SPENCER TRACY - October, 2012 SOTM

[charliechaplinfan]

A new first for me today, Boys Town yes I really hadn't seen it before. How much do I love Tracy's Father Flanagan, could anyone else have played him so well? I really doubt it. I didn't need the storyline with Mickey Rooney in it, I find Mickey's character hasn't aged well or has become very predicatable in the intervening years, I could have quite happily watched Father Flanagan toiling away with the boys with his ups and downs of raising money as long as he was proven right in the end. Pee Wee, I loved him, searching for his candy, breaking up meetings with money men. I was so very moved by the film, I'm not trying to put down Mickey who is a life force all of his own but he and Spence are like chalk and cheese, one or the other. Spence didn't like Rooney much I found out when reading his biography. The real Father Flanagan didn't ask much money for his Boy's Town expecting the money to come in after the film had been released but it had an adverse effect, people must have assumed that he got lots of money from MGM and his contributions went down.

[JackFavell]

It's worth watching Men of Boy's Town too, if you like Tracy as FF. I actually like Mickey in these films, I was disappointed to read about how Spence didn't like him, but I can see why. I still think they work well together, maybe because of their differences, kind of like Stewart Copeland and Sting.

[moira finnie]

The real Father Flanagan didn't ask much money for his Boy's Town expecting the money to come in after the film had been released but it had an adverse effect, people must have assumed that he got lots of money from MGM and his contributions went down.

The lack of funding seen by Boy's Town may also have reflected the fact that the U.S. economy was still mired in the Depression, though there had been some lasting strides back toward positive territory. In June 1937 through 1938 it sank back into a deeper trough again with unemployment skyrocketing to nearly 20% of the population.

I agree about Rooney's obnoxious performance. By '38, he was riding high as a big star. Mickey's intense brashness and overt sentimentality needed to be reined in by a strong director at all times--he did some of his best (and less strident) ensemble work as a youth under Victor Fleming (Captains Courageous) and Clarence Brown (The Human Comedy, National Velvet). All that being said, I do enjoy an occasional Andy Hardy movie and some of the formulaic but splendidly tuneful musicals he made with Judy Garland.

To be honest, I don't like Spencer Tracy's Holy Joe priest roles. They seem too sanctimonious to me, but I believe that the actor approached these parts humbly and with a fear of offending--all of which appears to have led him to play a walking holy card instead of a flesh and blood man of the cloth. Playing laymen, Tracy seemed to me to have a gift for suggesting a believable inner spiritual struggle in unlikely character roles as diverse as those he played in The Power and the Glory, Dante's Inferno, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Seventh Cross, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Old Man and the Sea, Judgment at Nuremberg and even The Mountain.

[JackFavell]

I agree that Rooney is far better when reined in, those films are gems of economy, especially when compared to Rooney's Boy's Town performance. But I still can't help liking the Mickster anyway in BT and actually more so in Men of BT, even if it is melodrama.

[moira finnie]

...even if it is melodrama.

And where would American movies be without melodrama?

[JackFavell]

HA! Well put Pee Wee

[MissGoddess]

oh my goodness! I would not even be a classic movie fan if it weren't for melodrama. I'm a card-carrying Melo-Holic!

I caught one number from Babes in Arms last night (I have seen it before) and I just always marvel at Mickey Rooney's seemingly bottomless talent. It's like no matter what was thrown at him he could do it, effortlessly. Maybe that is what bugged Tracy, ha.

[RedRiver]

I just happen to have THE POWER AND THE GLORY out from the library! Haven't watched it yet. Any good?

[JackFavell]

It's episodic, but fascinating. Some might say it's a bit stodgy, though the form is interesting. Still, it's not as experimental as it aspires to be. Good, yes, but I do think it misses greatness. It seemed literary, and the acting is top notch. Well worth seeing. I would watch it again anytime.

[charliechaplinfan]

I loved Pee Wee, I like Mickey Rooney's musical persona, it's almost like he's too much energy to be contained on screen if he can't sing and/or dance, although I liked his work in Captain's Courageous. I wish all priests were like Spencer Tracy, I like both his forays into the priesthood, both roles he didn't really want to play, he did them well and with justice I think. Spence played men with dilemmas very well.

[ChiO]

I just happen to have THE POWER AND THE GLORY out from the library! Haven't watched it yet. Any good?

No...it's much better than that. Not exactly what one expects from the pen of Preston Sturges.

[RedRiver]

I watched the library's fine new copy of THE POWER AND THE GLORY. Not bad for a movie that's 900 years old! This is not a great drama, but it's well worth watching. There are some awkward close-ups; it's not artfully directed. But a "life story" is almost always interesting, and this is no exception. The growth, the sacrifices. Choices and repercussions. The characters are well defined, if one dimensional. The story is not subtle, but neither is it dull.

What I really like is that they don't sanctify one character and demonize another. Spence leaves his wife for another woman. But wifey is pretty darn pushy! If she'd let him go fishing once in a while, maybe this wouldn't have happened. As the narrator, a loyal friend played by Ralph Morgan, observes, there's more to a person than meets the eye. It's not about good guys and bad guys. They're just people, doing the best they can.

This is not one of Tracy's better efforts. He appears to walk through the part, going through the motions more than bringing it to life. He was young. The direction was uninspired. But he was Spencer Tracy. His lesser work is better than some actors could aspire to. This is a pretty good, old fashioned drama. Not one I'll watch again, but I'm glad I took the time last night!