Anatole Litvak

[CineMaven]

Very entertaining account of your experience with The Journey, CM! Thanks for all the insights. I always feel sorry for E.G. Marshall being married to Ann Jackson in this movie. Poor guy probably half-hoped that he would get caught in the cross-fire between Anouk Aimee's insurrectionists and Yul Brynner's commies. That was one way out of Hungary and that marriage.

Thanx Madame Finnie. I think E.G. was probably pretty happy in the marriage. I'll bet Anne could balance the household budget like nobody's business! Just look...it get them a trip to war-torn Hungary. ( )

Well, now. I only meant that Leslie Howard was Stuart Little as drawn by Garth Williams--not as seen by today's soulless animators...but that's probably just me . There's an intrepid quality about the way that Williams drew Stuart as small but adventurous that shone through in Howard's screen persona in his best films (NOT Gone With the Wind).

Okay. I understand what you mean.

But I agree about Yul Brynner's panther-like qualities. I don't believe Mr. Brynner had "ball bearings in his hips" as you described it, but he did consort with gypsies and trained circus performers during his youth in Paris, becoming an accomplished trapeze artist with the legendary Cirque d’Hiver Co.--which probably helps to explain some of his grace.

I like my ball bearings theory better, but I know I need just the facts, ma'am if I want to be taken seriously. Thanx Moira.

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She's quite interesting in Night of the Iguana too, a much underrated actress. From what you've all said The Journey sounds like it's a film to look out for.

I saw that in the movies as a kid. ( Hey, we were just dragged with our parents. I didn't understand what the heck was going on. ) I enjoyed her prim, Bohemian, sensible, schoolmarm way of calming down a trussed up Burton, and understanding the needs of a jazzed up Ava. ( Trivia: She and Ava both appeared in "The Hucksters." )

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Maven, thank you for your wonderful post about The Journey. If you need more Litvak, The Long Night, The Snake Pit, and Decision Before Dawn are also mighty fine.

Thank you Brother Rat. I've got "The Long Night" and "The Snake Pit" ( amazing performance by deHavilland ) under my belt. Guess I'll have to check out for "Decision Before Dawn".

Deborah Kerr had an interesting career. She played her share of repressed spinsters (The Innocents, The Night of the Iguana, Separate Tables) and nuns (Black Narcissus; Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison), yet Fred Zinnemann cast her effectively as the adulterous wife in From Here to Eternity and as the sexually glowing wife in The Sundowners. She also played adulterous wives in The Journey and The End of the Affair, and a kept woman in An Affair to Remember. Underneath that proper exterior and the proper voice seemed to be something decidedly improper. She worked with a number of top directors and made a lot of fine films.

The first movie I was able to go to alone ( not with my kid sister, or with the neighborhood kids - "13 Ghosts" "Bye Bye Birdie" ) was to see Kerr & Niven's "Prudence and the Pill." On tv, NYC used to show four times a year, "The Schaeffer Award Theatre" ( sponsored by Shaeffer beer. ) They would show a movie with only four commercials and my father'd let me stay up late with him to watch a movie. ( One time it was "The Hanging Tree." ) Imagine my while watching "The Sundowners" with my dad and Kerr starts toweling herself off in front of Mitchum. I wanted to die of embarassment, I couldn't look at my father, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't run away b'cuz I was getting to stay up late...past 11pm; when the movie came on TCM ( twice ) recently, I chuckle at my young self.

I've often liken Kerr's career to Audrey Hepburn's in terms of working with some of the BEST leading men Hollywood had to offer: Gable, Lancaster, Tracy, Peck, Niven, Grant, Sinatra, Mitchum, Brynner, Burton, etc. I was so happy when the Academy finally honored her with an honorary Oscar. I've admired her for so long.

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I'm so glad you enjoyed The Journey as much as I could have hoped, T! Loved reading your impressions of this favorite of mine.

Thanxx a lot. I'm not as eloquent as what I've read in this thread...but the feelings that poured out of me kind of jolted me b'cuz I didn't expect what I was seeing.

...I thought his sacrifice at the end, letting them go, reminded me of, yes I have to say it, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He knew even if there were no Mr. Fleming (Robards), he could never be part of Deborah's world, nor she his.

Hmmmm, "...Liberty Valance." Where have I heard that movie before?? Sounds familiar. The three points of that triangle ( Montand - Bergman - Perkins ) reminds me of the absolute Type of Taylor - Clift - Winters. Somebody always gets hurt. Yul letting Kerr go like that was like pulling a gigantic bandage off your heart. Rick letting Ilsa go. Oh man. Do real life humans make sacrifices of the heart like that...or is it just "in the movies"?

And I do know what you mean about feeling impatient with Deborah's character at times. I do, too. But she can't help being well-bred, I suppose.

Ha!!!!!!

Earlier in this thread we all talked a bit about another favorite Litvak film of mine, Goodbye, Again. There is a Yul-connection, since he was on set a good deal of the time in Paris, wooing and photographing Ingrid.

I did read the discussion on "Goodbye Again." Great read, great points made on the side of countries' & gender point of views. I've said it before & I'll say it again...the writing...the writing...the depth of the writing keeps me hooked.

Yul & Ingrid? Together?! My stars!! Glad I saw the film, glad I bumped up Litvak on this board...and in my mind. He's sounding kind of like an important director.

The picture you posted of the two of them is beautifully dramatic.

[knitwit45]

Ms. G, just had to use your gorgeous photo of Kerr and Brynner for a little while....zowie. A poster on the Facebook site says that Marnie Nixon declared there was an affair going on at the time of The King and I.... I've always felt the chemistry between them just sizzles.

[charliechaplinfan]

Maven, if you are doing Litvak, don't forget Mayerling (1936).

You'll love Mayerling, Maven

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Nancy,

Yes, apparently there was an affair going on between Yul & Deborah; and although she remained with her husband, a British air ace (?), she eventually divorced him....
I remember going over to Heidelberg to university in late 1957, and being rather shocked reading on board ship that prim & proper Deborah was divorcing her husband.

I think also that she stole Peter Viertel away from Joan Fontaine during the making of "The Journey"; or maybe she just met him on that picture, but they married around that time.

I've always liked her and thought she was tres elegant; but apparently still waters run deep among some British 'Alice sit by the fire' types!!!!!

Larry

[JackFavell]

I agree, Cagney's just great here and Annie is too. The entire cast is faultless. I always thought the last scene with the orchestra playing Arthur Kennedy's symphony was hokey as all get out, and yet, thanks to some deft intercuts of Jimmy listening and Annie tearing up, the whole thing works brilliantly. I was so surprised this time through that I liked it as much as I did. The last scenes of Jimmy at the newstand were really great.

[moira finnie]

I agree, Cagney's just great here and Annie is too. The entire cast is faultless. I always thought the last scene with the orchestra playing Arthur Kennedy's symphony was hokey as all get out, and yet, thanks to some deft intercuts of Jimmy listening and Annie tearing up, the whole thing works brilliantly. I was so surprised this time through that I liked it as much as I did. The last scenes of Jimmy at the newstand were really great.

Hokey? Heavens, yes, especially when Arthur "George O'Gershwin" Kennedy says that his brother "made music with his fists," but all I have to hear is the very slight catch in his throat when he says this and see Annie's eyes brimming with tears--and I am dabbing my eyes and blowing my nose on my hankie. When Jimmy tilts his head to see Annie at the news stand and her beautiful face comes into focus for him--I am practically a puddle.

You know, it's odd. When most actresses cry, I can sometimes feel manipulated. When Ann Sheridan or Maureen O'Hara cry, it's all over. They can twist my emotions any way they want. I think it is because there are some actresses (and a few actors) who ought to be happy, or at least that's how a viewer can feel about them. When they experience loss or regret, they have the visceral power to make me want something better for them. I'm not sure if this is a technique that is honed over time by skilled actresses (the kind you hear about asking a director which eye they want the tear to trickle from and how fast they want it to go down their cheek) or if it is just a gift of the gods, but some people have it.

Btw, she almost never wept on screen, but the dry-eyed Ethel Barrymore could make me melt at times too. One of the things that proves to me that this might be genetic or spiritually handed down, was seeing Drew Barrymore in some craptastic movies over the years and having the sudden realization that I was going to cry if things didn't work out for her characters. Jeez, she must have been born with it.

The Code's unwillingness to deal with sexual matters leaves one important scene blurred. Are we to believe that the evil Murray (Quinn) rapes Peggy, or that she grudgingly consents to sex to keep their dance act together? There are several possible attitudes toward sex that a character like Peggy might have, but the Code can't quite let her have any of them. Sheridan could have played the role any of those ways, too.

I wondered the same thing. Quinn either seduced/raped Peggy, whose only outlet for expression seemed to be dancing. She remained an ambivalent figure until the last few scenes of the film. Her catharsis came when her roommate Lee Patrick, concerned about Annie's sobbing but not wanting to intrude too much, burbled on about her "fella over in Jersey"--the man she should've married, and started to read about millionaires in the newspaper, in a sense covering up the pain with her wisecracks and helping Peggy, in a roundabout way.

Max Steiner created a beautiful yearning theme for the music Cagney especially likes, and I love the way this connects him with feelings he wouldn't otherwise have. The idea of a symphony of the city was very much in the air, with Gershwin's An American in Paris, Delius' Paris, and Vaughan Williams' A London Symphony, which is one of my particular favorites.

I loved the music so much in this movie, even if it was a pastiche of Gershwin and other composers' 20th century compositions. Thanks for mentioning the allusions to Delius and Vaughan Williams. You made me seek them out on youtube to refresh my memory.

[JackFavell]

I didn't expect to cry at the end, that's for sure. But there I was sobbing away.... Jimmy had me completely. How the heck did he pull that off?

Ann Sheridan is just so understated that she can literally do anything, and I believe it. Annie wouldn't manipulate you!

[CineMaven]

You know, it's odd. When most actresses cry, I can sometimes feel manipulated. When Ann Sheridan or Maureen O'Hara cry, it's all over. They can twist my emotions any way they want. I think it is because there are some actresses (and a few actors) who ought to be happy, or at least that's how a viewer can feel about them. When they experience loss or regret, they have the visceral power to make me want something better for them. I'm not sure if this is a technique that is honed over time by skilled actresses (the kind you hear about asking a director which eye they want the tear to trickle from and how fast they want it to go down their cheek) or if it is just a gift of the gods, but some people have it.

I feel exactly the same. In fact, when I watched Bette Davis in "A STOLEN LIFE" a couple of weeks ago, I swear...I never wanted as happy an ending for her character as I did for the good twin in that movie. Now Bette's one who I know is strong so much of the time, and know she'll win out. She can take care of herself. But there was something about that character that really really got me.

Btw, she almost never wept on screen, but the dry-eyed Ethel Barrymore could make me melt at times too. One of the things that proves to me that this might be genetic or spiritually handed down, was seeing Drew Barrymore in some craptastic movies over the years and having the sudden realization that I was going to cry if things didn't work out for her characters. Jeez, she must have been born with it.

I am a new convert to the charms of Ethel. It was in "NIGHT SONG" where she totally won me over. In "PORTRAIT OF JENNIE" doesn't she kind of fall for Joseph Cotten? She breaks my heart, but I didn't quite let her go all the way with my emotions initially. I'm ready now. I've got to re-visit some of her portrayals that I've glossed over in the past. There's a very deep well inside of that Barrymore gal.

I wondered the same thing. Quinn either seduced/raped Peggy, whose only outlet for expression seemed to be dancing. She remained an ambivalent figure until the last few scenes of the film. Her catharsis came when her roommate Lee Patrick, concerned about Annie's sobbing but not wanting to intrude too much, burbled on about her "fella over in Jersey"--the man she should've married, and started to read about millionaires in the newspaper, in a sense covering up the pain with her wisecracks and helping Peggy, in a roundabout way.

I love Lee Patrick. She's the ( next ) best friend a girl can have. ( My heart belongs to Eve Arden. ) In chatttting with a friend about "MILDRED PIERCE" she couldn't square herself with Patrick as Mrs. Biederhof, but we didn't get too deeply into the discusssion yet. I've got to find out why b'cuz I've enjoyed Lee Patrick in everything I've seen. I love her matronly glamour. I love her reliability and common sense approach. She was great as a pal to Bogie in "THE MALTESE FALCON" and very helpful to Bette in "NOW VOYAGER." When I saw her turn up in "VERTIGO" I was like..."LEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" ...And then there's "CAGED." As I've probably said before in my time here at the Bar SSO Ranch, I think the well of talent ran deep in movies of those days b'cuz there were any number of people that could pick up the Arden mantle and carry it proudly. There's just shades of difference. I'm not saying "just anybody" could do it. But there were several who could specialize in a certain character "type." Does this make sense? Am I making sense to anyone who is reading this? It's five thirty in the morning. Why am I trying to make sense.

Ann Sheridan is just so understated that she can literally do anything, and I believe it. Annie wouldn't manipulate you!

You're right Wendy, I agree. But awww geez, Ann Sheridan owns me, so what do I know. ( Look at the last five minutes of "Nora Prentiss." )