ALL MY SONS

Burt Lancaster and Edward G. Robinson

ALL MY SONS (1948). Director: Irving Reis. Based on the play by Arthur Miller.

Industrialist Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson) was acquitted of deliberately selling defective plane parts to the army during WW2, but his partner, Herb Deever (Frank Conroy), wound up in jail.  21 planes crashed, killing the pilots and crews, because of the faulty parts. Now Deever's daughter, Ann (Louisa Horton), is engaged to Keller's son, Chris (Burt Lancaster). Adding to the awkwardness of the situation is the fact that Ann used to be engaged to Chris' late brother, who died fighting overseas, a fact which his mother, Kate (Mady Christians), refuses to acknowledge. Into this gathering comes Ann's angry brother, George (Howard Duff), who believes that Joe is the true guilty party and let his own father take the fall. With so much at stake Chris confronts first Herb and then Joe, but what he finds out may not be at all to his liking. And then there's a letter written to Ann from Chris' brother overseas just before his death ... 

Lancaster, Horton, Fraser, Morgan

All My Sons is a powerful, well-written and well-acted drama of the kind you rarely see these days. An outstanding Edward G. Robinson heads the cast and etches a strong portrait of a man who just doesn't get it until he finally does. The other cast members, including Lancaster, are all impressive as well. The supporting cast includes Arlene Francis and Lloyd Hough as one set of neighbors and Elisabeth Fraser and Harry Morgan as another; these are also interesting characters even if their appearances are brief. Howard Duff is a pleasant surprise as George, a sad figure who only felt truly at home when he was with the Kellers and now must cut himself off from them forever. Louisa Horton, who was married to George Roy Hill for twenty years, debuted in this film and years later appeared in Alice, Sweet, Alice. Helen Brown has a nice bit as an alcoholic woman whose husband died, and who confronts Joe in a restaurant and calls him a murderer. Despite being opened up in an intelligent fashion, the film is at times stagey, with some wrong choices in line readings and the like, but mostly this is a superior and memorable drama. 

Verdict: Fascinating situations explored in depth and with compassion. ***1/4. 

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

Confused triangle: Vallone, Sorel and Lawrence

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (aka Vu du pont/1962). Director: Sidney Lumet.

NOTE: This review discusses important plot points. Eddie Carbone (Raf Vallone of The Other Side of Midnight), his wife Beatrice (Maureen Stapleton of Interiors), and their niece Catherine (Carol Lawrence) live together near the shipyards in Brooklyn. They take into their home two illegal immigrants, Marco (Raymond Pellegrin), who is older and married, and handsome young Rodolpho (Jean Sorel), who is immediately attracted to Catherine and vice versa. This doesn't sit well with Eddie, who has not slept with his wife in months, and who seems to be obsessed with his pretty niece. Eddie never misses an opportunity to cast doubt on Rodolpho's sexuality because he sings, has blond hair, and other ludicrous reasons, but primarily because he sees him as his rival -- or perhaps is attracted to him and must belittle him in classic closet case fashion. It all culminates in a scene when Eddie first kisses Catherine full on the lips, and then does the same to Rodolpho in a supposed attempt to expose his homosexuality [talk about doing things backwards!] And things become even more melodramatic after that... The main strength of this adaptation of Arthur Miller's play is the acting, which is excellent across the board, especially the performances of a passionate Vallone, sympathetic Stapleton, and lovely, confused Lawrence. Unfortunately, it's all a trifle over-baked and coy at the same time, a combination that doesn't work. The double-kiss probably played on the stage, but it's much more of a dramatic device than anything you can take seriously, almost the stuff of soap opera. Since it's hard to believe that this "macho" guy would want to give a hard smack to Rodolpho's lips if he were really straight, critics ever since have speculated on the possibility that Eddie is a repressed homosexual [and indeed with his homophobia and other acts one can see how it could be interpreted that way]. Was Miller afraid to tackle the subject head on when he wrote the play in the fifties, leaving that sort of thing to Tennessee Williams (who probably would have made a better play out of View) and using Catherine as a "beard?" The ambiguity gives the whole movie a dated air, although it does have some powerful moments.

Verdict: Interesting, with a wonderful lead performance, but just misses being really special. ***.