Written on the Wind

Based on the novel by Robert Wilder, Written on the Wind is the story of a woman who marries into an oil family as she would fall for her husband’s best friend. Directed by Douglas Sirk and screenplay by George Zuckerman, the film is an exploration of a woman who becomes part of a very dysfunctional and decadent family as she tries to make sense of the family she‘s married to while dealing with her feelings for husband‘s best friend. Starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone. Written on the Wind is a sensational yet wild film from Douglas Sirk.

Based on a real life incident involving the tobacco heir Zachary Smith Reynolds and torch singer Libby Holman, the film is an exploration into the chaotic world of a Texan oil family whose adult children are spoiled and troubled as they besmirch the reputation of the family as an heir’s wife and his best friend are caught in the middle. Much of which play into an heir trying to find happiness in his life as he meets an executive secretary in New York City as he woos her into marrying him. Though it seems to be a major change and a step into maturity for Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack) as he would introduce his new wife Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall) to his father Jasper (Robert Keith). Trouble would brew due to the presence of Kyle’s younger sister Marylee (Dorothy Malone) who has gained a reputation for being a nymphomaniac as she also wants longtime childhood friend Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson) who secretly has feelings for Lucy.

George Zuckerman’s screenplay doesn’t just explore the desires of what Kyle and Marylee Hadley want in their very lavish but often empty lives. The script also explores Lucy and Mitch being in the middle of this chaotic world where Lucy was reluctant to be wooed by Kyle yet finds him fascinating as he was very honest about his alcoholism and such. While Mitch would watch Kyle be with Lucy as he would suck it up and accept it, he becomes overwhelmed by Kyle and Marylee as he wants to leave the entire world of the Hadleys though he still has some loyalty to Japser. While he knows about Kyle’s alcoholism and does pity him, Lucy has no clue on how severe it is as she and Kyle try to start a family only for things to not go as quickly as Kyle wanted. Adding to Kyle’s already fragile state is Marylee whose desire to want Mitch would have her be manipulative to Kyle over the idea that Mitch and Lucy are having an affair which isn’t true. It would add to the heightened sense of drama that would play out as it would be very sensational but also lurid considering the kind of behavior that Marylee has.

Douglas Sirk’s direction is very stylish as well as being a bit over-the-top of times since it does play into his sensibilities on melodrama. While he keeps much of it restrained and somber early on though the film begins with Kyle driving very fast to his home as a gunshot is then heard. It then flashes back to something less dramatic when Kyle meets Lucy for the first time where he’s about to have lunch with Mitch as it starts off as this very straightforward romance with some very lovely compositions in its use of medium shots and close-ups along with a few low angle shots. The film becomes more stylized in its compositions once the film is set in Texas where Sirk adds something that is very dark once Marylee comes into the picture as she is this firecracker that likes to push buttons. While she may have some air of innocence over what she wants to have with Mitch, there is that layer of darkness about her that does drive the film. Especially where it would have this soaring and sensational idea of drama where it is very strange at times but also offbeat considering how over-the-top it can be. Overall, Sirk crafts a very mesmerizing yet visceral film about two people caught up in the world of a very dysfunctional family.

Cinematographer Russell Metty does phenomenal work with the film‘s very rich and colorful Technicolor-based cinematography with its stylish approach to lighting for some of its nighttime interior scenes as well as the way some of the locations in Texas plus the old river that Kyle, Mitch, and Marylee used to play at. Editor Russell J. Schoengarth does excellent work with the editing as it‘s straightforward in terms of its cutting strategies while playing to the film‘s unique rhythm for its melodramatic moments. Art directors Alexander Golitzen and Robert Clatworthy, with set decorators Russell A. Gausman and Julia Heron, do fantastic work with the design of Hadley mansion as well as the bar that Kyle likes to go as well as the posh hotel suites in Miami where Kyle hoped to woo Lucy at.

Costume designer Bill Thomas does amazing work with the design of the gowns that Marylee and Lucy wears as the former is very lavish and provocative while the latter is more classy as it both plays to their personalities. The sound work of Leslie I. Carey and Robert Pritchard is terrific for the way the Hadleys‘ cars sound when they‘re speeding to the atmosphere of the parties they old. The film’s music by Frank Skinner is brilliant for its soaring and lush orchestral-based music as it plays to the melodrama while there‘s some jazz-based themes that play into the world of Marylee while music supervisor Joseph Gershenson brings in some jazz-based pieces into the music soundtrack plus a ballad written by Victor Young and Sammy Cahn that opens the film.

The film’s superb cast includes some notable small roles from Robert J. Wilkes as the bartender at the bar that Kyle likes to drink at, Harry Shannon as Mitch’s father, John Larch as one of Marylee’s lovers, Roy Glenn and Maidie Norman as the house servants of the Hadley home, and Edward Platt as the longtime family doctor who examines Lucy as he becomes concerned if Kyle is the real problem. Robert Keith is excellent as Marylee and Kyle’s father Jasper as an oil man who treats Mitch like a son as he watches the behavior of his children with great despair as he questions about his failings as a father. Dorothy Malone is amazing as the very lurid and slimy Marylee Hadley as this nymphomaniac who likes to cause trouble while wanting to pursue Mitch in every way she can.

Robert Stack is brilliant as the troubled Kyle Hadley as a playboy who wants to have the good things in life when he meets Lucy only to succumb to his own insecurities and alcoholism as he loses sight of everything as well as his friendship to Mitch. Lauren Bacall is incredible as Lucy Moore as this woman who is wooed by Kyle as she is baffled yet charmed by his personality only to deal with his alcoholism and insecurities as she wonders if she made the right decision as she starts to have feelings for Mitch. Finally, there’s Rock Hudson in a glorious performance as Mitch Wayne as this simple yet kind man who devotes his loyalty to Jasper Hadley while trying to deal with Kyle’s alcoholism as well as his own feelings for Lucy as it’s a role that has Hudson be tough but also be grounded as someone who had seen a lot and knows what is important as it’s one of Hudson’s finest performances.

Written on the Wind is a spectacular film from Douglas Sirk that is highlighted by the performances of Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone. Along with the beautiful cinematography of Russell Metty and Frank Skinner’s lush score, it’s a film that is quite touching but also very intense in terms of its melodrama while not being afraid of being dark and be critical about rich American families. In the end, Written on the Wind is a remarkable film from Douglas Sirk.

Douglas Sirk Films: (t Was een April) - (The Court Concert) - (To New Shores) - (La Habanera) - (Boefje) - (Hitler’s Madman) - (Summer Storm) - (A Scandal in Paris) - (Lured) - (Sleep My Love) - Shockproof - (Thunder on the Hill) - (No Room for the Groom) - (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?) - (Meet Me at the Fair) - (Take Me to Town) - (All I Desire) - (Taza, Son of Cochise) - Magnificent Obsession (1954 film) - (Sign of the Pagan) - (Captain Lightfoot) - All That Heaven Allows - There's Always Tomorrow (1956 film) - (Never Say Goodbye) - (Battle Hymn) - (Interlude) - (The Tarnished Angels) - (A Time to Love and A Time to Die) - Imitation of Life

© thevoid99 2014

High Noon

Directed by Fred Zinneman and screenplay by Carl Foreman from a story by John W. Cunnigham, High Noon is the story about a retired marshal who finds himself having to take a stand against a group of vengeful criminals in order to save his town. The film plays into a man reluctantly taking part in a stand against a villain and his gang as it’s told in real time. Starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Ian MacDonald, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Lee Van Cleef, and Robert J. Wilke. High Noon is a gripping yet mesmerizing film from Fred Zinneman.

The revolves around the release of a criminal named Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald) who is about to arrive at the town of Hadleyville in order to get revenge on the man that put him to prison in a marshal named William Kane (Gary Cooper). Once Kane hears the news on his wedding day and that Miller will arrive town at noon, trouble brews as Kane is about to retire and live the quiet life with his bride Amy (Grace Kelly). Kane reluctantly decides to stay to face Miller and his gang as he suddenly realizes he’s all alone with no one willing to take a stand with him. Even Amy reluctantly decides to leave Kane to take the train out of town along with a former lover of Kane and Miller named Helen Ramirez (Katy Jurado) who is currently with Kane’s deputy Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges) who also decides not to help out Kane. Once noon comes in, it all comes down to this showdown between Kane and Miller with his gang.

What makes this film so engrossing isn’t just the fact that it’s told in real time but the way time is used to create this sense of tension and dread about the return of a notorious criminal who had brought chaos to this small town until a man named Kane brought law and order back to the town. Miller’s return causes worry as they’re all afraid of him and his gang forcing Kane to do everything by himself. Carl Foreman’s screenplay definitely plays to that sense of tension and dread as time is a real drive to the story. A lot of it features Kane having to go back to town and gather whatever posse he can get only to be turned down as many of the locals have no faith in the aging Kane despite what he’s done for the town. Still, there’s those who feel like Miller’s return will help things as Kane finds his back against the wall.

The script also plays into the people around Kane such as Amy and Helen as both of them each offer weight to the story. Amy is a Quaker who is worried about being a widow and doesn’t want to see Kane killed but also doesn’t want to deal with the sense of violence as she had horrific encounters with violence in the past. Helen is a woman was once a lover of Kane and Miller in the past as she had just made a new life for herself but Miller’s return forces her to flee in order to not just see Kane killed but also avoid Miller. Frank Miller doesn’t appear in the story until the moment the train arrives exactly at noon but still carries a presence that is disconcerting as he brings fear to this small town as the locals are unsure whether to take a stand against him or just let him and his posse take over.

Fred Zinneman’s direction is truly engrossing for the way he presents the film. Notably in the way he maintains this sense of tension in the film as time slows down where the pacing has this unsettling tone over what is coming. Zinneman uses a lot of close-ups and medium shots to play out the tension while always finding a way to put the clock in the frame to emphasize that time is a key proponent in the story. Zinneman also creates the sense of drama to help drive Kane’s decision of whether to face off against Miller or to run with Amy and hide from him. Yet, Kane is not a coward but he is aware of how dangerous Miller and his gang is.

Zinneman also employs an intimacy in some of the drama as well as scenes of the locals talking about Kane and Miller to help play into that sense of time as they all await for the showdown. It does add to that sense of dread where everyone is waiting for the train arrive including Miller’s gang as they wait at the station. Once the climatic showdown is coming, the suspense definitely amps to see what will happen and how will Kane go face to face against Miller and his gang. Overall, Zinneman creates a very intense and riveting film about a man taking a stand against a chaotic criminal.

Cinematographer Floyd Crosby does brilliant work with the film‘s gorgeous black-and-white photography in the use of shadows against the sun while creating low-key lights for some of the film‘s interiors. Editors Elmo Williams and Harry W. Gerstad do fantastic work with the editing as it plays to the sense of suspense and dread along with a few rhythmic cuts to play out some of the dramatic reactions and fights. Production designer Rudolph Sternad, along with set decorator Murray Waite and art director Ben Hayne, does excellent work with the set pieces from the look of the town to the hotel that Helen stays in.

The sound work of John Speak is superb for the atmosphere is created in the saloons as well as playing up to the suspense with the sound of clocks and train horns. The film’s music by Dimitri Tiomkin is amazing for its low-key yet somber score that is a mixture of country-western and orchestral music while using some orchestral music to play up the suspense and drama while the film’s title song co-written with lyricist Ned Washington and sung by Tex Ritter is a wonderful piece that helps tell the story.

The casting by Jack Murton is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable appearances from Harry Morgan as a friend of Kane who refuses to help out, Eve McVeagh as that friend’s wife who reluctantly lies to Kane, Otto Kruger as the judge who tells Kane to leave town, Lon Chaney as Kane’s old mentor who also tells Kane to leave, Morgan Farley as the town’s local minister and as Miller’s gang, there’s Robert J. Wilke, Sheb Wooley, and Lee Van Cleef as they bring a unique presence to the film. Ian MacDonald is terrific as the film’s antagonist Frank Miller as he appears late in the film but brings a great presence in the way he arrives to the film.

Lloyd Bridges is excellent as Kane’s successor who feels slighted by Kane as he abandons his post while trying to get him to flee. Katy Jurado is amazing as Helen Ramirez as a former lover of Kane and Miller as she is aware of the danger that is coming as she tries to get Kane to flee town as well. Grace Kelly is radiant as Kane’s new bride Amy as a woman who urges her husband to flee while dealing with the possibilities of what would happen as she would play a key role in the showdown. Finally, there’s Gary Cooper in an outstanding performance as William Kane as an aging marshal who is forced to face the man he put in prison while realizing how alone he is as it’s a performance that is truly engaging in the way Cooper maintains a sense of humility and determination to a man wanting to do what is right for himself and his town.

High Noon is a tremendous film from Fred Zinneman that features a brilliant performance from Gary Cooper. Along with noteworthy supporting performances from Grace Kelly, Katy Jurado, and Lloyd Bridges, it’s a film that is truly one of the defining films of the western genre. Particularly in the way it builds tension and suspense in real time as it doesn’t falter in its pacing while maintaining a sense of excitement. In the end, High Noon is a magnificent film from Fred Zinneman.

Fred Zinneman Films: (Redes) - (That Mothers Might Live) - (Stuffie) - (Forbidden Passage) - (Kid Glove Killer) - (Eyes in the Night) - (The Seventh Cross) - (My Brother Talks to Horses) - (The Search) - (Act of Violence) - (The Men (1950 film)) - (Benjy) - (Teresa) - From Here to Eternity - (Oklahoma!) - (A Hatful of Rain) - (The Nun’s Story) - (The Sundowners) - (Behold a Pale Horse) - (A Man For All Seasons) - (The Day of the Jackal) - (Julia) - (Five Days One Summer)

© thevoid99 2013