ROBERT WISE: THE MOTION PICTURES

ROBERT WISE: THE MOTION PICTURES. J. R. Jordan. Newly Revised and Updated. BearManor; 2020.

Although Hitchcock, John Ford, Billy Wilder and William Wyler, among others, may get the lion's share of the attention and critical kudos, the fact remains that Robert Wise was not only a solid and highly-skilled director who worked in many genres, but the architect of many successful and famous motion pictures. Beginning as an editor -- Wise worked on Welles' Citizen Kane and Magnificent Ambersons, among others -- his first professional directorial credit was for producer Val Lewton's Curse of the Cat People. (He returned to the horror genre with The Body Snatchers and the marvelous Haunting). Although today Wise is probably best remembered for directing the box office blockbusters The Sound of Music and West Side Story, in his younger days he helmed such gritty film noir-type pictures as Born to Kill, Odds Against Tomorrow and The Set-Up. Wise also did two major science fiction films, The Day the Earth Stood Still and The Andromeda Strain. He also helmed Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the unfortunate Star!, among others. Some of his other notable films include Three Secrets and Tribute to a Bad Man, and there was the very occasional stinker, such as Executive Suite.

J. R. Jordan's well-written tome finally gives Wise his due with an illustrated book that covers all of his motion pictures. Each essay gives a background to the film, why Wise chose the project, his working methods on the set, synopses, important highlights of each picture, and lengthy quotes from people, including crew and cast members, who worked with Wise. Aside from one man who claims Wise was unsympathetic when he was injured on the set, everyone's recollections are positive. Wise was no martinet, a la Otto Preminger, but a reasonable and well-adjusted craftsman and artist who didn't need to scream at or belittle people to get what he wanted from them. Like Hitchcock, he was always fully prepared for each scene, choose his actors with great care, and only gave them direction when it was required. Wise left behind an impressive body of work and this well-researched tome will remind readers of the director's long and distinguished career. This is by no means a gossipy book, but Janette Scott's comments on Rossana Podesta when they were working together on Helen of Troy are amusing.

 Verdict: For Wise fans and film enthusiasts in general. ***1/2.

Addendum
The book is dedicated to the author's father. Joseph C. Jordan Jr. suddenly passed a short time following the publication of this article. In Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures the author wrote, "Those I interviewed for this book generally described Robert Wise as noble, patient, validating, and a class act. Such words, in short, apply to Dad."

Mr. Jordan's wife, Rosetta, preceded him in death by 37 years (see photo). He missed her terribly and never remarried. The author was fortunately afforded the opportunity to be at his father's bedside on the day of the passing. Prior to the moment of death, the author faced his father and said, "This is a special day. You're going to be with Mom again." Mr. Jordan's face lit up, as his excitement was clearly apparent. He passed a short time later.

VAL LEWTON: MAN IN THE SHADOWS

VAL LEWTON: MAN IN THE SHADOWS (2008). Writer/director: Kent Jones. Narrated by Martin Scorsese.

Turner Classic Movies presented this interesting, informative look at the life and work of the producer and writer Val Lewton, who is best-known for a series of moody, low-budget, yet elegant horror films from the 1940's. Lewton published several novels and works of non-fiction before entering the movie business, and he tried to make tasteful films that were often given highly exploitative titles such as I Walked with a Zombie. He tried other genres in later days but these films failed to make much of an impression. Like many documentaries of this nature, the film tries a bit too hard to convince us of Lewton's genuis, and some of the film scholars who talk about him are pretentious to the extreme. They also ignore the fact that if Lewton's films worked it wasn't due to his influence alone -- he worked with highly gifted cinematographers and directors such as Jacques Tourneur. (Tourneur directed one of the finest horror films ever made, Curse of the Demon, in 1958, and Lewton had nothing to do with it, although it could be argued that it was influenced by the Lewton style, which did seem to pervade a film regardless of the director.) Some of Lewton's films still hold up quite well, while others are vastly over-rated, but his work remains interesting and watchable. Talking about him as if he were on a par with Hitchcock, however, is seriously over-stating the matter.

Verdict: Holds the attention. ***.

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943). Director: Jacques Tourneur.

One of the better-known horror films produced by Val Lewton, this is typically tasteful, moody and interesting, if it never quite jells. Although Lewton is said to have appropriated the plot of Jane Eyre for the movie -- and there are plot similarities -- this is really nothing like Jane Eyre (the first film version with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles, with a score by Bernard Herrmann, is far superior to this, for one thing). Frances Dee comes to Haiti to care for Jessica Holland, who acts as if she's been lobotomized but supposedly suffers from the disastrous effects of a fever. Dee learns that there is bad blood between her husband Paul (Tom Conway) and his half brother Wesley (James Ellison) because Jessica and Wesley had been planning on running away together. Conway is supposed to be such a fine man -- and Jessica a viper -- but we never really get to learn her side of things, and Paul -- although Conway's performance is good -- never seems like that nice a fellow. Dee is fine, but James Ellison is a little too lightweight to convincingly get across Wesley's torment over the sad fate of the woman he illicitly loved. Edith Barrett (one of the wives of Vincent Price) nearly steals the picture as Wesley and Paul's mother. There is some very interesting dialogue in Curt Siodmak's screenplay, such as when Conway tells Dee that most of the inhabitants of St. Sebastian were brought over in slave ships and had miserable lives. Which is why they "weep when a child is born and make merry at a funeral." The atmospheric photography is by J. Roy Hunt. Of the African-American cast members, Theresa Harris as the maid, Alma, and calypso singer Sir Lancelot, make the best impression, while Darby Jones certainly has a memorably eerie look as the purported "zombie" Carrefour. There is much to admire in I Walked with a Zombie, but if you're not tuned into its charms, you're liable to think it's much ado about nothing.

Verdict: Okay, but give Jane Eyre a try, too. **1/2.