Sat., December 23rd, 8 p.m.
Frank Capra
US 1946
129 min.
35mm
Frank Capra, the director of It’s A Wonderful Life lived a Horatio Alger type life, prompting director John Ford to call him “an inspiration to those who believe in the American dream.” Capra’s Southern Italian peasant parents brought him to America when he was six years old—he lived through a scrappy childhood; as a young man, he freight-hopped, sold books door-to-door, and wandered the country after WWI, gathering experiences and meeting his ultimate audience—who he called “the common man.”
Capra wound up in Hollywood in the 30s—props man, gag writer for Hal Roach movies, lab man, editor—then directing. First small features and talkies, then finally, successes like Meet John Doe and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington confirmed Capra as a serious director and some say, the first Hollywood “auteur.” World War II saw patriotic volunteer Major Frank Capra serving his country by making the influential “Why We Fight” WWII orientation films. Frank comes back to Hollywood a changed man, worried about the rise of fascism and the dehumanizing effects of business and doubting that he could make serious movies as a part of the big studio systems. With partners George Stevens and William Wyler, he started Liberty Films and found a script—developed from a Christmas card pamphlet—about a despairing small town man for Liberty Films’ first (and as it turned out, only) production. It had all the elements Capra loved: a chance to portray the common man as good and decent and show that every life had meaning. Capra rewrote key scenes himself and started casting.
Only one man could play George Bailey for Capra—but it had been 6 years since Bomber Squadron Commander Jimmy Stewart had been on the big screen, and Stewart said that he’d “lost all sense of judgment. I was uncertain.” Even Sheldon Leonard, who plays Nick the Bartender, noticed. “He was not as smoothly professional as I expected…”
Stewart’s personal angels were Capra, who never lost faith in Stewart’s abilities, and Lionel Barrymore (the hateful Mr. Potter), who told him “Acting, young fella, is a noble profession. Now just do what you’re doing!” Stewart said these words helped him, as did the willingness of his young co-star, Donna Reed, to do their intense by-the-phone love scene in one take. In fact, that scene was so convincing that the more passionate parts of the embrace were clipped in fear of the censors. Jimmy Stewart’s post-war angst contributed to the film’s powerful emotional impact—he said that he’d been genuinely overcome with a sense of hopelessness and started to actually sob in the scene where George prays outside of the bar. Capra let the cameras roll, later reframing the shot to catch the genuine emotion on Stewart’s face. Jimmy Hawkins, who played little Tommy Bailey, and who has just written a children’s version of this story said, “Jimmy Stewart and George Bailey are basically one and the same.”
It’s A Wonderful Life didn’t win any Oscars. It lost money at the box office. It was ridiculed by some critics for its “Pollyanna” outlook. But Capra didn’t care. He said in his autobiography: “I thought it was the greatest film I had ever made. It wasn’t made for oh-so-bored critic or the oh-so-jaded literati…it was my kind of film for my kind of people. A film to tell the weary, the disheartened, and the disillusioned that no man is a failure…that each man’s life touches so many other lives…that you are the salt of the earth. And It’s a Wonderful Life is my memorial to you. There’s more to it than we thought we had. It’s the picture I waited all my life to make.”
~Karen Noske, George Eastman House volunteer
(William A. Wellman, US 1937, 111 min., 35mm)
A fresh-faced farm girl goes to Hollywood and becomes a star, but her rise to the top is accompanied by heartbreak and tragedy. The second of four versions of this Tinseltown myth is arguably the best, featuring brilliant dramatic work by Janet Gaynor as the rising young star and Fredric March as her alcoholic actor husband. This original Technicolor nitrate print will dazzle your eyes.
A note about nitrate film:
Discontinued around the mid-20th Century due to its highly flammable nature, nitrate film stock - the combination of a silver nitrate base and orthochromatic or panchromatic emulsion – provided a shimmering, luminous motion picture experience for moviegoers during the entire first half of movie history. One of only a handful of venues in the world that is still safely equipped to show 35mm nitrate prints, the Dryden Theatre is occasionally able to re-introduce audiences to this special kind of cinema magic with classic films from our vaults or other leading archives. Because no nitrate film stock is being produced today, these rare screenings of vintage prints may represent your only opportunity to experience this distinctive aesthetic visual pleasure.
(Richard Donner, US 1985, 114 min., 35mm)
When they find a map, a group of misfit kids in the Pacific North-west go in pursuit of One-Eyed Willy’s pirate treasure, hidden in their beachfront community. Their chief obstacles are a series of treacherous tunnels, booby-trapped caves, and the villainous Fratellis, a family of thieves who also want the booty. Produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg, the cast of mostly then-unknowns includes Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Martha Plimpton, Corey Feldman, Ke Huy Quan, and Joe Pantoliano. A cult favorite among those former youngsters who saw it on its first release, it’s also perfect viewing for contemporary young audiences. Preceded by Spanky and his Little Rascal pals in MAMA’S LITTLE PIRATE (Gus Meins, US 1934, 18 min.)
(Richard Wallace, US 1938, 90 min., 35mm)
Janet Gaynor’s last released feature before her retirement from the movies is a witty, heartfelt, screwball comedy from super-producer David O. Selznick. Gaynor stars as George-Ann, the wily daughter in a family of high-class con artists, intent on fleecing a kindly old widow (Broadway veteran Minnie Dupree in her show-stopping screen debut) out of her vast fortune. New Preservation Bonus: Followed by rare screen tests recently preserved by George Eastman House!
Program Notes
The Young in Heart
~Anthony L’Abbate, Stills Archivist, Motion Picture Department
The Young in Heart, concludes our two month long centenary celebration for Janet Gaynor. The The Young in Heartwas Gaynor’s last starring film role, she would return to the screen only once more, in the 1957 film Bernadine, in which she played Pat Boone’s mother.
The Young in Heart was produced by David O. Selznick for his own independent production company Selznick International Pictures, the studio that also made Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Star is Born, Rebecca and of course Gone With the Wind, among others. Of all the films made by Selznick, The Young in Heart is one of the best, but the least known.
The story by I.A.R. Wylie originally serialized in The Saturday Evening Post was adapted to the screen by Charles Bennett is a simple one of a family of con artists, wonderfully played by Roland Young, Billie Burke, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Gaynor, who befriend a very lonely and very rich old lady by the name of Miss Fortune.
Selznick’s first choice for the role of Miss Fortune was legendary stage actress Maude Adams. Adams had been in retirement from the stage for 22 years, she had triumphed in the plays of J.M. Barrie. She was best remembered for her role of Peter Pan, which she first played in 1905. Her last Broadway role was in Barrie’s A Kiss for Cinderella in 1916. Adams was convinced by Selznick to make a screen test, but she declined the role of Miss Fortune when it was offered to her.
The next person to test for the role was another stage legend, Laurette Taylor. Taylor was known for her completely natural style of acting and was revered by many, including Spencer Tracy. It is rumored that Taylor did not get the role because studio executives did not feel she was acting and that she was too ordinary. That makes a good story, but the real reason behind Taylor not getting the role, is like Adams she declined the part. Plus it is absurd to think that a producer as savvy as Selznick would not recognize great acting by one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century. Stage actress Minnie Dupree eventually played the part of Miss Fortune. Dupree had been on the Broadway stage since 1896. The Young in Heart was one of only four films in which she appeared.
Paulette Goddard plays Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.’s love interest in the film, this was only her second leading role, her first important part was opposite her then husband, Charlie Chaplin in his 1936 film Modern Times. Goddard was under contract to Selznick International at this point in her career, and at the time she was making The Young in Heart, she was the leading contender for the role of Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. But because she either couldn’t or wouldn’t produce proof of her marriage to Chaplin she lost the role to Vivien Leigh, who had lost the role that Goddard plays in tonight’s film. Paulette Goddard would become a major star the next year, in 1939, when she signed with Paramount and starred in the remake of The Cat and the Canary with Bob Hope.
Finally The Young in Heart features some wonderful sets by Lyle Wheeler who also designed a futuristic streamlined car that is featured prominently in the film the fictitious Flying Wombat. The car cost $12,000 (approximately 140,000 in today’s dollars) and it belonged to the son of H.J. Heinz, the pickle king.
(Orson Welles, US 1941, 119 min., 35mm)
Welles stars as Charles Foster Kane in his classic first feature, a thinly disguised interpretation of the life of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The 25-year-old director took complete advantage of the freedom given to him by RKO Studios, breaking narrative and visual conventions while blazing new paths all along the way. He also won an Academy Award® for his screenplay, an honor shared with Herman J. Mankiewicz. Kane is still influencing filmmakers to this day and is considered by many critics and audiences to be the greatest film ever made!
