching if only to see them.
Devotion is notable in being the final film that Olivia de Havilland made at Warner Brothers before her famous 1943 challenge of the studio over her contract. The film was completed in February 1943, but its release was delayed until April 1946 due to concerns over how it would be received while de Havilland’s lawsuit was pending. She won her landmark suit against the studio in a unanimous decision by the court, allowing her to leave her contract without having to serve the six months probation she had incurred while on suspension. The case is now studied by law students in classes dealing with entertainment law, and it set a precedent in the industry, indicating the first rumblings of the eradication of the studio system.
In all, Devotion is a flawed film, but it is worth seeing because of its relevance in the business and because of the pairing of two of the screen’s most radiant stars.
August 6 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of one of the foremost entertainers of the 20th century. A legend’s legend, her mark on the industry has been one of extraordinary importance. She came to be not only the face of the 1950’s and the icon for the emergence of television, but also a groundbreaker for women in comedy and in the business of entertainment production.
It would be too easy for me to talk about Lucille Ball’s contribution to comedy. Everybody already knows about “I Love Lucy” and the impact it has had on popular culture. Everybody knows what a comedic genius she was. I don’t need to bore you with that information–it is so embedded in our society that one can hardly turn on the TV without somehow being reminded of Lucy’s mark on the industry. What I want to focus on is her early and later work, that which is not so well-known and which deserves to be paid more attention to. Young Lucille Ball does not remind me of the dizzy Lucy Ricardo that we all know and love, but rather a smart, wisecracking dame–not unlike the characters Eve Arden played so brilliantly. She had a good bit of fame and popularity during her tenure at MGM, but of course that is all obscured now by her smashing success on “I Love Lucy.”
Lucille Desirée Ball was born in Jamestown, New York on August 6, 1911. Her father, Henry, died when she was 3, and Lucy claimed later in life that she always tried to be a clown, to fill the void that her father had left in her childhood. When her mother, Deedee, married again, it was to a man who was a member of the Freemasonry, and who at one point needed chorus girls for a show at his organization. 12-year-old Lucy auditioned and got the job. So began the career of Lucille Ball.
By the age of 16, Lucy was already on her way to being a legitimate performer. She attended the John Murray Anderson School of Dramatic Art in New York City, and subsequently became a fashion model. Her modeling work led to a job on Broadway, and despite a rocky start, she headed to Los Angeles and managed to get herself some B pictures and uncredited roles at MGM. She soon became known as “Queen of the B’s.”
A brief moment as the flower lady in “Top Hat” (1935)
By the late 1930’s, Lucy was beginning to become a name in Hollywood. She co-starred with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers in the 1937 hit Stage Door, and also began a radio career that gained her further exposure. By 1940 she was costarring with Maureen O’Hara in a film entitled Dance, Girl, Dance, which showcased not only her tremendous acting talent, but also her ability as a dancer and entertainer.
Dancing the hula in Dance, Girl, Dance.
The film led her to another milestone in her life. Maureen O’Hara writes in her book, ‘Tis Herself:
“While we were in line getting lunch, Lucille started complaining about her next movie, a musical called Too Many Girls. She was worried about it because her new leading man was a younger actor who had never been in front of a movie camera. She called him ‘That Cuban–Desi Arnaz.’….Just as I was telling her how talented and gorgeous he was, Desi walked into the commissary with his agent, Doc Bender. I whispered to Lucille ‘But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself.’ Lucille followed my eyes and I could almost hear the bells ringing in her head. The first words Lucille uttered when seeing Desi for the first time were ‘Oh my God.’ It was love at first sight for her.”
Lucy and Desi Arnaz married in 1940, and in 1948, Lucy was cast as the wacky wife in a radio series known as “My Favorite Husband.” Noting the newly emerging television medium, Lucy and Desi expressed interest in adapting the series for television. After a good deal of skepticism on the part of network executives, Lucy and Desi formed Desilu, their own production company, to launch their efforts in 1950.”I Love Lucy” finally premiered on October 15, 1951.
I read a ratings study once that said that when”I Love Lucy”was on TV, so many people were glued to their television screens that the levels on the water towers all across the country essentially didn’t move. As soon as the commercial came on, those levels suddenly plummeted. When Lucy Ricardo was scheduled to have her baby on the show, ratings for that episode outshone the ratings of the Eisenhower inauguration, scheduled at the same time. Such was the impact of “I Love Lucy.” It broke barriers in all arenas of the entertainment industry–both social and technical. Lucille Ball became the first head of a production studio, Desi Arnaz was the first on network television to utilize the “three camera method” used for innovative shooting, and, perhaps most notably, Lucy and Ricky became television’s first interracial couple. Despite dominating the ratings for 6 years, the Ball/Arnaz marriage suffered throughout the series, and tensions between them led to the show’s deterioration. “I Love Lucy” saw its last episode on May 6, 1957, and following a short series entitled “The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour,” Lucy and Desi divorced.
Following her divorce from Desi Arnaz in 1960, Lucy embarked on a new project, “The Lucy Show,” centering around Lucy Carmichael, a character who appears to be a sort of liberated Lucy Ricardo. The show ran from 1962-1968.
Lucille Ball was known for her generosity as a performer. Here she acts with rising comedy star Carol Burnett, who plays Lucy Carmichael’s new roommate. Look how Lucy completely steps away from the spotlight, allowing Carol to take the stage and essentially take the crown as the reigning female comedic legend. Many stars have remarked on this quality, including Barbara Eden, who as a young starlet had a guest spot on “I Love Lucy.”. She writes in her book, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, that she recalls Lucy personally glamorizing the dress Eden was given to wear in the show, because she felt it wasn’t good enough for her. In all the books I’ve read, Lucy is described as being a stellar professional, always willing to put her costar first. In the years that followed “The Lucy Show” and until her death, Lucy and Carol Burnett remained very close friends.
By the 1970’s, Lucy’s health began to decline. A lifelong smoker, she developed a deep smoker’s voice that was difficult to ignore. She made a movie version of the musical Mame in 1974, but the film was panned by critics. It has now become a bit of a cult classic, and to its credit Lucy’s costar is the magnificent Bea Arthur, who had come from a Tony-winning turn in the Broadway production of Mame with Angela Lansbury.
In her last years, Lucy withdrew from public life. Her last film was a made for TV movie entitled Stone Pillow, in 1985. In 1989 she appeared at the 61st annual Academy Awards, and received a standing ovation from the members of the Academy. It was to be her last television appearance–she passed away from heart failure less than a month later.
It really is difficult to sum up exactly what Lucille Ball means to the cultural scene today. She is everywhere–from “I Love Lucy” lunchboxes to the reruns of the show in syndication, to the showings of her movies on TCM to the Lucille Ball drag queens in New York and San Francisco. She is truly woven into our culture, and I think it’s a shame that the Lucy people know is often her character Lucy Ricardo, and not the smart, wisecracking sidekick of Stage Door or Dance, Girl, Dance, or the generous performer that so many of her costars remember her to be. There was so much more to Lucy than Lucy.
I leave you with one of my all-time favorite Lucy moments, one of her three appearances on “What’s My Line.”
I just got an email informing me that Backlots has been accepted into the Classic Movie Blog Association!! I am told that it was one of only two blogs to be accepted this round. Thank you, dear readers, for your loyalty, and for your wonderful comments and contributions that make this blog what it is. I really appreciate all of you and your insight, and thanks for reading!
Last night I went to see “Mildred Pierce” at the Castro Theatre with Tony, a good friend of mine and fellow classic film lover. I had seen it on the big screen when I was in Paris, but it’s always so much fun to watch it with a huge crowd–especially at the Castro! One thing that really jumps out at me when I watch it on the big screen is just how spectacular the visuals are–the cinematography, the lighting, and the costumes. My friend Tony is a true fashion aficionado, he can tell you who made what outfit, what costume designer was at which studio during what time period, and who influenced whom in the fashion world. When I remarked on the beauty of the costumes in the middle of the movie and asked him who was the designer, I was surprised to hear that it was not a known name.
By way of a quick google search, I found out that the costume designer was named Milo Anderson, a Warner Brothers resident designer who also worked on such movies as The Adventures of Robin Hood and To Have and Have Not. Clearly he deserves more credit than he receives–the costumes in all these movies are spectacular.
The first costume that caught my eye was this one–the sort of default outfit for Mildred. She wears it during her interview at the detective’s office and at the very end of her flashback sequence, so throughout the movie we associate Mildred with this outfit. This is a medium-length fur coat with a matching hat, and a dress whose color (we can’t really tell, but I’m guessing maybe brown?) is matched by her gloves. I am not a fan of fur at all, in fact I’m very much set against it, but Joan Crawford wore a lot of it in this movie and it suits her character.
Veda first appears in this beautiful white shimmering gown with a large white flower in her hair. The color white I think is meant to be a trick on the audience–we assume she can’t have anything to do with the murder that just took place, because she’s wearing these innocent, virginal colors, and wearing them very well. Though this is not my favorite Veda outfit from the movie (the huge flower always makes me think of Billie Holiday for some reason), it is nonetheless a beautiful creation. I think it actually might be the hair that makes it work. Look at those beautiful ringlets.
The starkest contrast in this movie is Veda’s younger sister Kay, a tomboy who is forced into ballet lessons when she would rather play football and get dirty. Her costume here really shows her character, and not only her character, but also the versatility of the designer. Among all these beautiful dresses, here he is unafraid to make the little girl look like a total hillbilly.
Here is my favorite Veda costume. Look how EVERYTHING matches color-wise, and how she’s using those accessories–I’m loving that pin, and the collar, and never even mind about that glorious hat. I basically want this outfit.
Eve Arden is one of my all-time favorite character actresses, and here she is dressed up in this bizarre Hawaiian number that seems almost anachronistic. It oddly suits her character though, and when she came on the screen wearing it, the fashion-conscious Castro crowd all started murmuring to themselves about it!
Here are some more brilliant fashion moments from the movie:
I apologize, dear readers, for the lack of posting this past week, I’ve been very busy with various things and haven’t had the wherewithal to dedicate as much time to the blog as it demands. So to make up for it, as I am on a Joan Fontaine kick in the wake of the new additions to my collection, I am going to review a lovely little film called The Affairs of Susan, a jolly romp in the life of one girl with a few too many suitors.
The girl is, of course, Joan Fontaine, playing Susan, the girl men can’t really figure out. The film begins with the latest love interest of Susan’s, Richard, who wants to marry her, but it soon becomes clear that he doesn’t know the first thing about her. He learns that she has had multiple boyfriends and an ex-husband that she has never told him about, and she is still on speaking terms with them. They attend Susan and Richar’d engagement party, and we learn about her past through a series of flashbacks about her relationships, told by all her suitors, and it turns out that Susan is not an easy lady to understand!
The movie is a comedy, and after all the dramas and Hitchcock movies that Joan Fontaine made, it’s lovely to see her in something light. The suitors are played by Walter Abel (Richard), George Brent, Dennis O’Keefe and Don DeFore. Brent does a great job as Susan’s befuddled Broadway producer ex-husband, but I find the rest of them to be rather dull. How an exciting woman like Susan found anything in them, I’ll never know, but Joan Fontaine plays Susan so surprisingly well (as I mentioned before, we’re used to her in dramas, so a comedy seems a little out of place, but she has a real comic flair) that she makes us believe whatever she’s doing. I was very impressed with her in this movie.
The script is mediocre, but quite funny. In one of my favorite scenes, when George Brent first meets Susan, he thinks that she is just an aspiring actress buttering him up for a part. When Susan explains to him that she never reads newspapers, never sees plays, never goes to movies, Brent says to her “But you’d like to be a star, wouldn’t you?” Susan begins to look wistful and responds “Yes….I think I’d like to be Venus.”
All in all, this is a cute little movie that you should see if you can get your hands on it. I can’t find it on Netflix, and I’ve never seen it played on TCM, but if you’re interested, check eBay or amazon.com, there might be some collector’s copies available. I don’t think it’s released on DVD, so that probably explains Netflix. It’s really worth seeing for Joan Fontaine more than anything else!
The closing night of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival last night featured a screening of He Who Gets Slapped, a disturbing yet ultimately touching and poignant film. It stars Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, and Lon Chaney as “He,” a clown performing in an act at a Paris circus. Before he was “He,” the clown was Paul Beaumont, a brilliant scientist who was working on a theory on the origins of mankind, under the guidance and sponsorship of a rich baron. The movie begins with Paul’s joy at perfecting the theory, and he prepares to address the Academy of Sciences in defense of his theory. The baron tells him to leave everything to his guidance, and Paul trusts him with the details of his theory. At the Academy of Sciences meeting, the baron, instead of introducing Paul and his theory, instead claims the theory as his own. When Paul protests, the baron slaps him in front of the Academy, and everyone starts laughing. Utterly humiliated, Paul sobs on the shoulder of his wife when he returns home, only to find out that his wife is having an affair with the baron. She leaves him, and when he protests, slaps him just like at the Academy. It is then that Paul joins the circus as a clown, taking the name “He” and participating in a show called “He Who Gets Slapped,” where the entire act is based around him getting slapped. With each slap he relives his humiliation at the Academy and with his wife.
At the circus, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful horseback rider, Consuelo (Norma Shearer). She is in love with her partner in the act, the handsome Benzano (John Gilbert), and they often run off together and spend time making daisy chains in the field. One day, “He” spots the baron in the audience. The baron comes backstage and starts flirting with Consuelo, and “He” gets very upset. When he finds out that Consuelo’s conniving and greedy father, Count Mancini, is planning to sell her off to the baron, “He” finally approaches Consuelo about his love for her. At first she listens intently, then a smile comes across her face and she slaps him. “You dear, funny He–” the title cards read, “For a moment I thought you were serious–” “He” is heartbroken, and when the baron walks in with Count Mancini to tell Consuelo that she is to be married to him, it seemed to be the tipping point in “He”‘s already fragile mental state. He begins to pick fights with Count Mancini. After a series of events, “He” is stabbed with a sword by the Count, but ends up letting an angry lion out of its cage to devour them. After they are dead, he staggers out onstage to do his act, but Consuelo sees there is something wrong. He collapses and dies in her arms, telling her that he will be happy now because she will be happy. The very last scene is a surreal shot of the clowns on a huge globe, tossing his body off the world.
As “He” dies
The film was the very first production under the newly-formed MGM studios. Irving Thalberg, head of production at MGM (and future husband of the film’s star Norma Shearer), wanted it to have a winter release, so he opted to release other films first, but this was the first film MGM ever made. Sitting next to me at the screening was YAM Magazine‘s Marya, who was there writing on the film, and we discussed how intense of a first production it was. Considering that MGM would come to be known for its glamorous, glitzy musical pictures in the coming decades, the idea of such a heavy-hitting picture coming from MGM so early on is a bit staggering. It is full of metaphor and symbolism, and it is certainly a masterpiece of the silent era. If you can find it, I would highly recommend it.
I met Jane Powell in the summer of 2010 at the Judy Garland Festival in Minnesota. I found Jane to be an extremely elegant, very polite woman who is still just as beautiful today as she was 50 years ago. She is the definition of a lady–she sat with her legs perfectly crossed, very straight in her chair, gracious and generous with not a bad word to say about anyone. I was lucky enough to get her autograph and to spend a minute with her that evening. I treasure that moment.
I hope everyone enjoys Jane’s tributes on TCM this week! I know I will!
Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies is now available at your favorite bookseller! Click hereto order it, and visit mariondaviesbook.com for all the latest.
Backlots is devoted to honoring and celebrating all aspects of classic film and is written by Lara Gabrielle, a California-based classic film writer and historian. Lara is the author of CAPTAIN OF HER SOUL: The Life of Marion Davies (UC Press, 2022).
Here you will find pieces on frequently seen classics and some lesser-known gems, as well as book reviews, festival coverage, and pieces on the history, theory and culture of film as it relates to the study of classic cinema.
Enjoy the site, and thanks for reading!
AFFILIATIONS & AWARDS
2019 CMBA Award for Best Profile of Classic Movie Performer or Filmmaker--"The Activism of Myrna Loy"
Winner of the 2018 CiMBA Award for Best Classic Movie Series, BACKLOTS AT THE COURTHOUSE: OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND VS. FX
Winner of the 2014 CiMBA Award for Best Profile of a Classic Movie Performer or Filmmaker: A Q&A WITH JOAN FONTAINE IN HONOR OF HER 96TH BIRTHDAY
Winner of the 2011 CiMBA Award for Best Classic Movie Discussion, THE FINAL SCENE OF THE HEIRESS
I am honored to be a judge of the Animal Film Festival in Grass Valley, CA.
EVENTS
BACKLOTS ON THE WEB
Join us at the Backlot Commissary, the place for Backlots' readers to share content and discuss movies!
Walter Pidgeon and Greer Garson in "Mrs. Miniver."
_03.jpg)
Backlots 