Joan Crawford: Actress or Movie Star?

Possessed (1947, dir. Curtis Bernhardt)
The Damned Don't Cry (1950, dir. Vincent Sherman


Joan Crawford Breaks Down

The San Francisco Film Noir Festival
Friday, January 26th-Sunday, February 4th, 2007
The Castro Theatre
San Francisco, CA
For a complete listing of the screenings go to:
http://www.noircity.com/noircity.html

Noir City 5 wrapped up last night with the best double feature of the festival, Joan Crawford in Possessed (1947) and The Damned Don't Cry (both available from Warner Home Video). Even the titles epitomize film noir. Special guest, Foster Hirsch, author of The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir and Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir, aptly remarked that Crawford was "too big for your home TV." -that I agree with. I disagreed immensely with two other comments he made about Crawford. One that she was a great movie star but not a particularly good actress; and, two, that she was the best leading man in film noir. I think that both of these films prove him wrong.

Is Joan over the top? Yes. Does she have a tremendous range as an actress? No, she does tend to play variations on a theme, but that is true of about ninety-five percent of film actors, especially ones that become stars. If you want to see the actors who disappear into their parts then you have to turn to the character actors, like Kent Smith who co-starred in The Damned Don't Cry. Movie stars typically always play themselves. However, I would argue that Crawford is a great actress precisely because of that. Don't forget Joan Crawford is a character not a real person, she's a role created and portrayed by Lucille Fay LeSueur.
Lucille Fay LeSueur was born in San Antonio, Texas and like the character she played years later in the Damned Don't Cry, Ethel Whitehead who transformers herself into Lorna Hansen Forbes, she was determined to escape her grim working class life. She started out as a dancer then moved onto Hollywood. Stardom in silent films and a new name, chosen by a contest in Photoplay magazine, followed. Joan survived the traumatic transition to talkies that killed many a star's career. She had a tremendous ability to reinvent herself as eras and popular tastes changed which kept her a star for decades.
Also like Ethel, she learned early on how to use men to aid her in her journey to the top. When she married for the second time, it was into Hollywood royalty. She wed Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. son of Douglas Fairbanks and stepson to Mary Pickford, two of the biggest stars of film, the cream of Hollywood society and the two of the founders of United Artist. At this time, also like Ethel, she put herself through a rigorous course of self"mprovement eliminating her rough edges. So, is part of the reason she gave such a great performance in the film because it paralleled her own life? Yes, of course, but that's not enough to give a great performance, the greatness comes with making the audience belive the reality of the character and to feel empathy for the character. Even when she behaves badly, we still like her.
She even manages to make the audience identify with her character, Louise in Possessed despite the fact her character suffers a schizophrenic breakdown. The two times she acts out violently towards people- the entire audience bursts into applause. Not a lot of actors can get an audience to cheer acts of violence committed against people, who while immensely irritating, aren't really wronging the protagonist. The film also provides Crawford with a chance to show her range. The film's opening shows us a very different Joan Crawford; she wanders the deserted streets of Los Angeles with a startling bare face devoid of make up and with frighteningly vacant eyes. She is taken to the hospital in a catatonic stupor where he story is told in flashback. During the course of the film we witness her bouncing back and forth between seeming normality and dementia until she finally breaks down completely. All the while, no matter how unstable she becomes, she stays the emotional center of the film and the audience's sympathies remain with her.
As for Joan being the best leading man in film noir, there's no man who could match her toughness. But it's a woman's toughness. I don't find Joan masculine. I never have. She is direct, her characters get what they want but who says those are exclusively male traits? Is she a softly feminine beauty? No, but that doesn't mean she's mannish. Mannish is Mercedes McCambridge in Johnny Guitar. Crawford, like long term friend and actress, Barbara Stanwyck, could take roles that were traditionally male in genres that were traditionally the provenance of male movie stars, and bring a whole new dimension to them. They didn't act like men; they were their equals, if not their superiors.
If you'd like to decide for yourself how good of an actress Crawford was I recommend the following films, in addition to the two discussed above, to give you an idea of the range of characters she played in a career that moved her from put upon ingenue to horror maven: The Unknown, Grand Hotel, The Women, Mildred Pierce, Johnny Guitar, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Strait-Jacket. All these films are available on DVD.
Want to read more about the festival? Click below:

http://www.siffblog.com/reviews/if_you_dont_have_anything_nice_to_say_say_it_with_style_003636.html
http://www.siffblog.com/reviews/why_is_everyone_so_sarcastic_003633.html
http://www.siffblog.com/reviews/descent_into_darkness_003621.html#more
http://www.siffblog.com/events/welcome_to_noir_city_003613.html#more

As The Sparrow Flies

Sparrows (1926)
Monday August 21, 7:00pm The Paramount, Seattle
http://www.theparamount.com/artists/artist.asp?key=206

Mary Pickford with her cameraman Charles Rosher and director William Beaudine during the production of Sparrows.
This photo is from The Mary Pickford Institute's collection available for viewing at http://www.marypickford.com/bts.html#

Marshall Neilan, Mary Pickford's favorite director, wrote an essay called "Acting For The Screen: Six Great Essentials" (available in the sadly out-of-print book, Richard Koszarski's Hollywood Directors 1914-1940). In it he opines that there are six essential qualities for great screen acting and not a single actress will possess all six. Instead the great silver screen divas possess one of those qualities to the nth degree.

The six qualities are beauty, personality, charm, temperament, style and the ability to wear clothes. (If you think the last one is trite, I have two words for you, Marlene Dietrich.) He then went on to cite an actress who exemplified each quality. For personality he chose Mary Pickford. "You just need to recall one of her radiant smiles, one of her delightful impersonations, or one of her raggedy roles in which her natural personal charm was almost obscured in the intensity of her characterization, to realize that you love Mary Pickford, first, last and always, because she is Mary Pickford. She has something irrespective of looks or age or anything else, will live on. She has personality.
I think the reason why a Mary Pickford film (as with a Bogart film) still plays well with a modern audience, is precisely because of her personality. (Further buttressed by her use of a subtle naturalistic style of acting she developed, when she realized that the screen magnified every gesture, and, so, the traditional broader style of acting that belonged to the theater didn't belong on the screen.) She convincingly plays likeable working class women, or girls or even boys, who challenge authority with courage, wit and determination. She is so convincing in those roles because that is who she was off camera too.
Mary was born into an impoverished Canadian family. After her father died when she was seven, she took over the role as the family breadwinner by becoming a stage actress. She started her film career in 1909 as a stopgap measure between Broadway shows. She worked as an actress and writer for the great D. W. Griffith, but did return to the theater. Eventually, however, she decided to dedicate her efforts to the film medium and became the most powerful woman ever to grace Hollywood. Not only was she the first movie star, she also demanded and received a salary and autonomy that rivals modern film stars. She also co-founded United Artists, with husband Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith, to produce and distribute all four artist's films.
Like a character in one of her films, Mary went from rags to riches. She began as the impoverished daughter of an alcoholic father and self-sacrificing mother, and became one of the richest, most famous and beloved women of her time, married to her equally glamorous and successful actor husband, Douglas Fairbanks. A film would end there, but real life goes on and so did Mary's. She retired from acting after the advent of sound, due to artistic frustration (her audiences wanted her to keep playing the scrappy child-heroine) and personal heartbreak, the loss of her beloved mother, brother and sister as well as the heart rending break up of her marriage to Doug. Tragically, Mary succumbed to the family curse, a proclivity towards alcoholism and became a recluse doted on by her second husband, Buddy Rogers.
If you are interested in reading more on Mary Pickford I highly recommend Eileen Whitfield's Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood
For more information on Pickford's acting style, a review of Sparrows and more information on the beautiful print being screened at The Paramount read David Jeffers' article at http://www.siffblog.com/reviews/sparrows_1926_003361.html

The11th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival Round Up

Marquee of The Castro Theater: Home of the 11th Annual Silent Film Festival
http://www.silentfilm.org/home.htm

What a fantastic event! I have to say this is the best film festival I've ever attended. First, the programming was incredible. The films selected covered a wide range of style, genre, stars and periods. The programming started with the transcendent romance of Seventh Heaven and ended with the good natured but biting satire of Show People and in between included the following genres: western, social drama, gothic adventure, erotic drama, slapstick, Soviet comedy and The Unholy Three which defies an easy genre name- carnival crime caper I guess. Plus each film was in itself an entertaining and well made movie. Even the film I found the weakest, Au Bonheur Des Dames I was still glad to watch in a theater a second time. (It also screened at this year's SIFF.) I enjoyed seeing the same film with a completely different accompaniment.

The breadth of styles in accompaniment also added to the charm of the festival. Each film had a unique and appropriate score provided by different soloist and groups. I especially enjoyed Mike Mortilla's piano accompaniments to Bucking Broadway, Sparrows and the Laurel and Hardy shorts. Another stand out for me was The Balka Ensemble's accompaniment of The Girl with the Hatbox. Having a score played on traditional Russian instruments was perfect for the Soviet comedy. I also appreciated the conductor's explanation of the history of the Balka prior to screening the film.
Another aspect of the festival that I liked was the speakers and guest interviews before and after the films. Three stood out for me: festival patron and board member Frank Buxton comments on Laurel and Hardy, Christel Schmidt from the Library of Congress, and Harry Carey, Jr. My original impetus for coming to the festival was for the screening of John Ford's Bucking Broadway. Then I found out that Harry Carrey, Jr. would be there in person. He was the son of the two stars and a member of John Ford's stock company. I was not disappointed: the film was great and Mr. Carrey told some great Ford stories and signed copies of his excellent memoir: Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in The John Ford Stock Company.
The speakers were part of an overall imparting of film knowledge to the audience that included slide shows before each film and excellent essays on each film included in the program. The slide shows featured stills with captions relating to each film and informational slides including interesting facts about the films and their stars. Not only did it give you something to do while waiting for the film to start, but it enhanced your viewing of the film.
What this all boils down to is people make this festival great. The programmers' passion and ability to pick great films to share with their festival goers. The benefactors and sponsors willing to put money and time into mounting the festival. The guests and speakers willing to attend and impart their knowledge and reminiscences about these great films. A courteous and helpful staff of volunteers making each day of attendance a pleasure. And a theater full of passionate movie goers. I would love to see a festival like this in Seattle. For more information on the festival please go to: http://www.silentfilm.org/home.htm