Elia Kazan Lecture 11/29/07

What I learned at the Elia Kazan lecture...

1) Controversial figure throughout most of his life, many people refused to stand or applaud when he received his Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement at the 1999 Academy Awards.

2) He revealed the name of 8 known Communists to the HUAC. 3 of which were friends of his and who gave him permission to name them.

3) He was part of the Communist party for 2 years but left as he didn't like the secrecy or the propaganda involved.

4) Marlon Brando was reluctant to work with him after the HUAC controversy.

5) As a director, Elia Kazan was known for filming on location instead of in a studio, for very long takes, encouraging actors to use props, exploring intimacy and emotional distance between characters, and helping actors from the Actor's Studio get their start in films (Andy Griffith, Carroll Baker, etc).

6) Modeled the father character in East of Eden (1955) more after his own father than John Steinbeck's version in the original novel.

7) He shared Marilyn Monroe as a girlfriend with Arthur Miller, who went on to be Monroe's last husband (tee hee!).

8) Did not work well with established film stars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy on the set of Sea of Grass. They clashed artistically.

9) He was influenced by filmmaker Orson Welles.

10) Nicknamed "Gadget" or "Gadge", a name he would resent throughout his life.

11) Watch A Face in the Crowd (1957) . On pain of death. (Just kidding!)


Thanks Kevin!

(Just a Baby Doll (1956) shot I liked. Enjoy!)

Molestada: Ace in the Hole (1951)

“Molestada” is the best word I could think of to sum up my experience watching Billy Wilder's classic film noir, Ace in the Hole (1951). “Molestada” in Spanish means to be "bothered". But there is something more to "molestada" than there is in "bothered", "disturbed" or even "discomforted". There is a twinge in “molestada” that captures that feeling of a fine nerve being plucked, triggering a well of emotion which over time and after so many plucks begins to overflow.

To say I was completely molestada by Ace in the Hole (1951) is succumbing to the great power of this film. An exploration of media manipulation through the story of one particular bad apple, Charles Tatum (or Charlie, Chuck or plain Tatum depending on who addressed him), a deceitfully opportunistic and greedy journalist. He sees an unfortunate situation, a man trapped cave, and knows how to exploit it for his own need. What's amazing about this is that Tatum is seeking a type of immortality in a business where one's story one day is treasured, and the next day, it's used to wrap fish. He even admits this himself, but still wants to grasp that fame, to make his mark in the industry.

Tatum's character is matched evil-to-evil with Mrs. Lorraine Minosa, the platinum-blonde wife of the poor man trapped in the cave. She's my favorite character. A hard-boiled dame, so overcooked that even her yolk is rock hard. She has only one very small soft spot, which is reserved for the elation she receives from money. Lorraine is as manipulative as Tatum, using her husband's situation for her own selfish needs. Two such characters are so bad, that one town will always be too small for them and its a wonder they don't instantaneously combust when they meet.

I discovered while flipping through my Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide that the film was initially called Ace in the Hole but the name was changed to "The Big Carnival". As part of the Criterion Collection, its kept its original name, for which I'm truly grateful. While Leo Minosa's entrapment and Tatum's media frenzy do result in a twisted carnvial of sorts, I think this film is more aptly named Ace in the Hole as its the germination of Tatum's lucky break, which he exploits too much.

It's a marvel I even got through this film. It took two days of watching it in ten-minute intervals. Somehow I made it through to appreciate it for what it is.

Breaking the Code: Baby Doll (1956) Article

Here is my entry in the booklet for Elia Kazan's Baby Doll. This one was by far the easiest to write.

Broken Code: Impure love must not be presented in such a way to arouse passion or morbid curiosity on the part of the audience.

Stories that take place in the deep South are wonderful exaggerated studies of the human condition, especially when its character's lives seem to fester in the sweltering heat. And nothing festers better than a good Tennessee William's story. Controversial to its very core, Elia Kazan's adaptaion of Baby Doll is true resistance against the code. The repressed and expressed passions in this film are as hot as the exposed light bulbs that hang from the ceilings. And when those two opposing passions collide the results are explosive. Nothing is hidden, nothing is coy, its all exposed and has either the effect of arousal or discomfort. Baby Doll is a woman-child, married too young to Archie Lee, whose frustration with his unconsummated marriage affects his cotton-gin business. Rival, the hot-blooded Mr. Vacero (literally Mr. Cowboy), sweeps into town stealing away Archie's business. In retaliation, Archie burns down Mr. Vacero's gin. But what he doesn't expect, is the hit below the belt when Mr. Vacero manages to seduce his previously frigid young wife.

The swing scene is by far the most infamous and passionate. It is difficult to watch it without experience a quickening of the heart and shortness of breath. With every touch and caress, Mr. Vacero brings out the hidden lust in Baby Doll and brings about her transition from child to woman on the eve of her 20th birthday. Such power that sizzled from the screen, terrified audiences and censors alike leading to a national boycott. Raw sexual energy like that had never been seen before in a film and people immediately resisted it. In 1956, a primary figure in the Catholic church, Cardinal Spellman , spoke out about the film telling all Catholics that if they dared watch this movie, they would commit a sin against God. It eventually got pulled from theatres. Yet, this low-budget film stood out as an legitimately amazing film and received 4 Academy Award nominations. It marked a turning point in how sexuality could be expressed on film and paved the way for the expression of passion in cinema.