Daily Archives: November 14, 2016

The Young Philadelphians
Directed by Vincent Sherman
Written by James Gunn from a novel by Richard Powell
1959/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Anthony Judson Lawrence: I just learned the rules of the game.[/box]

Peyton Place meets courtroom drama.  The standout is Robert Vaughn as a man brought low by the expectations of Main Line Philadelphia society.

Kate Judson is a working-class girl who is loved by honest Mike Flanagan, (Brian Keith) an Irish emigre who has started up his own construction company.  Kate is lifted above her station however by the desire of a local lion to have her son produce an heir.  Thus, Kate has a society wedding to William Lawrence III.  On the wedding night William discloses his terrible secret.  He “cannot love any one”.  Kate runs to Mike for comfort.  She returns to her mother’s home to learn that William has been killed in a car accident.

Kate’s night of consolation with Mike left her pregnant.  She remains determined that the baby will bear the Lawrence name despite the offer of a large cash payout.  The Lawrences accept defeat but cut Kate off without a dime.

Kate’s son Anthony Judson Lawrence grows up to be Paul Newman.  Tony is a smart, driven student who works summers for the Flanagan construction company.  His goal is to become a lawyer.  While working on the construction job, he meets Joan Dickinson (Barbara Rush), who is from the Main Line and whose father is a partner in a prestigious law firm.  The two fall in love.  Tony’s roommate Chet Gywnne (Robert Vaughn) advises him to marry Joan as quickly as possible to avoid having the romance and marriage squelched by the powers that be like his was.

Joan and Tony prepare to elope.  In the nick of time, Joan’s father appears with an offer Tony cannot refuse if he will only “wait until June.” Tony waits but Joan does not and goes on to marry a young millionaire.  Embittered and cynical, Tony becomes obsessed with getting ahead by any means necessary.  He is very successful in getting what he wants and becomes a famous tax attorney.

When his friend Chet is accused of murdering his Main Line guardian, loyalty compels Tony to defend him despite the formidable Main Line forces lined up against him.  With Alexis Smith as Ralph Bellamy’s young frustrated wife and Billie Burke as a wealthy client.

This picture didn’t capture me until the concluding trial sequence in which Newman had a chance to display his fire and charisma. Up to then, I found the story pretty trite.

The Young Philadelphians was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Supporting Actor (Vaughn); Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White.

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Libel
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Written by Anatole de Grunwald and Karl Tunberg from a play by Edward Wooll
1959/UK/USA
De Grunwald Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,/ Is the immediate jewel of their souls:/ Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;/ ’twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;/ But he that filches from me my good name/ Robs me of that which not enriches him, / And makes me poor indeed.” ― William Shakespeare, Othello

Add a title like Libel to names like Anthony Asquith, Olivia de Havilland and Dirk Bogarde and I am intrigued.  Unfortunately, the implausible plot of this amnesia-flick-meets- courtroom-drama undid much of that good will by its end.

Sir Mark Loddon (Bogarde) came back from the war a changed man.  His time as a POW and traumatic escape has left him without memory of key events and has turned his hair prematurely grey.  His patient loving wife Margaret (De Havilland) soothes his nerves following his numerous nightmares.

Sir Mark and Lady Loddon live in one of those British stately homes that is open to the public for tours.  Mark’s fellow prisoner Jeffrey Buckingham happens to see a TV program on the house.  He becomes obsessed with exposing Sir Mark as an impostor and takes his case to a tabloid newspaper with little love for the aristocrat.

It turns out that Sir Mark also shared quarters at POW camp with an actor called Frank Welney (also Bogarde) who bore him an uncanny resemblance. Buckingham’s contention is that Sir Mark died during the escape, probably at Welney’s hands, and that Welney used the information gained during their confinement to marry Sir Mark’s fiancee and steal his title.

Sir Mark brings an action for libel and about half of the film is taken up with the trial. Things start looking might bad for our protagonist.  With Robert Morely as Sir Mark’s attorney and Wilfred Hyde-White as the lawyer for the newspaper.

I was looking forward to this one and felt let down.  All the acting is fine but the plot really is so contrived that my eyes started hurting from all the rolling they were doing.  I think it might have been a mistake to have Bogarde play both parts.  De Havilland is kind of wasted in a part that consists mostly in a lot of hand-wringing.  You can’t win them all.

Libel was Oscar-nominated for Best Sound.

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