Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Discussion of the actors, directors and film-makers who 'made it all happen'
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MissGoddess
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Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by MissGoddess »

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It's a temptation to try to find similarities in the films of a director and today I found myself musing on Victor Fleming, whose movies seem so varied. His films remain fresh as the first time I saw them and this tips me off that they must have something identifiable in common beyond exceptional craftsmanship.

(Forgive me and be forewarned if this post meaners. I've become rather too fond of the "Ramble" format, ha!)

Thematically, what remains from my mental sifting of Fleming's movies is the process toward maturity or "moving on".

Stylistically, the director could balance the dichotomy of idealism and earthy, grounded reality with extraordinary care. His fantasies have a realist "edge" to them and his more robust works never ignore the romantic, adventurous yearnings that drive starry-eyed youngsters and cynical plantation overseers alike.

While it's true most good character-driven stories have to feature some sort of arc, Fleming seemed to gravitate to stories that depicted characters going through the often painful process of personal maturity, which specifically involve leaving behind adolescent or childlike ideals of freedom and romance, and replacing these with something more grounded. Call it an acceptance of basic reality: of hearth-and-home or more soul satisfying values.

Both his duality of style (romantic/grounded) and theme (maturity, loss/acceptance) make him for me, a highly "adult" and balanced chronicler of human beings. The motor driving all of it is a terrific propulsion, an energy that keeps his motion pictures moving.

To illustrate:

Gone with the Wind and The WIzard of Oz. His two most famous credits, two of the most widely seen and regard films ever both have at their center a young girl/woman to grows up and has to confront what is to be left behind, what is to be truly valued. In Oz, Dorothy both loses her tremulous uncertainty and finds herself at the end richer and more appreciative of what's on this side of the rainbow. Scarlett engages in a similar, via an even more circular route, return to roots, though her maturity was violently wrenched from childhood with traumatic results. GWTW's bittersweet ending with the haunting words "Tara! Home! I'll go home..." remind me so much of Dorothy's wish "there's no place like home..." Moreover, in GWTW Rhett Butler shakes the dust of his passion for Scarlett off of his soul and leaves her with what to me are his most revealing words: "I want to find out if there's still a place where life holds some grace and charm. Can you understand that?"

I am less familiar with Call Her Savage but from what I've read about its storline, it looks like we have, as in Bombshell, another wild, free spirit who eventually has to make a choice that involves shedding some lusty and unrealistically romantic ideas.

The director, at the peak of his attractiveness, and the smitten Clara Bow
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Then we have the Gable pictures. In a unique twist on the popular aerial picture, Test Pilot takes us beyond where Hawks feared to tread: back on the ground. Jim Lane's free-flying days must come to an end or he becomes a statistic like his friend Spencer Tracy. Fleming makes it a painful right-of-passage for Gable's character, he doesn't let go easily of his self-centered but addictive freedom as a test pilot. The sky is depicted romantically as an intoxicating "mistress", the girl in the blue dress. It's romantic foolishness and the movie isn't afraid to show us both the glory of sky-blue clad lover and her cost if indulged in too long. Jim Lane, who was always afraid she'd "slap him down", grows up and lets go of her hand.

In Red Dust, a classic triangle story puts Gable in the position of choosing between pursuing his romantic inclinations which are stirred by gracious and ladylike Mary Astor---at the cost of her marriage and perhaps his self respoect---or letting go and making his own home with someone in synch with who he already is. To me it's more a choice between what life could be and accepting what it really is. Mary Astor will eventually have to come to the same conclusion if her marriage is to last.

With his last film directed by Fleming, Adventure, Gable's sea-faring independence crashes into Greer Garson's landlocked yet alluring hearth.

Tortilla Flat, though imperfectly realized also positions a band of boy-men dedicated to shiftlessness faced with the loss of one of teir own, not in death, but to marriage and a settled way of life.

Captains Courageous, Treasure Island and Fleming's aborted but highly detailed preparations and initial filming of The Yearling are all the most vivid examples of the maturation theme. The children in these films work their way painfully toward maturity and letting go, via ordeals that would knock most adults for a loop. In each of these stories, to some degree the ideals held by the children teach them to look beyond themselves and simultaneously bring them back to "home", either to their "families" or to the real source of inspiration that lays within.

A Guy Named Joe bears his strong imprint of grounded reality in the midst of a milieu fantasy. It's my least favorite of his films, after Joan of Arc which I've never even been able to finish. That one I put down to being a casualty of a middle aged man besotted with a young woman.

Fleming takes aim at Bergman but he was the one who got shot down by cupid's arrow. Few men ever
fell to earth so hard.

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Finally, there is Fleming's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Fleming's tale is told in contrasty blacks and whites, sharply delineated sets and with a script that emphasises rationality, calculated choice making and philosophy---all in direct contrast to Mamoulian's romantically softer fantasy. Yet, I think it beautifully depicts the duality within mankind, the wish to do well by our fellows and ourselves which is ever at odds with the pull of selfish desires. Tracy as Jekyll is less a victim of his too daring curiosity and experiments than a man who knows exactly what he is doing and getting into, and what he is sacrificing. He is aware that two roads lay before him and what lays at the end of each. The seductions and pitfalls of each are perfectly embodied by the two women, Lana's placid but devoted "Beatrice" and Ingrid's passionate but unstable "Ivy". The clarity of Jekyll's pursuit makes the film, his character very chilling. Really, is "Hyde" so monstrous when you think about it, compared to the cold-blooded man who continually invokes him? It ends tragically, not just because a "monster" was caught and killed, dragging a "good" man down with it, but because it was by choice, as right and wrong most always are.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941)
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After the Bergman/Joan of Arc debacle, Fleming, like his finest character creations, chose to return to his wife and daughters. There was no place like home. Had he lived longer, I ache to think of the richness of maturity tempered by experienced wisdom, he could have brought to future endeavors.


Required reading: Anyone interested in learning more about the director is urged to check out Michael Sragow's important new biography on the "real Rhett Butler" entitled Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master.

with another obviously smitten star, Bessie Love. I know just how she feels.
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moira finnie
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by moira finnie »

Wonderful, April!

I think you've captured so much of what the movies and now this splendid biography of Fleming have communicated to audiences to this day--the dichotomy between yearning to capture and savor the moment and the relentless need to move on. In almost all of his movies there is such a rich acknowledgment of life's basic contradictions, joys and sorrows.

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Bombshell (Fleming is seen on the set with Harlow above).

Jean Harlow may be at her funniest in Bombshell, which never fails to amuse me. It is probably my all-time favorite of his movies with its "inside baseball" fun, but for me, I think the pain of maturing that you described may be best expressed in Captains Courageous, which might be a near-perfect movie. However, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is becoming more of a favorite of mine, thanks to the dark aspects of the story and the performance of Bergman, though I wish they'd never tried to make Joan of Arc, since that probably killed the man.
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The beautiful chase scene from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

And that last picture, *sigh* with that darn Bessie Love! What luck to have been born in that time and place. Now that I've completely finished reading the Michael Sragow book, I miss Victor Fleming. That doesn't happen too often for me when I read biographies either. Thanks so much for writing about him.
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by feaito »

Very interesting points of view April.
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by MissGoddess »

Thank you, Moira and Feaito for your patience---it was a long piece and needs trimming badly.

That era of filmaking always signified "adult entertainment" to me. Even as a kid, before I
was analyzing film at all I felt movies like Fleming's were all about "grown ups" and rather than
signifying anything stuffy or staid, this meant a glorious freedom and confidence that I always
aspired to. It was glamorous and you made your way toward it like a goal to be greatly desired.

Growing up back then was something to look forward to---now we have the worship of a
perpetual, moronic adolescence. Something I never was in tune with even as an adolescent.

This quality is something that distinguishes the films of the classic era and draws me to them
most strongly. Movies for grown-ups.

"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by movieman1957 »

Thanks for the interesting article. You put a lot of work into it and it is an enjoyable read.
Chris

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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by jdb1 »

I think it's greatly to Fleming's credit that he was able to get such an visceral and downright scarily sexy performance out of Tracy in Jekyll/Hyde. Tracy really dug deep for Hyde, and went so very much against the grain of his typical screen persona. His performance in Fury touched on that intensity, but Fleming seems to have brought it out of Tracy in full measure. So much so, in fact, that Tracy hated his own performance in that movie.

Personally, I've always preferred Tracy's Mr. Hyde to any of the others on film -- his Hyde really scares me a little, yet wow - whatta man. I wonder what Fleming and Tracy would have done with Dracula.
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by Joe Macclesfield »

Victor Fleming: Moving to immaturity, would be a better heading. I've lately been acquainting myself with Mr Fleming and his attainments. "Hollywood's Hidden Genius" and "America's Movie Master" was, apparently, nothing more than an obnoxious know-all and a bully. you've only to look at a photograph of the man to see the arrogance. A two-fisted, all-American he-man, who enjoyed slapping women about in the name of his "art". I don't think much of a bloke like that. Nor of any woman who accepts such treatment.
"...Then as a bee, which among weeds doth fall,
Which seem sweet floures with lustre fresh and gay,
She lights on that, and this, and tasteth all,
But pleasd with none doth rise and sore away..."
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by RedRiver »

That's pretty obnoxious. As for the movies, I had forgotten he directed BOMBSHELL. That's a sharp, witty comedy, exceptionally well played by Harlow. I like the Clark Gable adventures. RED DUST is even better than John Ford's telling of the story. The adaptations of Kipling and Stevenson are fine. And to tell the truth, I find JOAN OF ARC stirring and exciting. Maybe it's not one of the great Fleming epics, but I enjoyed it. It's beautifully colorful!

TORTILLA FLAT is soft, poetic Steinbeck, with sensational acting by Tracy, Garfield and Lamar. Spencer Tracy as a Mexican laborer. Is there anything that man couldn't do? Surprisingly, IMDB lists Fleming as an uncredited director of THE GOOD EARTH (1937). The filmmaker of record is Sidney Franklin. Whoever we have to thank for it, the drama is excellent!
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by Joe Macclesfield »

"That's pretty obnoxious." RR, You are as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. But, if you're referring to my post, you are incorrect. What you mean is you don't like it. I thought it was rather well written myself. I don't think slapping women is a very admirable trait, even if the slapping is done by "America's Movie Master".
"...Then as a bee, which among weeds doth fall,
Which seem sweet floures with lustre fresh and gay,
She lights on that, and this, and tasteth all,
But pleasd with none doth rise and sore away..."
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Joe Macclesfield
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by Joe Macclesfield »

Farewell then. From Macclesfield, this 18th day of September, 2014.
"...Then as a bee, which among weeds doth fall,
Which seem sweet floures with lustre fresh and gay,
She lights on that, and this, and tasteth all,
But pleasd with none doth rise and sore away..."
RedRiver
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by RedRiver »

Oops! I was referring to Mr. Fleming's behavior. Not your post. Didn't mean to create a misunderstanding. Your posts are articulate and entertaining!
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Victor Fleming is a very interesting and flamboyant Director - He to me is very stylish, very generous in settings, and has high thematic elements into his films of which designed to be more in tune for Adults than for KIds - with notable exception to Wizard of Oz of which has some elements that I would not want to take a child under the age of 8 to see.

Victor's films are notably designed for Adults Only and having said that - I wasn't allowed to watch Gone With The Wind until I was 15 years of age because I was a huge Clark Gable Fan. I had to ask my Parent's Permission to watch GWTW (at the age of 15) when the movie was on Public Television at the time and they let me watch it with them.

He's a very interesting Director and my favorite films of Victor Fleming outside of these two powerhouses are:

Test Pilot
Captain Courageous
Treasure Island
The Virginian
The Rough Riders
The Call of the Canyon
Women's Place

These 7 Films are noteworthy and I certainly enjoyed them quite well for different reasons alone.
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by moira finnie »

Hi Joe,
One of the struggles we sometimes face when posting our thoughts and replies here in a conversational way is the loss of nuance and non-verbal expressiveness that conveys so much more subtlety than words alone. As a result, almost everyone occasionally writes something that we realize later might be interpreted another way than intended.

I've known Red for several years and do not think he was referring to you or your remarks as "obnoxious." Here's hoping that you will accept his apology for this inadvertent offense. I believe that your comments and shared insights into films and filmmaking are of value and interest to our members. I hope that you'll continue to participate here.
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by Western Guy »

I concur, Joe. I've enjoyed discussing "horror" films with you and would like to continue. This is a terrific site and one of the friendliest I've been associated with. I've backed away from some because it seems some of the posters simply want to use the forum to be contentious. But definitely not the case here. Fine, informative people through and through . . . though it occasionally disturbs me to discover my lifelong love of movies is not as thorough as I'd thought. :( Have learned a lot of stuff I never knew before and confess I start off my day by visiting SSO.
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Re: Victor Fleming: Moving to Maturity

Post by Joe Macclesfield »

Oh Blimey (as a cockney would say)! I thought I'd perhaps taken a step too far. Mr. Fleming made some great pictures. It's just that After what I'd read, I could picture Judy Garland, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner, smarting, confused, and still being professional enough to carry on. Also, I hope I didn't come across as anti American, I'm not. RR, I'm sorry I misunderstood your comment.
"...Then as a bee, which among weeds doth fall,
Which seem sweet floures with lustre fresh and gay,
She lights on that, and this, and tasteth all,
But pleasd with none doth rise and sore away..."
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