WILD RIVER

WILD RIVER (1960). Director: Elia Kazan.

Chuck Glover (Montgomery Clift), a representative of the Tennessee Valley Authority, tries to persuade an elderly woman, Ella Garth (Jo Van Fleet), that she must leave her home before the whole area is flooded to make a damn for electric power, as well as to tame a river that has taken many lives. (A very affecting prologue presents what appears to be actual newsreel footage of a heart-broken man telling how most of his family was swept away by flood waters.) But Ella is very eloquent about what the land means to her, and why she is adamant about dying in her home. In the meantime Glover begins a romance with the old lady's grand-daughter, Carol (Lee Remick), and has to deal with racists who object to his hiring black workers and paying them a decent wage. This is another interesting social drama by Elia Kazan, imperfect and not always riveting, but bolstered by fine acting and photography. The secondary love story between Chuck and Carol isn't that compelling, even though Remick gives a lovely performance and Clift, as ever, is solid. Van Fleet, who was actually only 46 when the film came out, is simply superb as Ella Garth, and as others have noted, it's a shame that she wasn't even nominated for an Oscar.

Verdict: Worth viewing for an outstanding Van Fleet. ***.

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS

Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty

SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961). Director: Elia Kazan. Original screenplay by William Inge.

In 1928 Kansas high school students Wilma Loomis (Natalie Wood) and Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty) are a couple, although they come from opposite sides of the tracks. Bud's father is a wealthy brewer while Wilma's family is of more modest means. Bud's hormones are really kicking in, but he knows Wilma is not the kind of girl who would want to go "all the way." Wilma's mother (Audrey Christie) assures her daughter that sex is just something that women "have to put up with." Bud's father (Pat Hingle) suggests that he get , in essence, a "bad girl" to satisfy him while continuing his relationship with Wilma, but instead Bud thinks it's best to break things off with Wilma -- this decision has unfortunate consequences.

Pat Hingle and Warren Beatty

I have to confess that when I was finished watching Splendor I had to wonder why it is so acclaimed. I think the main reason is that the film has a great, well-played and moving ending that sent moviegoers home happy. It's just that the rest of the film is well ... odd. I must say Natalie Wood gives a very good performance, although I'm not certain she quite gets across the emotional fragility of the character which might explain some of the things that happen to her. In his first film role, Beatty is acceptable, but he's too old for the part -- he was 24 at the time of filming -- and while good-looking enough, in some shots he just looks weird. I found Audrey Christie merely annoying as Wood's mother, although Hingle was better as Beatty's dad. One of the worst-played scenes in the movie is a scene in an alley when Beatty is shown his father's corpse.

William Inge

There are some good supporting performances in the film: Barbara Loden as Bud's free-wheelin' sister, Virginia; the ever-strange Zohra Lampert as a waitress Bud meets in college (going from Wood to Lampert is sort of like going from the sublime to the ridiculous!); the even-stranger Sandy Dennis as a classmate of Wilma's; Gary Lockwood [The Magic Sword] as a handsome boy who goes out on a date with Wilma with unfortunate results; Jan Norris as "bad girl" Juanita; Joanna Roos as Bud's somewhat overwhelmed and neglected mother; Charles Robinson [Brotherhood of Satan] as Wilma's more-than-friend, Johnny; and others. William Inge, whose screenplay was not based on one of his stage works, even appears briefly as a minister -- a former actor, he's fine. Of all people, Phyllis Diller [The Fat Spy] shows up in a New Year's Eve scene as Texas Guinan, making tasteless jokes about the stock market crash suicides.

From the sublime to the ridiculous? Zohra Lampert

Splendor is mostly about S-E-X, but it's also about romantic longing and the hatred that children often feel for their own parents. I'm not certain that, when all is said and done, Inge was able to lift the movie that much above the soap opera level, as some of the characters are stereotypes and not as well-developed as they could have been. A self-hating homosexual in real life -- one can't call him gay as he was not self-accepting -- Inge nevertheless understood the universality of romantic and sexual feelings just as his contemporary Tennessee Williams did. NOTE: The title comes from a Wordsworth poem.

Verdict: Some lovely things in this movie, yet ... **1/2. 

PINKY

Jeanne Crain, William Lundigan

PINKY (1949). Director: Elia Kazan,

"Of course I'm in pain! Do you think I'll die in ease and ecstasy? -- Miss Em

You can't live without pride." -- Pinky

Patricia (Jeanne Crain of In the Meantime, Darling), who has been affectionately known as "Pinky" all of her life, looks like a white woman but is actually a "Negro." After being educated, getting a nursing degree, and becoming engaged to the white Dr. Adams (William Lundigan), she has returned home to see her grandmother, Dicey (Ethel Waters).

Ethel Barrymore as ailing Miss Em

Dicey is good friends with Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore), a once-wealthy woman who lives in a mansion not far from Dicey's much more humble dwelling. Pinky is resentful of Miss Em, and at first resists her grandmother's insistence that she temporarily become a nurse for the ailing old lady. But as the two women take measure of each other, they each earn the other one's respect. Pinky's fiancee shows up and learns the truth, and it all leads to a court battle over an estate that Pinky feels is rightfully hers. But will a "Negro" ever have the same rights accorded to a white person, and can Pinky and Dr. Adams have a real future together?

Ethel Waters, Frederick O'Neal, Crain

For 1949, Pinky was certainly ahead of its time. Although any other type of ending may well have been impossible given attitudes at the time toward interracial relationships, the movie takes a woman who tries to live as white and ultimately gives her true strength, pride and dignity. One could quibble about some aspects of the story and some of the negative if human black characters, but the fact that Pinky still manages to say what it does in the late forties is remarkable. There is also first-class cinematography from Joe MacDonald, and a nice score from Alfred Newman. And then there are the performances.

Ethel Waters and Ethel Barrymore were both nominated for a supporting actress Oscar and they deserved to be; they are both superb. Jeanne Crain was also nominated for Best Actress, but I found her performance to be uneven. She has some terrific moments, true, but in other sequences she just seems to be speaking lines with little true feeling behind them. Frederick O'Neal makes his mark as Jake, as does Nina Mae McKinney [Dark Waters] as his girlfriend, Rozelia. Evelyn Varden [Hilda Crane] is a stand-out as Melba, the nasty and racist cousin of Miss Em's, and there is notable work from Griff Barnett, Basil Ruysdael., and Kenny Washington in smaller but important roles. William Lundigan is fine in a thankless part that doesn't give him enough to do.

Pinky is a contrast to Band of Angels, which came out eight years later and also has a black heroine passing for white. Angels has an entirely different ending that is more "romantic" but also takes a giant step backwards when it comes to black pride.

Verdict: Superior drama with something to say. ***1/2. 

EAST OF EDEN

EAST OF EDEN (1955). Director: Elia Kazan.

"You kept on forgiving us, but you never really loved us."

"It's awful not to be loved. It's the worst thing in the world."

In  1917 Monterey, Adam Trask (Raymond Massey), with his sons Caleb (James Dean) and Aron (Richard Davalos), try to make a killing with lettuce kept fresh with ice, but they have bigger problems than hoping this new business will succeed. Aron has always planned to marry Abra (Julie Harris), but there is a growing attraction between her and Cal, who never feels he had his father's love. In the meantime Cal discovers that his supposedly dead mother, Kate (Jo Van Fleet) is actually running a brothel not too far away, something his brother is unaware of. Then there are tensions created by the advent of WW1, and Aron's initial decision to stay out of the fighting. First of all, anyone expecting a literal transcription of John Steinbeck's novelistic take on Cain and Abel must look elsewhere, because this movie only concerns a portion of a very long book, and it makes changes to the plot and characterizations. Taken on it's own terms, however, East of Eden is still a masterpiece, with a wonderful, committed cast, fine direction from Kazan, high-grade cinematography from Ted McCord, and an interesting score by Leonard Rosenman. Whatever impression Dean may have made off-screen, the camera certainly loves him, and this movie probably showcases his mystique the best of his three movies; he is excellent. Although Dean got the lion's share of the attention, Davalos is also compelling as his brother, and there is also some fine work from Van Fleet, Harris and Massey. Burl Ives and Albert Dekker have significant roles and are also good, as is Barbara Baxley as an unpleasant nurse who shows up late in the picture. Yes, there are scenes that are too stagy, dialogue that is too obvious [Dekker unnecessarily bringing up Cain and Abel, as if the audience is too stupid to get it], but the picture is totally absorbing and has a deeply moving wind-up.

Verdict: Hollywood at its best. ****.

AMERICA, AMERICA

AMERICA, AMERICA (1963). Director: Elia Kazan.

"One of Elia Kazan's most personal films arrives on DVD Feburary 8th from Warner Home Video. Exploring his family's cultural heritage and honoring the dreams that brought European immigrants pouring into America at the turn of the century, Kazan's America, America is a powerful and turbulent story of struggle through the journey to freedom, filled with passion, drama and personal strife. This is the first time the film will be available as a DVD single,"

*Academy Award: "Best Art Direction [Gene Callahan]."
*Academy Award: "Set decoration, black and white."
Also nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.

*Golden Globe: "Best Director."
*Golden Globe: "Most Promising Newcomer Male."

Eliza Kazan is recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Oscar. America, America was inspired by the life of his uncle.

NOTE: A review of this film will be posted shortly. The DVD can be bought here.

BOOMERANG

BOOMERANG (1947). Director: Elia Kazan.

A minister in a small town in Connecticut is shot in the back of the head and killed in broad daylight. A lot of pressure is put on the police chief (Lee J. Cobb) to make an arrest, but suspects are in short supply until witnesses identify a serviceman named John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy). Complicating matters is the fact that there are unethical political forces in town, some of which need for Waldron to be convicted, and others who want him to get off even if he's guilty. Prosecuting attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) is prepared to try the case, but he has nagging doubts about the man's guilt. In a bizarre twist in the courtroom during a preliminary hearing, Harvey tears apart his own arguments and re-interviews the witnesses. But is Waldron really innocent?

Boomerang begins slowly, with the documentary approach being a mite talky and dull, but eventually it becomes quite absorbing. There are some highly interesting situations in the film, but it's probably the acting that puts it over. Under Kazan's guidance, Dana Andrews gives one of his best performances. Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Jane Wyatt, (as Mrs. Harvey) and Sam Levene, are all solid. Ed Begley nearly steals the picture as the chicanerous Paul Harris, and Cara Williams has a notable small role as a waitress who insists she saw Waldron not far from where the minister was murdered. George Petrie, who appeared with Jackie Gleason in many episodes of The Honeymooners, scores as the pubic defender, Harry O'Shea.

Verdict: Suspenseful and intriguing. ***.

ON THE WATERFRONT

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954). Director: Elia Kazan.

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), a once-promising boxer, is (somewhat) innocently involved in the death of a young man who dared to speak out against mob control of the waterfront union. Confused and guilty, he begins a relationship with the man's grieving sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint). Wanting to do the right thing but not wanting to go up against the brother he loves (Rod Steiger), Terry struggles to decide whether or not to testify against crooked boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), knowing it may destroy his brother (who in a sense destroyed Terry's life) and himself in the process. This is a trenchant study of good versus evil -- with shades of gray -- and features many excellent performances. Brando may not be to everyone's taste, but he gives an undeniably expert performance in this. Eve Marie Saint, who was introduced in this film, is lovely and affecting and totally believable as Edie. The other cast members are also very effective, especially Pat Henning as "Kayo" Dugan. Strong, unsentimental script by Budd Schulberg (one possible flaw -- we never get to know much about the man whose death precipitates the story. Also Karl Malden's priest character, while well-played, is perhaps too stereotypically saintly to be believed.) Strikingly photographed by Boris Kaufman and expertly directed by Kazan. Interesting score by Leonard Bernstein. Brando's "I coulda been a contender" speech to his brother remains one of the best sequences in the movie. Highly influential on many subsequent movies, including Raging Bull, which is nowhere near as good.

Verdict: A masterpiece. ***1/2.