The Beguiled (1971)

Union soldier John "McB" (Clint Eastwood) finds himself injured in Confederate territory. A young girl named Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin), is out in the forest picking mushrooms and stumbles upon him. He's near death and Amy takes pity on him and brings him back to her all girls school. The women are reluctant to help an enemy soldier but take him in anyways. At first their intent is restore his injured leg, bring him back to full health and turn him into the Confederate Army. But it's been a long war and they've been lonely. And it's nice having a handsome man around especially one as vulnerable as John. He takes advantage of their situation and starts seducing three of the women. The headmistress Martha (Geraldine Page) carries a dark secret with her and sees a dalliance with John as a way to reignite old passions. Then there is the modest Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman) who tends to John's leg and dreams of a romantic life outside the school. And then there is the more sexually aware Carol (Jo Ann Harris) who is not conflicted by her desires for an affair with the mysterious soldier and by the need to turn him into the local Confederates. Once the women discover John's true nature they turn on him. What follows is a downward spiral into what seems more like a fever dream than reality.

The Beguiled (1971) was directed by Don Siegel, produced by Clint Eastwood's production company Malpaso and distributed by Universal. It's based on Thomas Cullinan's novel published in 1966. After the movie was released Cullinan followed with two additional novels The Besieged and The Bedeviled, both Confederate Civil War era stories. The film was poorly marketed as another Eastwood action film when it was really a psychological drama. As a result it did poorly at the box office.

This film came to my attention when I heard of Sofia Coppola's new adaptation The Beguiled (2017) which releases next month. Intrigued by the film's concept, I went back to the original. And I've always been curious about Elizabeth Hartman who stars in one of my all-time favorite movies A Patch of Blue (1965) and this was a good excuse to watch more of her work.

The Beguiled is a mesmerizing movie. It's dark and unrelenting. It's fascinating to see how the dynamics of relationships change during war time. The film has some great performances by Geraldine Page and Clint Eastwood in particular. There is a feverish quality to the movie that heightens the psychological drama.

Geraldine Page and Clint Eastwood in The Beguiled (1971)

The film tests the waters of propriety in the way that many films did in the 1970s. Eastwood kisses the young Ferdin in a scene that is uncomfortable to watch. Some will see it as a kiss to keep her quiet as the Confederate soldiers march by. Others will see it as an unnecessary moment of inappropriate sexuality. There is also the them of inc-st in the movie. Martha, played by Geraldine Page, has a passionate and sexual affair with her brother who at the time of the story is missing in action and presumed dead. John discovers her secret and the audience is clued in to this with several flashback scenes. I'm curious to see if the new adaptation incorporates these scenes from the original. I also wonder if they'll do away with the slave character Hallie played by Mae Mercer. She's a strong female character who fights back but depiction of slaves on film is always problematic territory.

If you're at all interested in seeing Sofia Coppola's version of The Beguiled, I highly encourage you to try the original too. I rented the film from DVD Netflix and it's currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Below are the trailers for the 1971 and 2017 versions.

Listen to me discuss The Beguiled (1971) on the Our Friends Said They'd Listen podcast.

Dancing Lady (1933)

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford - Dancing Lady (1933)

 Richie rich Tod Newton (Franchot Tone) is out on the town with his equally wealthy friends. They're bored and looking for some amusement. They head to a burlesque show where dancers Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) and her roommate Rosette LaRue (Winne Lightner) are entertaining the crowd with their moves and a bit of stripping. The police raid the joint and the dancers are arrested. Tod and his friends, not wanting the night to end, watch the courtroom spectacle that ensues. Tod has his eye on Janie and bails her out of jail. He romances her but quickly realize he's in direct competition with her first love, dancing. With his influence and her tenacity, Janie gets a dancing part in Patch Gallagher's (Clark Gable) new show. She's conflicted by her love of dance, her affection for Patch and her sentiments towards Tod and the lavish lifestyle that comes with dating him. Not willing to compete with Janie's first love, Tod tries to sabotage her career by convincing Patch's backer to pull out of the production. Many people lose their jobs, something the wealthy Tod hadn't considered but pains Janie who understands the struggle. In the end, Patch and Janie must find a way to continue on with the show.

Dancing Lady (1933) is a backstage musical showcasing both MGM's established talent and newcomers alike. It's an experimental film in more ways than one. MGM had the rights to James Warner Bellah's novel, previously serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, and the powers that be saw an opportunity to compete with Warner Bros.'s successful 42nd Street (1933). But first they needed a star.

Joan Crawford was Louis B. Mayer and David O. Selznick's top pick for the film. She wasn't a classically trained dancer but was a known hoofer thanks to her dancing in The Hollywood Revue of 1929,  Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and Dance, Fools, Dance (1931). According to Crawford biographer Donald Spoto, Crawford was hesitant at first. She only accepted when Mayer offered her an opportunity to be a part of the story development. Even then she almost jumped ship. It wasn't until Selznick sealed the deal with some reverse psychology. He told her she wasn't right for the part saying "I think it's more Jean Harlow's style." There was no way Crawford was going to concede to letting Harlow have the part. Selznick and Mayer sweetened the pot by adding two major MGM stars, both love interests of Crawford's, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone to the film.

With their main star secured, MGM faced some difficulties with their two male leads. At first Robert Montgomery was supposed to play the part of Tod Newton but had to bow out. That's when Franchot Tone stepped in. Clark Gable got ill, either with a leg infection or an appendectomy, sources differ on what really happened, and MGM had to keep production going while the Gable was convalescing.

Joan Crawford and Fred Astaire in Dancing Lady (1933)

Then there were the newcomers. Dancing Lady served as a platform to establish some major talent. First there was Fred Astaire, the only true dancer of any significance in the film. Selznick had his eye on Astaire during his time at RKO and when he moved to MGM he brought Astaire with him. Astaire played himself in what would be his true film debut. And we all know what happened after that.

Also in the film are Ted Healy and the Three Stooges. This was before Moe, Larry and Curly broke away from Healy and became the trio we all know and love. Healy plays Patch's assistant stage manager while the Stooges are stage hands whose background gags add some levity to the film. The Stooges are poorly utilized and if you blink you might miss one of their scenes. While this wasn't their first film, it was still early days for the trio and the film helped give them the exposure they needed for their future career.

Eve Arden fans will delight seeing her in a bit part as a frustrated actress. Nelson Eddy has his first credited role playing himself. Then there is Robert Benchley, who wasn't technically a newcomer but Dancing Lady served as the start of the MGM career. It was a delight to see Sterling Holloway in an early credited role as the show's writer. On the flip side was then film veteran Winnie Lightner who was reaching the end of her short career in movies. Lightner was an underrated gem of the era and is not given nearly enough of the screen time that she deserved.

Dancing Lady is a mixed bag. It suffers from too much going on in the story. The plot would have benefited from some simplification and fewer characters. But if that had been the case we'd miss out on performances from the likes of Arden, Benchley, Lightner, Holloway, etc. Joan Crawford was not really a dancer and it shows. But the role of Janie was as close to the real Joan Crawford as you could possibly get. She was perfect for it. The final show number is lacking in actual dancing. Someone at MGM made the unfortunate decision to have Astaire and Crawford sing. They don't sing as much as they talk to music.

Regardless of it's flaws, the film was a success at the box office, earned a profit for MGM, which was no small feat during the Great Depression, and it gave a boost to so many careers. For budding film historians, Dancing Lady is a good study of the mechanics of the studio system. It demonstrates how a major studio like MGM utilized a combination of established stars while also building up new talent.

Dancing Lady (1933) is available from the Warner Archive. You can buy the DVD-R from the WB Shop by using this link.

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you to the Warner Archive for sending me a copy of Dancing Lady (1933) for review!

What's Up, Doc? (1972) with Peter Bogdanovich #TCMFF

Peter Bogdanovich and Dave Karger at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival - Photo source: Getty/TCM

Director Peter Bogdanovich's follow-up to his Academy Award-winning drama The Last Picture Show (1971) was something wildly different. What's Up, Doc? (1972) is an homage to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Heavily influenced by Cary Grant and Bringing Up Baby (1938), it brought back a comedy style that was fun for the whole family. Bogdanovich insisted that it be a G-Rated picture making it a movie for adults but one they could take their kids to see.

What's Up, Doc? stars Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal as a mismatched pair. O'Neal plays Howard Bannister, a musicologist attending a convention in San Francisco with his uptight fiancee Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn in her film debut). His plaid overnight bag contains igneous rocks for his research project. Unfortunately for him, three delinquents who are up to no good also have identical plaid bags. Howard meets Judy (Barbra Streisand), a highly educated, free spirit who is hanging out at the hotel looking for amusement. She zones in on Howard and doesn't let go, much to the bewilderment of Howard's fiancee Eunice. Howard is desperate to get Judy off his back, to make things right with Eunice and to get the highly sought after musicology grant to fund his research. But as it is in screwball comedies everything goes hilariously wrong and builds up to one rip-roaring side-splitting climax. 

Cary Grant is essentially the third star of the film even though he doesn't make an appearance in the movie. There are numerous references to his scenes in Bringing Up Baby. Ryan O'Neal's character is a Cary Grant screwball type and Bogdanovich had O'Neal meet up with Grant to get some pointers. O'Neal was also heavily influenced by Bogdanovich. Buck Henry noted that in the film Ryan O'Neal was playing Peter Bogdanovich playing Cary Grant. Barbra Streisand's character is named Judy, an  reference to Grant who was often associated with saying "Judy, Judy, Judy." Needless to say, if you are a Cary Grant enthusiast you'll have fun picking up on all the references. What's Up, Doc? is influenced by other films too. There is a wonderful scene in which Streisand does a Humphrey Bogart impersonation then sings As Time Goes By to Ryan O'Neal as he plays the piano. Casablanca (1942) fans will appreciate the homage. The epic chase scene shot on location in San Francisco is a spoof of the iconic car chase in Bullitt (1968).

What's Up, Doc? is a flat out funny film. But not everyone will agree with me. Streisand didn't think it was funny and I've heard from others who have tried to see the humor in this film but just couldn't. I love to laugh and have always had an appreciation for comedy in all its forms. I love the zaniness of What's Up, Doc? and this film is a new-to-me favorite. I saw it for the first time at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival, just one day before my very first visit to San Francisco.

At the festival entertainment host Dave Karger interviewed director Peter Bogdanovich before the start of the film. One of the things I admire about Bogdanovich is how much he loves and appreciates classic movies. In the interview he said that his favorite genre of film is the screwball comedy, in particular The Awful Truth (1937), The Lady Eve (1941), Twentieth Century (1934) and Bringing Up Baby (1938). Screenwriter David Newman came up with the title What's, Up Doc?, a reference to Bugs Bunny which is also called out in the film when Judy greets Howard saying the famous phrase while munching on a carrot. Bogdanovich said, "I loved the title because it's a catchphrase we all grew up with."

What's Up, Doc? came about because of Barbra Streisand. She had seen Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show and wanted to work with him. Streisand had just done a comedy and was looking for a drama. Bogdanovich had just done a drama and wanted to work on a comedy. With the support of John Calley, head of Warner Bros, Bogdanovich proceeded with his idea for a contemporary screwball comedy. Writers Buck Henry, David Newman and Robert Benton worked on a original screenplay based on Bogdanovich's concept and it was full steam ahead for What's Up, Doc?.

As you can see in the trailer Bogdanovich was a very hands on director. Streisand had fun making the movie but got annoyed when Bogdanovich's tried to give her direction on everything including how to sing the As Time Goes By number. She was also overshadowed by newcomer Madeline Kahn who's god-given talent for comedy was a surprise to Kahn herself.

As for the trailer, director of photography Laszlo Kovacs shot some behind-the-scenes footage without Bogdanovich's knowledge. They were working on a complicated camera move when Streisand was laying on a piano, slides off and then moves to sit next to Ryan O'Neal. Bogdanovich acts out the scene with O'Neal as you can see in the trailer.

And that epic car chase scene? It took up a good chunk of the budget and production time. Filmed on location on the streets of San Francisco, it used multiple vehicles and lots of gags. My favorite scene is when the vehicles careen by two workers holding up a pane of glass and a man on an impossibly tall ladder hanging up a sign. It's so much fun to watch. Karger asked if it was true that the car chase scene was 25% of the film's budget. Bogdanovich replied, "Yes it was. The picture cost more than $6 million which is nothing compared to today's pictures. John Calley [head of Warner Bros.] called me on the first day of shooting we were in San Francisco in the airport. And John says, the chase scene is going to cost a million bucks. I said, well that's fine. He said, can you cut it down a little bit? I said no, I think it's going to be the high point of the picture. He said, if we make a deal with McDonald's can you bring McDonald's into it? I said, I can have them wreck a McDonald's. The deal never went through."

No Peter Bogdanovich interview would be complete without some impersonations. He treated us to a Cary Grant one which is always a treat. Bogdanovich told Grant that his movie was going to play at Radio City Music Hall. Grant replied "that's nothing! I had 28 picture play at the Hall. I tell you what you must do. Just go there and stand in the back. And you listen and you watch while 6,500 people laugh at something you did. It will do you a lot of good."

I love discovering new favorite movies at the TCM Classic Film Festival. It's the perfect venue for discovery especially when there is a special guest on hand to discuss the film. If you haven't seen What's Up, Doc? yet, it's available for streaming on Warner Archive Instant.