Seven Days in May (1964) Monologue

I think this monologue really captures the fear and uncertainty that was so much a part of the Cold War in America. It's delivered by Frederic March who plays the fictional American President Jordan Lyman in Seven Days in May (1964). This film has a great cast of stars but it's March's incredible performance that carries the film.

The enemy's an age. A nuclear age. It happened to kill man's faith in his ability to influence what happens to him. And out of this comes a sickness, a sickness of frustration, a feeling of impotence, helpessness, weakness. And from this desperation, we look for a champion in red, white and blue. Every now and then, a man on a white horse rides by, and we appoint him to be our personal god for the duration.

Stanley Donen @ the HFA ~ Two for the Road (1967)

I went back for more...

This time the Stanley Donen film being featured was Two for the Road (1967). It stars Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn as a married couple on the verge of breaking up. The film takes an unconventional look at marriage, in a both humorous and saddening way. The story focuses on the biography of the marriage, from courtship and through the happy moments and the hardships and is told through their adventures on the road in Europe. The films dances back and forth through time and we see how the relationship evolves over time. The sequences are marvelously placed together oftentimes with vehicles serving as a fadeout into the next scene. It's easy to tell which timeframe your in simply by watching Audrey Hepburn. She goes through about 4 or 5 different hairstyles, with her hair getting shorter and shorter as she gets older. Also, they fitted Audrey Hepburn with what seemed to be hundreds of the most unusual and interesting 1960's fashions. Visually, it's a stunning film which just adds to the great script.

The audience seemed to enjoy the film a lot as there were a lot of laughs at the appropriate parts of the movie. This time the theater was packed with not even one seat left open. In fact, I think some patrons had to be turned away!

There was a Q&A segment much like on Friday night but this time with many more questions but fewer interesting insights into Donen. Donen said that he doesn't watch any of his films anymore because they don't give him as much pleasure as they used to. Also, during the filming of Two for the Road, Donen, Hepburn and Finney were all having marital problems in their personal lives so being on set with each other was a nice escape. They found comraderie with each other. However, Finney and Donen did not see eye-to-eye on Finney's character Mark Wallace. Donen wanted Mark to be charming and Finney thought that being charming wasn't really acting, so in the end the character didn't come out quite how Donen wanted it. However, he was pleased in the end.

Donen and Hepburn got along fabulously and this was the third and final film they did together. Donen said that when he first shot Hepburn it was for Funny Face (1957) and he had to do a shot of her overlooking Paris while on a plane. He said that he was so taken aback by Hepburn's beauty and presence that he couldn't stop staring at her even when it came time to call "cut". In fact, someone had to shake Donen out of his daze in order to keep working! I thought this was particularly interesting because Hepburn is such an icon and I often wonder why her. I think it was a combination of her beauty, her dazzling face, her charm, her voice, her grace and her elegance that makes so many of us enraptured with her. I'm sure Donen agrees.

Overall, I think both nights turned out well. They were amazing experiences both getting to see the director up close and to hear him speak but also to watch a couple of his films on the big screen.

Stanley Donen introducing the film

Stanley Donen on his filming style

Stanley Donen on the difficulty of shooting Two for the Road (1967)

A special thank you to Carlos for letting me know about Donen coming to the HFA and for taking me to the first night.

Stanley Donen at the HFA - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

A few days ago I got a phone call at work from my beau. He asked me if I recognized the name Stanley Donen. I replied that yes I recognized his name and that he was a film director. My beau proceeded to tell me that Stanley Donen, the Stanley Donen would be at the Harvard Film Archive on Friday to present his film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). It took me a while to grasp the magnitude of this opportunity and by the time it did, I had already gotten off the phone with my beau and I was staring blankly into my cubicle. I get to see the great director Stanley Donen in person! Oh... my... God! It was all I could do not to get up and dance around the office in pure joy.

The HFA was doing a series called Debonair: The Films of Stanley Donen where they were showcasing 14 of his films. Stanley Donen would be there to present two, Seven Brides and Two for the Road (1967). The Boston Globe had an article about the 85 year old director giving a great overview on his career. The article concluded saying that Donen always wears a large medallion on a chain around his neck which is inscribed: Stanley Donen. If lost, please return to Elaine May. Sure enough when I saw him enter the HFA, he was wearing that same medallion!

Stanley Donen spoke a few words after he was formally introduced. We got to see two of his famous choreographed works: the Gene Kelly-Jerry the Mouse Anchor's Aweigh (1945) dance number and the Gene Kelly & Gene Kelly's ghost dance number from Cover Girl (1944). Then they pulled the curtains aside and we got to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in all it's widescreen Cinemascope glory!

The audience reaction was great. There was applause after the really wonderful dance and song sequences, especially the Barn Raising dance number that makes this film so iconic. I think my beau like the story, Howard Keel's brazenness and the acrobatics. I most enjoyed the choreography and Jane Powell's spunkiness. It's hard not to be impressed by this movie. It has it's sleepy moments but it's truly a feast for the eyes and there is something for everyone to enjoy.

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I think the most awkward part of these sorts of things is the Q&A portion. The people who have the courage to ask the questions (not me) are the ones who either hog the spotlight solely to praise the guest or to ask some dumb question. It's the dumb questions, which these people take way too long to ask (what's with the throat clearing people, just get to the point), that illicit the best answers. One guy asked about the long scarf in one of the dance sequences in Singin' in the Rain (1952). I'm not going to even begin to contemplate the way he asked the question because it makes me want to cry. Donen said that they had used to airplane propellers on either side of the studio turned on at full blast to create enough wind force that when Cyd Charisse stood in one spot, it lifted the long silk scarf up and held it up. There were no computers or fancy technology involved; just pure ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Another person asked the question about what Stanley Donen thinks about films today. A good question just poorly presented by the asker. Donen's answer really struck me and I wish to God that I had done a video-recording of his answer. Donen said that he watches films today and he tries to limit his viewing of newer films to those of quality, but it's getting more and more difficult to find these films. He dislikes computer generated movies in which you see something on screen that doesn't really happen. There is a magic and realness to watching real people do things on screen that he misses in contemporary film. Granted, his films had fancy effects. Gene Kelly didn't really dance with the cartoon mouse Jerry in the famous Donen-choreographed sequence in Anchors Aweigh (1945). Donen struck a chord with me while he was speaking. There is a humanity in classic films that is lacking in contemporary movies, especially blockbuster ones. We as the audience become increasingly disconnected with what's going on on the screen. There is the magic of the movies, the fantasy element that sweeps us away to another time and place and to another reality. However, the story, the people, the realness is what grounds us. Contemporary movies seem to isolate us more and more. Don't some of you feel this way too? I know I do.

An interesting thing to point out about Stanley Donen is that he started off as a dancer. He was inspired by Fred Astaire and when he was 9 years old he watched Flying Down to Rio (1933) on the big screen and he knew he wanted to be part of whatever it was that made films like that so magical. The day after he graduated high school he moved to New York. He got the opportunity to be a dancer in Pal Joey. He got to meet, become friends with and work with dancer Gene Kelly extensively. And although Kelly's dancing was much different, Donen still felt inspired by Fred Astaire. Donen was interested in street dancing instead of dancing on point. He liked the realness of dancing in every day situations. On the street, in a barn, on a field, wherever. As long as it was in a real location and not just a stage or a dance studio.

Donen really impressed me with his candor and frankness. People tried to kiss up to him but he wasn't about to let anyone be his sycophant. Listening to him talk was truly remarkable!

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Here is some secret footage... Shh!

Part of Donen's intro

RE: Dancing & Masculinity

RE: What dancing means to Donen

to be continued...