The film revolves around a novelist who meets a socialite during a train ride to New Mexico where they fall in love and get married until he brings in his teenaged, polio-stricken brother and her family into their lives as the woman becomes possessive to great extremes. It is a film about obsession and the idea of love where this man falls for love with a woman he meets on a train as she is reading one of his books as they both realize they are guests for an acquaintance of theirs where they would fall in love and marry only for the marriage to become troubled. Jo Swerling’s screenplay is filled with some witty and stylish dialogue that plays into the sense of attraction between the novelist Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) and the socialite Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney) upon their first meeting on the train. Yet, the story is told in reflective manner where Harland’s lawyer Glen Robie (Ray Collins) meets with Harland who had served a two-year prison sentence as he tells the story to people in this remote lake in Maine about what happened to Harland.
Robie was the one who invited Harland to his ranch in New Mexico where he also invited Ellen, her mother (Mary Philips), and her cousin/adopted sister Ruth (Jeanne Crain) as Harland gets to know the family as well as learn about Ellen and her attachment to her late father where she spread his ashes on a desert plateau. Although Ellen is engaged to an attorney in Russell Quinton (Vincent Price) who is running for district attorney. Ellen falls for Harland as they agreed to get married which would upset Quinton as Harland takes Ellen to Warm Springs, Georgia to meet his younger brother Danny (Daryl Hickman). At first, Ellen is warm in having Danny around until they moved to Harland’s remote lake house in Maine where Ellen is unhappy with not having Harland being around much due to his work while him inviting Mrs. Berent and Ruth to the home only made Ellen more possessive towards Harland. It would lead to some dark moments where Harland would temporarily live with the Berent family in Bar Harbor, Maine where Harland becomes close to Ruth though not in a romantic relationship despite Ellen’s paranoia.
John M. Stahl’s direction is stylish for the way he creates a film that has this tone that feels romantic, yet the opening scene reveals that something dark is ahead once Robie tells the story of what happened to Harland as he rows on a canoe all alone in the lake. Shot on various locations in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and parts of California, Stahl uses the locations to play into the journey that Ellen and Harland would go through during their courtship and eventual marriage. While there are some wide shots of the locations including the scenes at the lake where Harland has his remote lake house. There is a sense of romanticism in the way Stahl presents the scenes with Ellen and Harland in the film’s first act through the medium shots and close-ups in how they interact with one another. Stahl would also create these gorgeous compositions that also add to the dramatic tension once the story goes to Harland’s home as it is this idyllic place, but it also marks this change in Ellen’s behavior where its tone starts to darken.
Stahl also plays into this sense of dramatic tension and suspense in the way Ellen yearns to be with Harland who starts to get disconnected with her. Even where he begins to question a lot of things including her relationship with her father. It is also when he starts to befriend Ruth where Stahl knows where to place the actors in a frame as well as these small moments that would add to this ferocity in Ellen over wanting Harland for herself. Given that the film was made during the period of the Hays Code which prevented certain things that American filmmakers could not do. Stahl does know how to create something that is shocking by not showing anything but rather through sound or in a wide shot. The film’s third act is about the aftermath of this event and how it would impact Harland and Ellen’s marriage with revelations on the latter that would prove to be disturbing to not just Harland but also Ruth who also questions her sister’s motives as well as questions into what happened with their father. Overall, Stahl crafts a haunting yet exhilarating film about a woman’s possessive behavior towards her new husband.
Cinematographer Leon Shamroy, along with Technicolor specialist Natalie Kalmus, does phenomenal work with the film’s colorful cinematography as the daytime exteriors in the deserts and lake are gorgeous in the details in the coloring with the interior and unique lighting that play into the drama and suspense. Editor James B. Clark does excellent work with the editing where it is straightforward in terms of its rhythm in playing up to the suspense and melodrama. Art directors Maurice Ransford and Lyle Wheeler, along with set decorator Thomas Little, do brilliant work with the look of Robie’s ranch in New Mexico, the lake house that Harland owns, and the beachside home that the Berents have in its interiors as well as the train where Harland meets Ellen. Costume designer Kay Nelson does amazing work with the costumes in the stylish clothes and dresses that Ellen wears as it plays into her personality as well as this idea of a woman of immense beauty but with a dark and dangerous persona from within.
Makeup artist Ben Nye does wonderful work in the way Ellen looks in wanting to be this goddess of sorts that is a direct contrast to the naturalistic look of Ruth. The special photographic effects by Fred Sersen are terrific for some of the film’s minimal special effects in a few set-dressing pieces for the scenes on the beach and a few bits in the desert. The sound work of Roger Heman Sr. and E. Clayton Ward is superb in the sparse sound in the way a location sounds or how things can be heard in another room as it adds to the drama. The film’s music by Alfred Newman, with orchestral arrangements by Edward B. Powell, is incredible for its orchestral music score that has arrangements that play into the suspenseful moments of the film with its usage of heavy percussions as well as the swelling of strings with themes that add to the sense of melodrama in the film.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Jim Farley as the train conductor, Olive Blakeney as Robie’s wife, Reed Hadley as Danny’s doctor, Gene Lockhart as the Berent family doctor, and Chill Wills as Harland’s family friend Leick Thome whom Danny is often fond of though Ellen finds his presence to be distracting. Mary Philips is terrific as Ellen’s mother who laments over Ellen’s feelings for her father hoping Harland would be a good influence on her only to cope with the chaos over Ellen as she becomes more concerned towards Harland. Ray Collins is superb as Glen Robie as the man who would bring Harland and Ellen over to his ranch as he was also the former’s lawyer where he tells the story to locals in Maine over what happened with him and Ellen. Daryl Hickman is fantastic as Harland’s younger brother Danny who is partially paralyzed due to polio as he is fond of Ellen while also hoping to return to Maine to continue his growing progress unaware of Ellen’s growing disdain towards him.
Vincent Price is excellent as Russell Quinton as Ellen’s former fiancé who is shocked by the end of their abrupt engagement only to appear much later in the film during a trial that would put Harland into some serious trouble. Jeanne Crain is amazing as Ellen’s adopted sister Ruth as a young woman who has a love for nature and gardening as she becomes troubled by Ellen’s behavior while getting closer to Harland in their love for nature. Cornel Wilde is brilliant as Richard Harland as a novelist who falls for Ellen as he becomes smitten by her only to later be troubled by her behavior and possessiveness where he tries to sort out her behavior and motive. Finally, there’s Gene Tierney in a magnificent performance as Ellen Berent as a woman who is smitten by Harland because he looked like her late father while is hoping to have him all to herself. It is a performance that is filled with this sense of exotic beauty but there is this cold interior about her that is also monstrous in the way she becomes possessive towards Harland to some great extremes as it is truly a performance for the ages.
Leave Her to Heaven is a tremendous film by John M. Stahl that features a spectacular leading performance from Gene Tierney. Along with its supporting cast, ravishing visuals, a haunting music score, beautiful locations, and a rapturous story about love and obsession. It is a film that is an unconventional noir melodrama that also knows how to shock while also exploring a woman’s troubled obsession towards her husband. In the end, Leave Her to Heaven is an outstanding film by John M. Stahl.
© thevoid99 2024
Based on the novel by Edna Farber, Giant is the story of a ranching family in Texas who endure changing times to protect their land while dealing with an ambitious ranch hand who strikes it rich with oil. Directed by George Stevens and screenplay by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat, the film is a sprawling tale of the life of a family who endure many different things including social, racial, and personal issues that would shape their fortune. Starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor, Elsa Cardenas, and Earl Holliman. Giant is a grand yet evocative film from George Stevens.
The film follows the life a family of ranchers in Texas from the early 1920s to the mid-1950s where a rancher marries a woman from Maryland and brings her home where she copes with her new life and her own ideals while they both deal with an ambitious ranch hand who inherits land that is filled with oil. It’s a film that is about not just ambition but also the definition of success and how a rancher is trying to maintain his own ideas and morals for many years as he also contend with changing times and fortunes. The film’s screenplay by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat is definitely sprawling in terms of the way the times are set as it begins around the early 20th Century in Maryland where Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) goes to the state to buy a new horse. He ends up returning to Texas with a new wife in Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) who falls for Bick in their initial meeting as she adjust to her new environment as well as try to fit in with the new world.
The script does have a simple three-act structure as the first act is about Leslie in her new environment where she has to contend with Bick’s sister Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), the way things are in Texas as well as the role of women, and the racial divide between the rich, white ranchers and the poor Mexican-Americans who live near by in near-poverty. The second act is about the growth of Bick and Leslie’s family but also what Bick’s former ranch hand in Jett Rink (James Dean) would discover from land he inherits from Luz as he would become rich and later overwhelm the Benedicts with his oil empire. It’s around the same time that Bick’s morals and his ideas of what he wants would come to ahead in changes as his son Jordan II (Dennis Hopper) doesn’t want to take over the family business. The third act is about the decisions that Bick and Leslie’s children would take such as daughters Judy (Fran Bennett) and the youngest in Luz II (Carroll Baker) would take but also tragedy relating to the family and the decision Jordan II would make in marrying a Mexican-American in Juana (Elsa Cardenas).
George Stevens’ direction is definitely vast in not just the setting of the locations in Marfa, Texas but also for the length of the story that spans nearly four decades. With the scenes in Maryland shot in Virginia, the house interiors and the airport/parade scenes near Burbank, California, the film explores a world that starts off as simple with old ideas and old morals as they work no matter how imperfect they are. Stevens’ usage of wide shots are gorgeous in capturing vast depth of field that is the Benedict land with its horde of cattle which represents this old kind of empire that was the source of income for Texas. There is an intimacy in some of the close-ups and medium shots but also in how Leslie would encounter the new world she’s in as it’s very different the quaint and more colorful world of Maryland. There are moments that would foreshadow certain things including moments of tragedy and sadness but also little things that Leslie does that would shape the fortunes of the less fortunate as it showcases her grace. It is in sharp contrast to the old order that Bick stands for where he doesn’t want Leslie to be involved in conversations he’s having with other men including Uncle Bawley (Chill Wills) who adores Leslie.
The moments of foreshadowing would be prevalent towards its second act once Bick and Leslie become parents as they cope with the fact that Bick’s ideas and plans for his children don’t go as planned. Adding to the trouble is Jett and his emerging oil empire where it play into this sense of change that Bick has trouble adjusting to but also refusing to have Jett drill oil in his land. Stevens’ direction would play into these changes as the scenes of the oil wells and emergence of modern transport play into the falling fortunes of Bick and his reluctance to be part of the oil industry just to survive. Yet, it would all climax in an event that would celebrate Jett’s success as Stevens gives it a grand presentation that is quite large but there’s something about it that is off. Especially as it relates to Jett and what he’s achieved but there’s a sadness to it. Notably as it would also involve something that Bick is forced to see and come to terms with in who he is and be forced to accept. Overall, Stevens creates a riveting and enthralling film about the life of a rancher, his wife, and a ranch hand through many years in Texas.
Cinematographer William C. Mellor does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography in capturing the yellow and sunny desert look of the locations around the Benedict ranch and some of the locations in Texas well as some unique lighting in the interior scenes including the climatic scenes at the Jett hotel. Editors Phil Anderson, Fred Bohanan, and William Hornbeck do excellent work with the editing as its usage of transitional dissolves and fade-outs help play into structure of the film as well as rhythmic cuts to help intensify some of the dramatic moments. Production designer Boris Levin and set decorator Ralph S. Hurst do amazing work with the design of the Benedict home and its interiors as well as the design of the shantytowns that Benedict‘s Mexican workers live in and the hotel that Jett would open including its lavish dining hall. Costume designers Moss Mabry and Marjorie Best do fantastic work with the costumes with the design of the clothes the men wear as well as the dresses with Mabry designing the many clothes that Leslie would wear.
Makeup supervisor Gordon Bau does some fine work with some of the aging makeup in some of the characters though the way Jett looks when he‘s older is just bad as is some of the look of the Mexicans where it looks ridiculously bad. Special visual effects by Jack Cosgrove does some fine work with the minimal visual effects which are just some rear projection shots for a few scenes in the film. The sound work of Earl Crain Sr. is superb for the way some of the parties are held including some of the quieter moments at the Benedict home and the scenes during the work at the ranch and in the oil wells. The film’s music by Dimitri Timokin is wonderful for its soaring orchestral score that play into the drama with some elements of country-western music to play into the world of Texas that also include some traditional songs.
The casting by Hoyt Bowers is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Mickey Simpson as a racist diner owner, Noreen Nash as a film star, Paul Fix and Judith Evelyn as Leslie’s parents, Carolyn Craig as Leslie’s sister Lacy, Rod Taylor as Leslie’s then-beau Sir David Karfey, Maurice Jara as Dr. Guerra, Charles Watts as family friend Judge Whiteside, Earl Holliman as Judy’s husband Bob who wants a life of his own like his wife, and Sal Mineo as Angel Obregon II as a ranch hand son who is a childhood friend of the Benedict children as well as someone that Leslie is fond of as she helped him get better when he was a baby. Elsa Cardenas is wonderful as Jordy’s wife Juana who is a Mexican-American that Jordy loves as Bick would eventually become fond of late in the film. Jane Withers and Robert Nichols are terrific as Bick’s neighbors in Vashti and Pinky, respectively, as family friends who help the Benedicts cope with changes as well as try to maintain some old ideas.
Chill Wills is fantastic as Uncle Bawley as Bick’s uncle who is the family advisor as well as someone that is willing to hear what Leslie thinks as well as display a tenderness that isn’t seen very often. Fran Bennett is superb as Bick and Leslie’s eldest daughter Judy as a woman who is determined to find her own life as well as go for something that is more down-home rather than what Leslie wants from her. Mercedes McCambridge is brilliant as Bick’s sister Luz as a headstrong woman who finds herself butting heads with Leslie on who should run the house while being the business manager who is fond of Jett. Carroll Baker is excellent as Luz II as the youngest daughter of Bick and Leslie who is a typical young woman that would have a crush on Jett as she becomes confused in her loyalty towards her family. Dennis Hopper is amazing as Jordan “Jordy” Benedict II as Bick and Leslie’s son who is trying to find his own path as a doctor as well as marry a Mexican-American where he faces some prejudice as he tries to stand up for himself and defend his wife’s honor against Jett.
In his final performance, James Dean is incredible as Jett Rink as a ranch hand who would inherit land from Luz that would prove to be prosperous with his discovery of oil where Dean explores someone that was to make something of himself but there’s an emptiness that is quite sad as it show the fallacy of success. Rock Hudson is great as Jordan “Bick” Benedict II as a rancher that meets and falls for a woman from Maryland as he brings her home to Texas where he tries to show her the world that he lives in as he copes with changes of ideals and other things as well as his own immorality that he’s been carrying for so many years. Finally, there’s Elizabeth Taylor in a phenomenal performance as Leslie Benedict as Bick’s new wife who is trying to adjust to her new surroundings while maintaining her own sense of being in a world where women don’t have much say in things as it is Taylor that has this sense of command and grace into her performance while having great rapport with both Hudson and Dean.
Giant is a sensational film from George Stevens. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, a soaring music score, and a captivating story of changing times, ambition, and ideals. It’s a film that definitely lives up to its definition of the epic while also containing a few flaws. In the end, Giant is an incredible film from George Stevens.
George Stevens Films: (The Cohens and the Kellys in Trouble) - (Kentucky Kernals) - (Bachelor Bait) - (Laddie) - (The Nitwits) - (Alice Adams) - (Annie Oakley) - Swing Time - (Quality Street) - (A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)) - (Vivacious Lady) - (Gunga Din) - (Vigil in the Night) - (Penny Serenade) - (Woman of the Year) - (The Talk of the Town (1942 film)) - (The More the Merrier) - (That Justice Be Done) - (On Our Merry Way) - (I Remember Mama) - A Place in the Sun - (Something to Live For) - Shane - (The Diary of Anne Frank) - (The Greatest Story Ever Told) - (The Only Game in Town)
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the short story Mission with No Record for the Saturday Evening Post magazine by James Warner Bellah, Rio Grande is the story of a cavalry unit who are trying to control an Indian uprising near the Mexican border. Directed by John Ford and screenplay by James Kevin McGuinness, the film is the third and final film of a trilogy of films devoted to the cavalry as it would revolve around a cavalry officer torn between his duty and the family he‘s become estranged with. Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Claude Jarman Jr., Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Chill Wills, Victor McLaglen, and Grant Withers. Rio Grande is a compelling yet exciting film from John Ford.
Set in 1879, the film revolves an officer who is trying to run a fort and protect his settlers from the Apache who are trying to create chaos near the Mexican border in Texas. Even as he finds himself dealing with the arrival of his estranged wife and their son who had just enlisted in the cavalry after failing at West Point where he struggles to be a soldier as well as a good man. It’s a film that plays into a man trying to keep everything together as he is aware that the Apache are nearby the border where he hopes to stop them yet is uneasy by issues he has in his past relating to his family. James Kevin McGuinness’ script is structured to play into Lt. Colonel Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) as he tries to balance between family and duty as the first act is him dealing with his son Jeff (Claude Jarman Jr.) being enlisted as he doesn’t give him any special treatment as well as the arrival of his estranged wife Kathleen (Maureen O’Hara) whom he’s still in love with.
The second act revolves around Lt. Colonel Yorke’s attempt to balance duty and family while going on a small mission to the Rio Grande to meet with Mexican officers as Kathleen gets some unneeded reminders of her old home in the form of Major Sgt. Quincannon (Victor McLaglen) who is a friend of Lt. Col. Yorke. There’s a subplot involving a recruit named Tyree (Ben Johnson) who is rumored to be a fugitive as he tries to hide from a marshal as he would help Jeff go through training. The film’s third act revolves around a mission about getting the settlers to a fort where a lot happens but it also shows what kind of man Lt. Col. Yorke does as well as how his son is willing to prove himself to his father.
John Ford’s direction is definitely evocative for its usage of the wide and medium shots to capture much of the film’s location set in Monument Valley in Utah for many of the scenes set in the deserts along with some locations set in the town of Moab, Utah and areas near the Colorado River. Many of it play into the expansion of the West but also the unrest that is looming where Lt. Col. Yorke has to try and keep things civilized. The direction also has Ford creating a lot of these gorgeous images with the mountains and such as beautiful backdrops while he would create some intimate moments in the scenes at the fort involving Lt. Col. Yorke and his wife with some medium shots but also some close-ups. There are also moments where there are musical performances including a scene where musicians play for Kathleen as well as a general visiting the fort as well as a few comedic moments provided by Major Sgt. Quincannon. The climatic raid in the third act is definitely thrilling not just for Ford’s usage of dolly and tracking shots to capture the chase but also in creating a sense of urgency into the action. There is some suspense as it relates to what is needed to do but also a sense of what is happening where Ford knows how to shoot the action and make it mean something. Overall, Ford creates a fascinating and gripping film about a cavalry officer’s attempt to find balance in his role as a soldier and as a man.
Cinematographer Bert Glennon does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography from its usage of low-key lights and shadows for some of the film‘s nighttime interior/exterior scenes to the gorgeous look of the daytime exteriors to capture some of the film‘s locations. Editor Jack Murray does excellent work with the editing as a lot of it is straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the action. Art director Frank Hotaling, with set decorators John McCarthy Jr. and Charles S. Thompson, does fantastic work with the look of the fort as well as the tents and wagons used in the film.
Costume designer Adele Palmer does nice work with the look of some of the uniforms as well as the dresses that Kathleen wears. The sound work of Earl Crain Sr. and Howard Wilson is superb for its naturalistic approach to the sound in the locations as well as in the music as well as some sound effects for the gunfire and arrows. The film’s music by Victor Young is wonderful for its orchestral score that can be serene for the dramatic moments to bombastic with its action scenes as the music also includes traditional songs performed by Sons of the Pioneers who appear in the film as regimental singers.
The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from Karolyn Grimes as a young girl Major Sgt. Quincannon is fond of, Peter Ortiz and Steve Pendleton as a couple of captains aiding Lt. Col. Yorke, and Grant Withers as a marshal trying to find Tyree. J. Carrol Naish is terrific as General Philip Sheridan who makes a visit in the film’s second half as he would give Lt. Col. Yorke a major assignment while Chill Wills is fantastic as Dr. Wilkins who is the regiment’s surgeon that often provides some wise ideas. Victor McLaglen is excellent as Major Sgt. Quincannon as the film’s comic relief of sorts who likes to drink but also try to deal with what he did years ago that has gained him the ire of Kathleen Yorke.
Claude Jarman Jr. is superb as Lt. Col. Yorke’s son Jeff as a young recruit who tries to find his role in the military as well as trying to be himself without the need to impress his father whom he never saw for 15 years. Harry Carey Jr. is brilliant as Daniel “Sandy” Boone as a trooper who helps Jeff in learning the ropes while being a bit comical himself while Ben Johnson is amazing as the trooper Tyree as someone that is good with horses yet is hiding a secret as he is pursued by a marshal. Maureen O’Hara is great as Kathleen Yorke as Lt. Col. Yorke’s estranged wife who arrives to the fort to pull Jeff out only to find herself falling for her husband all over again but struggle with his duty as a soldier as it’s one of O’Hara’s finest performances. Finally, there’s John Wayne in a phenomenal performance as Lt. Colonel Kirby Yorke as this cavalry officer trying to do his job while becoming uneasy about having his son enlist as a cavalry trooper and becoming more uneasy with the presence of his wife where finds himself trying to balance being a soldier and be a good man as it’s Wayne in one of his defining roles.
Rio Grande is a remarkable film from John Ford that features amazing performances from John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. The film isn’t just a unique look into the world of the cavalry but also a look into a man trying to find balance in his role as a soldier and as a man. In the end, Rio Grande is a sublimely rich film from John Ford.
© thevoid99 2016
