Tag Archives: Wyler

Wuthering Heights (1939)

Posted on January 23, 2014 | 9 comments

Wuthering Heights
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht based on the novel by Emily Brontë
1939/USA
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
First viewing/Warner Home Video DVD
#131 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Heathcliff: I cannot live without my life! I cannot die without my soul![/box]

This is a beautiful looking film and Laurence Olivier becomes Heathcliff.

The classic Emily Brontë novel is the story of unfettered passion destroying everything in its wake. Mr. Earnshaw brings an street urchin he calls Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) into his Yorkshire family home, Wuthering Heights. The wild child forms a close bond with daughter Cathy (Merle Oberon), who also has a wild and rebellious streak. He forever earns the enmity of son Hadley. When Earnshaw dies, Hadley makes Heathcliff a stable boy and treats him brutally. Heathcliff stays on because of his love for Cathy, who, however, has a yearning for finer things. This yearning draws her to the Linton mansion, where Edgar Linton (David Niven) rapidly falls in love with her. The remainder of the story focuses on Heathcliff’s revenge on Hadley and the Linton family. With Flora Robson as housekeeper Ellen, the teller of the tale; an almost unrecognizable Leo G. Carroll as Joseph, the farm man-of-all-trades; Geraldine Fitzgerald as Isabel Linton; and Donald Crisp as a doctor.

I regret that I did not see the film before I had read the novel a couple of times. If I had, I might have liked the book better. It is not a favorite of mine and it strikes me as a story in which virtually all the characters verge on insanity. I find Heathcliff especially cruel and repugnant.

If I had seen the movie, I might have been prepared to accept the novel as a tragic tale of eternal love. Certainly, Laurence Olivier’s Heathcliff is dreamy, with the perfect undertone of cold violence. I”m still not to keen on Merle Oberon as an actress but she does look beautiful, which is the main thing required of Cathy. The movie glances over the worst excesses of Heathcliff’s savagery so that he becomes a more sympathetic sufferer of class injustice.

The story and acting aside, this is an exquisitely shot picture. The opening, with the driving rain and forbidding moors, is scary and perfect. The whole thing almost glows. It definitely qualifies as a must see in my book.

Gregg Toland won the Academy Award for his incandescent black and white cinematography. Wuthering Heights was nominated for seven other Oscars: Best Picture; Best Actor; Best Supporting Actress (Fitzgerald); Best Director; Best Screenplay; Best Art Direction; and Best Original Score (Alfred Newman).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igaRpWIoFaw

Clip – Cathy and Heathcliff at the ball

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1939

Tagged 1930s, Hollywood, Wyler

Jezebel (1938)

Posted on November 23, 2013 | 9 comments

Jezebel
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel and John Huston from the play by Owen Davis
1938/USA
Warner Bros
Repeat viewing
#120 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Aunt Belle: Child, you’re out of your mind. You know you can’t wear red to the Olympus Ball.

Julie Marsden: Can’t I? I’m goin’ to. This is 1852, dumplin’. 1852, not the Dark Ages.[/box]

William Wyler was some director and this is a polished well-acted drama.

Neither her aunt (Faye Bainter) nor her guardian can make headstrong Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) behave according to the rules of antebellum New Orleans society. Julie is determined to win the same battle with her fiance Pres Dillard.. In a fit of pique after Pres refuses to leave an important business meeting to go to a fitting with her, Julie decides to wear a red dress to a ball. This is simply something not done by unmarried girls, who traditionally dress in virginal white. Julie loses the battle of the sexes and the story follows the many bad consequences of her stubbornness. With George Brent as a rival beau, Donald Crisp as a doctor, and Spring Byington as a society matron.

This role suited Bette Davis perfectly. She is magnificent as the haughty, catty Julie. William Wyler, with whom she was having an affair at the time, made her look radiantly lovely as well. The rest of the cast is excellent, with the possible exception of Margaret Lindsay who gets on my nerves for some reason. The production was lavish and expensive and Wyler sets off the beautiful surroundings with a fluid moving camera. The ball scene is particularly notable.

I never can make sense of the ending. Why would anyone trust Julie to return her husband? I certainly wouldn’t.

Bette Davis and Faye Bainter were awarded with Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Oscars. Jezebel was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Music (Scoring).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ_amZoT7HE

Trailer

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1938, Movie Reviews

Tagged 1930s, Hollywood, Wyler

The Good Fairy (1935)

Posted on May 17, 2013 | 2 comments

The Good Fairy
Directed by William Wyler
1935/USA
Universal Pictures
Repeat viewing

Dr. Schultz: The, uh, the pants, I mean, they’re not too tight?
Schlapkohl: That depends entirely on the girls, the pants are all the same size.

This charming film has some of my favorite actors and a witty screenplay by Preston Sturges. It is a romantic comedy verging on the screwball.

The setting is modern-day (1935) Hungary. A movie theater owner goes to an orphanage to find an usherette for his theater and selects the sweet, naive Luisa Ginglebuscher (Margaret Sullavan). On one of her first days in the big city she is invited by a waiter (Reginald Owen) to a party in the hotel where he works. At the party, she is approached by wealthy Mr. Konrad (Frank Morgan) who tries to seduce her. This frightens Luisa and she says she is married. Konrad is not deterred and says he will make her husband rich. This inspires Luisa with the thought that she could do a good deed for someone like they were taught at the orphanage. So she selects the name of lawyer Max Sporum (Herbert Marshall) from the phone book. Konrad goes to see Sporum the next day and gives the bewildered man a lucrative five-year contract. Sporum and Luisa meet thereafter and go on a shopping spree and things proceed from there.

Good Fairy 1

The plot description doesn’t sound too amusing but I can assure you the movie is. The dialogue just pops. I adore Margaret Sullavan, whom I have not seen enough of. She would charm the pants off an alligator. Herbert Marshall has probably never been this whimsical and it suits him. Recommended.

Trailer

2 Comments

Posted in 1935, Movie Reviews

Tagged 1930s, 1935, Hollywood, Wyler

Ben-Hur (1959)

Posted on May 12, 2013 | 7 comments

Ben-Hur
Directed by William Wyler
1959/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing
#349 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Judah Ben-Hur: [after he is sentenced to the galleys] May God grant me vengeance! I will pray that you live until I return!

Messala: [ironically] Return?[/box]

This big-budget epic delivers in all the blockbuster categories. It is approximately 27 A.D. Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a prince and the richest man in Judea. He was a childhood friend of Messala (Stephen Boyd), a Roman who has now returned to Judea as Tribune of the occupying Romans. Their friendship is soon severed when Ben-Hur refuses to inform on Jewish rebels. When a tile from Ben-Hur’s roof injures the Governor, he is sentenced as a galley-slave and his mother and sister are imprisoned.

Ben-Hur survives three years on the galleys and attracts the notice of Consul Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins). He rescues Arrius from drowning during a sea battle and earns the older man’s eternal gratitude. He becomes a victorious chariot racer in Rome. After Arrius formally adopts Hur, he returns to Judea to search for his mother and sister and exact revenge on Messala. Throughout the story, Ben-Hur encounters Jesus of Nazereth, who inspires him with his mercy.

As I have mentioned before, the epic is my least favorite genre and this film combines the sword-and-sandal variant with the biblical variant. I am also not a fan of Charlton Heston’s acting. I must obey the commands of the Random Number Generator however or I would never get around to many of the unseen movies on my List!

While I can’t say that I loved this movie, I must admit that as a pure spectacle it can’t be faulted. The famous chariot race is particularly thrilling and the settings and costumes are great. I enjoyed the commentary track on the Blu-Ray DVD I rented even more than the film. This movie was MGM’s chance at salvation from bankruptcy after the studio had taken a drubbing from television. It was also interesting to learn about the filming in Rome and the different techniques used to get the effects.

Did any one else not know that movie theaters really didn’t sell candy or popcorn in their lobbies until they started having to compete with at-home TV viewing? I had always assumed that popcorn was a permanent fixture of movie-going.