Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's Go To The Movies:
Face Time
Part VI
It's all in the face. It can be read like a book. Or so these films would have us believe.
The silver screen has been home to so many beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) faces, lighting up the dark, showing us the way, sharing celluloid dreams. It seems only fitting that we take them at their word and look a these films one face at a time.
Yes, these faces may belong to a bygone era, but in the movies?
A face lives forever.
--- ---
Baby Face
(1933)
AKA: Liliane
The story of a woman known as 'Baby Face' who uses sex to get what she wants. Lily Powers sleeps her way literally floor by floor, from basement speakeasy bartender to the top floor of a New York office building. Bank sub-manager Jimmy McCoy finds her a job in the bank only to be cast aside as she sets her sights on the bank's president. When he complains of not seeing her she says: "I'm working so hard I have to go to bed early every night."
Based on a story by Darryl F. Zanuck (under the pseudonym Mark Canfield), this American pre-Code drama was directed by Alfred E. Green and stars Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Robert Barrat, Theresa Harris, and Donald Cook.
This film was Warner Bros. answer to MGM's Red-Headed Woman (1932) starring Jean Harlow. It was shot in 18 days, and cost $187,000.
Production head Darryl F. Zanuck wrote the treatment for the film and sold it to Warner Bros. for a dollar. The Great Depression was having a devastating effect on the film industry at the time, and many studio personnel were voluntarily taking salary cuts to help. Zanuck did not need the money because he was drawing a weekly salary of $3,500. According to Warner Bros., the film earned $308,000 domestically and $144,000 foreign.
In 2004, when Michael Mashon, a curator of the motion picture division at the Library of Congress, received a request for a print of this film, he discovered two negatives of the film: the original camera negative and a duplicate negative that was longer. The duplicate negative was the pre-release (uncensored) version of the film that was submitted to the New York State censorship board in 1933 for approval.
Stanwyck had influence on the film's script. It was her suggestion that Lily had been forced by her father to have sex with the customers of his speakeasy. That dialog in the opening sequence where she attacks her father for surrounding her with men since she was the age of 14, which was cut from the original release, but remained intact on the print discovered in 2004.
Originally, a scene was included in which Lily seduces the brakeman on a freight train to secure passage on the train. The scene is very racy and was cut from the released version, but is on the print discovered in 2004. The brakeman was played by James Murray, who had become a silent film star after playing the lead in King Vidor's The Crowd (1928). However, by 1933 he had fallen on hard times; he would commit suicide in 1936 by throwing himself into the Hudson River.
The film originally ended, as preserved on the 2004 print, with Lily finding that Courtland had killed himself. Censors insisted on a relatively happier ending where Courtland survives and Lily abandons her pursuit of material wealth for true love.
The film is notable for the comradely relationship Lily has with African-American Chico, who is her co-worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, and comes with her to New York City. She later becomes Lily's maid, but their relationship remains more as friends than that of a mistress and her servant. When Lily's father tries to fire Chico, Lily tells him that if Chico goes, she goes. At one point in the film, J.P., annoyed by Chico's constant singing says, "I wish you'd get rid of that fantastic colored girl,” to which Lily responds, with grim finality, "No. Chico stays."
Twenty-five-year-old John Wayne appears briefly as one of Lily's lovers.
The film has three dominant musical themes: Baby Face, composed by Harry Akst, an instrumental version of Saint Louis Blues by W. C. Handy and Ralph Erwin's I Kiss Your Hand Madame. In addition, Theresa Harris, as Chico, sings lines from Saint Louis Blues throughout.
Mordaunt Hall in The New York Times panned the film, calling it "an unsavory subject, with incidents set forth in an inexpert fashion", while a review in The New York Evening Post said "You cannot escape the belief that Lily is a vixen of the lowest order and that the men who play with her are doomed to perish in the flames." However, modern assessments cast the film in a much more positive light. Mick La Salle, movie critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, said "The differences between the original and the release versions of "Baby Face" are small, and yet combined they spell the difference between a good three-star movie and a delightful four-star movie."
Mordaunt Hall in The New York Times panned the film, calling it "an unsavory subject, with incidents set forth in an inexpert fashion", while a review in The New York Evening Post said "You cannot escape the belief that Lily is a vixen of the lowest order and that the men who play with her are doomed to perish in the flames." However, modern assessments cast the film in a much more positive light. Mick La Salle, movie critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, said "The differences between the original and the release versions of "Baby Face" are small, and yet combined they spell the difference between a good three-star movie and a delightful four-star movie."
Barbara Stanwyck
Theresa Harris and Barbara Stanwyck
--- ---
Doll Face
(1945)
AKA: Come Back To Me
A burlesque queen is dismissed from an audition for a legitimate Broadway show because she's deemed too unrefined. Miffed, she appeals to her manager who decides that she indeed needs a bit of polish. In order to guarantee plenty of publicity, he hires a ghostwriter to write his star's biography. What he doesn't count on is that the book isn't the only thing the two wish to collaborate on!
Based on the 1943 play The Naked Genius by Gypsy Rose Lee, this romantic/comedy musical was directed by Lewis Seiler and stars Vivian Blaine, Dennis O'Keefe, Carmen Miranda, and Perry Como. To avoid the association, Lee receives screen credit under her birth name, Louise Hovick. Released as Come Back to Me in the United Kingdom.
Twentieth Century-Fox reportedly paid Gypsy Rose Lee a large sum of money for the rights to her play, The Naked Genius. At one time it was reported that Lee, herself, would appear in the film, but that did not come to pass. Initially Carole Landis was set to star, with Jackie Gleason handling the comic lead, while William Eythe took on the romantic lead. Landis was unhappy with the script and quit right before filming began. Hazel Dawn was also tied to the picture at one point.
Working titles included The Naked Genius and Here's a Kiss. However, The Motion Picture Production Code refused to allow the studio to use The Naked Genius as the title of the film or as title of the title character's fictional autobiography.
The Production Code Administration also took issue with the depiction of the lead character as a stripper and several screenplays submitted by the studio were not approved. In late July 1945, Production Code Administration head Joseph I. Breen cautioned studio: "Please have in mind that any time you undertake to identify a character as a 'strip tease' artist, you run the risk of giving enormous offense everywhere. People, pretty generally, look up the business of the burlesque shows and - more importantly, the strip tease - as, possibly, the very lowest form of public entertainment, and this same viewpoint is reflected in the reaction of the Censor Boards."
The second of three film collaborations of the trio of Carmen Miranda, Perry Como and Vivian Blaine. The wisecracking, very 1940s Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba), was performed in the film as a duet by Perry Como and Martha Stewart. Weirdly, the song is a celebration of the Bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945.
The opening title sequence is an identical reuse of the opening titles for the studio's 1941 thriller I Wake Up Screaming. A photo of midtown Manhattan at night with the Chrysler Building on the right serves as the backdrop to the cast and credit names displayed like marquee signs with electric lights, as might be seen on a theater.
Many of the posters and publicity shots for this film prominently feature Carmen Miranda wearing a nautical outfit topped by a lighthouse headdress, even though she never wears it in the movie. True to the Navy, as sung and danced by Carmen Miranda, was deleted from this movie, though the song as filmed still exists. Paramount held exclusive rights to the song and it would not permit Twentieth Century-Fox to include Miranda's number in this movie. It was performed previously on screen by Clara Bow in Paramount on Parade (1930).
The film was not well received. Bosley Crowther’s review in The New York Times describes the film as a disappointing production, failing to justify the hefty price paid by Twentieth Century-Fox for the rights to Louise Hovick's (Gypsy Rose Lee) literary effort. The review points out that the screenplay is monotonous and riddled with grammatical errors, and that it brings no innovation or significant personality to the characters or the music. The performances of the leading actors are also criticized: Vivian Blaine, as the titular 'Doll Face', is described as expressionless in her musical numbers, while Perry Como and Carmen Miranda are also called out for their lackluster performances. Como’s number, 'Dig You Later', is particularly singled out, described as an exaggerated, unappealing song. Overall, Crowther’s review suggests that, despite being based on Hovick’s work, her talents were not well-utilized, and Doll Face is a lifeless, colorless production lacking the boldness that defined burlesque at its peak.
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
Vivian Blaine is best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls, a role she'd reprise for the film version which co-starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Frank Sinatra.
Viviane Blaine
In 1983, Blaine became the first celebrity to make public service announcements on behalf of AIDS-related causes. She made numerous appearances in support of the then-fledgling AIDS Project Los Angeles and in 1983 recorded her cabaret act for AEI Records, which donated all royalties to the cause.
--- ---
Angel Face
(1952)
The film was loosely inspired by the March 15, 1947, murders of 62-year-old Walter Overall and his wife Beulah, 57. The Overalls' 17-year-old daughter, Beulah Louise Overall, and her 21-year-old lover, Bud Gollum, were both charged with their murders, but they were both acquitted on October 5, 1947, after a 133-day trial.
This was the final film of Jean Simmons under her contract with the J. Arthur Rank Organization in England which Howard Hughes bought without her knowledge or consent. To get even, she cut her hair off, knowing that Hughes preferred long-haired leading ladies, thinking it might prevent him from putting her in a film before her contract's end date. Instead, he put her in this film and gave her a wig to wear throughout.
Howard Hughes hired director Otto Preminger expressly for the purpose of torturing Jean Simmons because she did not intend to renew her contract with RKO. At first Otto Preminger refused to direct this movie, because he hated the script. The normally reclusive Howard Hughes personally picked up Preminger in his car and persuaded him to make the movie. "I'm going to get even with that little bitch," Hughes told Preminger, referring to Jean Simmons, "and you're going to help me." He gave Preminger permission to rewrite the script and promised him a bonus if he could finish the picture in 18 days, before Simmons' contract with Hughes expired. Preminger got that bonus!
Irving Wallace and Ben Hecht both took a shot at writing the screenplay. Actress Mona Freeman noted to an interviewer that Otto Preminger revised the script constantly throughout shooting, and had thereby greatly improved it.
After Robert Mitchum got fed up with repeated re-takes in which director Otto Preminger ordered him to slap Jean Simmons across the face, he turned around and slapped Preminger, asking whether it was this way he wanted it. Preminger immediately demanded producer Howard Hughes replace Mitchum, but Hughes refused. It all blew over; Mitchum starred in Preminger's River of No Return a mere two years later.)
Both Mona Freeman and Jean Simmons had been under consideration for Roman Holiday (1953) before Audrey Hepburn was cast. Freeman applied for the lead in The Blue Lagoon (1949), but Paramount refused lending her to Rank. The part was eventually played by Simmons.
In his review for The New York Times, critic Howard Thompson described Angel Face as a frustrating mix of real talent, occasional insight, and tedious psychological nonsense. He stated that a promising and tightly woven story idea had been lost in a pretentious Freudian haze, which permeated the beautifully presented film and led to disastrous outcomes. The film's baffling character motivations, deliberately perplexing events, and wandering pace were peculiar and undermined its overall quality. Furthermore, the incredibly gloomy ending served as a fittingly disappointing conclusion to everything that came before. Modern critical evaluations of the film claim it to be "one of the forgotten masterworks of film noir."
Maggie Prescott, the Editor-in-Chief of New York based Quality, a fashion magazine that sets trends and leads instead of follows, has come up with her latest brainchild: to feature a model as the Quality Woman, complete with successful Paris-based designer Paul Duval to devise a new collection inspired by her. The Quality Woman is not only to embody beauty, but also intellect. Against Maggie's initial judgment, she relents to the vision of her head photographer Dick Avery in choosing Jo Stockton rather than one of their in-house models as the Quality Woman. Jo is a clerk they happen to meet during an impromptu photo shoot they did against her will in the Greenwich Village bookstore where she works. The marks against Jo are not only that she isn't a professional, but that she has what even she considers a funny looking face, something that Dick instead calls interesting. Jo, who abhors all that the world of fashion represents, as she considers herself an intellectual, ultimately agrees as the job would take her to Paris where she hopes to meet her idol, Professor Émile Flostre, the leading philosopher on the concept of 'empathicalism'. But in Paris, the two worlds for Jo begin to collide as she finds herself falling for Dick, while his actions are solely to get her to exude the emotions he wants for the photos.
Based on the musical Wedding Bells, this American musical romantic comedy, directed by Stanley Donen, steals its title from a Gershwin musical and stars Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, and Kay Thompson.
In order to secure Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in the cast, producers told them that the other was already signed, figuring they would not pass up the opportunity to work together.
Cyd Charisse was offered the lead role, but declined. Audrey Hepburn's agent initially rejected the film, but Hepburn overrode the decision after reading the script. Hepburn had been offered the lead role in Gigi (1958) but turned it down in order to make this movie.
Audrey Hepburn was very nervous of dancing with Fred Astaire because of his fame as a great dancer. But at their first meeting, he soon put her at ease. "Fred literally swept me off my feet," she later recalled. Funny Face (1957) was Audrey Hepburn's first musical and she sings in her own voice. Her post-bar ballet training was put to use in two dance numbers with Astaire and also a Bohemian-style solo nightclub dance. This was one of Hepburn's favorite films.
Audrey Hepburn did not want to be separated from her husband Mel Ferrer, so filming of the Paris scenes was timed to coincide with Ferrer's filming of Elena and Her Men (1956) with Ingrid Bergman. Paris' unseasonably rainy weather had to be worked into the script, particularly during the balloons photo shoot scene. The soggy weather also played havoc with the shooting of the wedding dress dance scene; Astaire and Hepburn kept slipping in the muddy, slippery grass. In addition, during filming of the Paris scenes, much of the crew and cast were on edge because of riots and political violence which were gripping the city at that time.
Baroness Ella Van Heemstra: a sidewalk café patron in the film, is, in fact, Audrey Hepburn's mother. Hepburn's real-life dog also makes an appearance during a scene on the train.
Fred Astaire's character is based on photographer Richard Avedon and his wife, Doe, who, like the character Jo Stockton, became a noted model despite her indifference toward that profession. In fact, it is Avedon who set up most of the photography for this film, including the famous face portrait of Audrey Hepburn unveiled during the darkroom sequence.
Ditzy model Marion is played by Queens New York-born Dovima, who was one of the top fashion models of the day and often worked with Richard Avedon. This was her film debut. Marion's interest in comic books was inserted into the film to reflect actress-model Dovima's real-life passion for them. Model Suzy Parker, a partial inspiration for Hepburn's character, also makes an appearance in this film, as does model Sunny Harnett.
Fred Astaire starred in the original 1927 Broadway version of Funny Face with his sister Adele Astaire. However, the storylines of the play and movie are entirely different and the film only uses a few of the play's songs. The studio bought the rights to the title just so they could use the song. The plot of this movie is actually that of Leonard Gershe's unsuccessful Broadway musical Wedding Bells. The score consists of songs from Wedding Bells with George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin songs from various musicals filling in the rest. 
Audrey Hepburn had met French designer Hubert de Givenchy when he designed her Parisian wardrobe for Sabrina (1954). Unfortunately, Edith Head received sole screen credit, and when that film won an Academy Award for costume design, the Oscar went to Head alone. For Funny Face, Givenchy did all of Hepburn's Paris costumes, and she made sure he received equal billing (and an Oscar nomination) with Head.
The film reviews were very good, and it did well in the big cities. However, it may have been too sophisticated for mass audiences, and did not initially make back its four-million-dollar cost. However, in 1964, when My Fair Lady was released to excellent reviews and huge box office grosses, Paramount theatrically reissued Funny Face. As a result, the film drew substantial crowds and finally turned a profit.
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times lauded it as "delightfully balmy," "colorful and glittering," and "extraordinarily stylish," "with class in every considerable department on which this sort of picture depends." However, The reviewer for The Times called it "...a displeasing piece of work, pseudo-sophisticated, expensive and brash in approach, vulgar in taste and insensitive in outlook. This, in fact, is the American 'musical' at its worst; not even the presence of Mr. Fred Astaire, who was in the original stage production, can save the day. It may seem extravagant to discuss a 'musical' in terms proper to a serious creative work, yet there is that in the film's attitude towards the 'intellectual', whether in Greenwich Village or Paris, which offends. It is not amiable parody and it is not telling satire; it has its roots in the ill-based instinct to jeer, and its jeers are offensive."
The film received Academy Award nominations in the Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Writing (Story and Screenplay-Written Directly for the Screen) categories. It failed to win any.
Janet is an overweight girl who has a knack for making the other children in school laugh by making fun of her own weight. In seeing the other kids' reaction, she feels that she might want a career as a comedian. She visits the local comedy club, where she finds Tony Moroni, a struggling comedian whose jokes often fail. Together, Tony helps Janet build self-esteem and she helps him with his material.
(1957)
Based on the musical Wedding Bells, this American musical romantic comedy, directed by Stanley Donen, steals its title from a Gershwin musical and stars Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, and Kay Thompson.
In order to secure Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in the cast, producers told them that the other was already signed, figuring they would not pass up the opportunity to work together.
Cyd Charisse was offered the lead role, but declined. Audrey Hepburn's agent initially rejected the film, but Hepburn overrode the decision after reading the script. Hepburn had been offered the lead role in Gigi (1958) but turned it down in order to make this movie.
Kay Thompson, who usually worked behind the scenes as a musical director for films, made a rare appearance on camera as Maggie Prescott, a fashion magazine editor loosely based on Diana Vreeland and Carmel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar. In real life, Thompson had several other careers, including as the author of the Eloise series of children's books. In 1957, the same year that this movie, which was partly filmed on location in Paris, was released, the second book in the Eloise series was published: Eloise in Paris. In addition, Thompson was a nightclub performer, a composer and arranger.
Many of the production staff usually associated with MGM musicals went to Paramount specially to work on this film, so it is, essentially, an MGM musical made at Paramount.
Audrey Hepburn had met French designer Hubert de Givenchy when he designed her Parisian wardrobe for Sabrina (1954). Unfortunately, Edith Head received sole screen credit, and when that film won an Academy Award for costume design, the Oscar went to Head alone. For Funny Face, Givenchy did all of Hepburn's Paris costumes, and she made sure he received equal billing (and an Oscar nomination) with Head.
The film reviews were very good, and it did well in the big cities. However, it may have been too sophisticated for mass audiences, and did not initially make back its four-million-dollar cost. However, in 1964, when My Fair Lady was released to excellent reviews and huge box office grosses, Paramount theatrically reissued Funny Face. As a result, the film drew substantial crowds and finally turned a profit.
This film was shot in Canada and originally released as, Introducing...Janet - wherein the titular teen girl is the lead, and Jim Carrey's standup character is secondary, or perhaps even third when compared to the girl's mother , who gets first billing. The title was changed to Rubberface to capitalize on Jim Carrey's budding fame in the 1980s.
In the states, this aired on CBS in 1981.The title was changed to Rubberface when it was released on video. It was released on DVD on January 23, 2007.
Jim Carrey
This served as Jim Carrey's screen debut. He was nineteen years old.
--- ---
And that's all for now, folks!
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel.
Baby Face - Movie Trailer
(1933)
Angel Face - Movie Trailer
(1952)
Funny Face - Movie Trailer
(1957)
Rubberface - Movie Trailer
(1981)
No comments:
Post a Comment