Baby Doll

It's established early on in Elia Kazan's Baby Doll that Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden) and his child bride Baby Doll (Carroll Baker) aren't exactly living in the best conditions. Their house is falling to pieces, they're constantly arguing...it's only a matter of time before something else catastrophic happens.

Enter Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach), Archie's competitor in the cotton business. Infuriated, Archie burns down Silva's cotton gin. Silva, having a good idea as to who did it, plans to seduce a confession out of Baby Doll.

By many means, the premise would read rather tame nowadays. But bear in mind this was released back in 1956 (and was written by Tennessee Williams), so naturally some controversy bubbled up. And boy, you can see why. It's easily the most sexually charged work of Williams' career. (And this is someone who wrote A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.)

Now onto the performances. Malden, a familiar face amongst Kazan's films, shows a stormy nature that merely hides Archie's insecurities. Baker in turn highlights a provocative nature beneath her supposed innocence. But Wallach makes one hell of an impact with his film debut. Very rarely do you see a performance this fiery and driven. (God, did we lose one of the greats last year.)

Baby Doll is easily one of the unsung greats of both Kazan and Williams' careers. It's a film that was way ahead of its time and it hasn't lost any of its bite. Be sure to see this film.

My Rating: *****

The Last Tycoon

Elia Kazan is always known for making making movies where the main character has society against him. Look at Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. Look at Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront. Look at Philip Green in Gentleman's Agreement.

Also look at Monroe Stahr (Robert De Niro) in Kazan's swan song The Last Tycoon. Monroe is a movie producer, but recently he's losing interest in his work. He wants to focus less on his professional life and more on his personal life.

I admire Kazan going all out with the cast. Along with De Niro, the cast for The Last Tycoon includes Robert Mitchum, Ray Milland, Dana Andrews, Tony Curtis, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Nicholson. I'm not saying this because I like him more, but I think Curtis gave the better performance out of all these actors. He gives us what his role offers him, perhaps because he was a struggling actor like his character Rodriguez. (I love the one shot of Rodriguez as he sees a picture of his younger self hanging in Monroe's office, making him smile and remember his past.)

The Last Tycoon is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished final novel. I'm not sure which parts were from Fitzgerald's mind and which from screenwriter Harold Pinter's, but I will say there are a lot of underdeveloped issues. It's just so many of the characters don't move forward.

All in all, The Last Tycoon is decent on many counts. Decent acting, decent direction, decent script. It could have been vastly improved, but what's presented is all right by most standards.

My Rating: ****

Wild River

It's really sad that after his near-fatal car crash, studios were more than hesitant to cast Montgomery Clift in their projects. It wasn't just because his good looks were destroyed, but his mental state was as well.

Elia Kazan trusted Clift enough to cast him in Wild River. After all, Kazan had previously worked with Method acting pioneers Marlon Brando and James Dean, but Clift was different both acting-wise and mentally. Clift had a slow simmering type of acting, which he showcases in Wild River.

Wild River also stars Lee Remick, whom I also like. She is someone who I dub an "underactor" meaning her performances are so subtle and nuanced, they feel more like she's being herself rather than acting. Her work in Wild River is such an example.

Although the title implies otherwise, Wild River gets on the slow side more than once. It's a good movie, but I wouldn't generally rank it among On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire or A Face in the Crowd. I will say, however, that Clift and Remick some fine work.

My Rating: ****

A Face in the Crowd

A number of movies from the 1950's managed to show the realities of media, whether it'd be movies (Sunset Boulevard, The Bad and the Beautiful), newspapers (Sweet Smell of Success) or television (A Face in the Crowd).

Upon being discovered by talent scout Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal), "Lonesome" Rhodes (Andy Griffith) appears on television and becomes a media sensation. But his taste for fame soon becomes too much.

A Face in the Crowd is honestly one of Elia Kazan's best movies. It sags a little bit during the middle, but it's supported by a strong beginning and ending. It is written by Budd Schulberg who, if you've seen On the Waterfront, clearly wants to show the harsh realities of life and media. Griffith's role as Rhodes is a tour de force (that's saying a lot for a film debut). Neal also gives a solid performance. A Face in the Crowd may not be well known as On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire, but, like I said before, it's just as great as those two.

My Rating: ****1/2

BOOK VS MOVIE: East of Eden

I've only read three works of John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, East of Eden), but I know enough that he's one hell of an author.

In Salinas Valley, California in the late 1910's, Cal and Aron Trask both desire the attention of their father Adam. Aron gets most of the attention since he's the good son while Cal's the black sheep of the family. But Cal doesn't stop trying.

There's one part in the book and movie that made me get a lump in my throat. Cal gives his father a large sum of money he had earned. Adam refuses to accept the gift, asking Cal to be more like Aron. The refusal crushes Cal, failing to win the love of his father.

I actually connected with Cal since I could relate with him. Like him, I vie for the love and attention of my parents. But since my siblings are more active than me, I feel a little hurt when I don't get any recognition from my parents when I do something good. In fact, I started up this blog as a way to get more attention. But alas, it hasn't worked enough.

I love what Steinbeck said upon seeing James Dean ("Jesus Christ, that IS Cal Trask!"), and no surprise really. Dean's performance is riveting. As for the book, it's a brilliant piece of literature.

What's worth checking out?: I'd go with the book.

BOOK VS MOVIE: A Streetcar Named Desire

I've recently taken an interest in plays. So far, I've read works by Arthur Miller, David Mamet and Tennessee Williams, the latter I've taken a liking to. Now onto the review.

Aging Southern belle Blanche DuBois comes to live with her sister Stella. Blanche isn't pleased by the cramped conditions, even less pleased by the brutish behavior of Stella's husband Stanley. She and Stanley don't get along at all. Enter Mitch, a poker buddy of Stanley and likely suitor for Blanche. But Stanley may have to do something about this.

This had everything that makes it a work from Tennessee Williams, particularly the "mad heroine". Stanley's arrogant, but for some odd reason Stella stills stays with him. Moving onward, I just adore the performances from Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh (who replaced original actress Jessica Tandy), Kim Hunter and Karl Malden.

What's worth checking out?: I'd go with both of them.

On the Waterfront

This past Monday marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Academy Award-winning director Elia Kazan. The director is known for two things: directing such movies as Gentleman's Agreement, A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, and his House Un-American Activities Committee testimony, the latter making him one of the most controversial directors until his demise in 2003. On the Waterfront explained what he felt.

Ex-prizefighter Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) unwittingly becomes a pawn in the murder of longshoreman Joey Doyle. The murder was set up by union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), who has also done other illegal activities, with the help of Terry's brother Charley (Rod Steiger). After finding out about the murder, Terry starts to feel guilty for being part of it. Joey's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and Father Barry (Karl Malden) urge Terry to admit his wrongdoing.

By now, the movie's topic is rather dated but its impact is still as strong as ever. It's no surprise that Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb and Rod Steiger were all nominated for Academy Awards, with Brando and Saint winning (Malden, Cobb and Steiger lost to The Barefoot Contessa's Edmond O'Brien). Their performances are ones that you will remember long after the credits have rolled.

My Rating: *****