Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Crawford's Latter Day Best: ‘Autumn Leaves’ 1956

 

A young Cliff Robertson and mature Joan Crawford have a believable chemistry
in the May-September romance, "Autumn Leaves."


Autumn Leaves offered a rare sympathetic role for Joan Crawford in the 1950s, the autumn of the great star’s career. This was also Crawford’s first collaboration with director Robert Aldrich, usually known for his tough take in storytelling. In this adult soap opera, their team work is subtle and sympathetic.

Joan Crawford's Milly is a typist and you better believe she's the best!

Crawford plays Milly Wetherby, a work at home typist, who meets a younger man on a rare evening out. Burt Hanson, played by film newcomer Cliff Robertson, is a returning veteran. They strike up a friendship, which leads to romance. Initially resistant because of their age difference, Milly comes to realize that she really loves Burt. They marry and the honeymoon period is idyllic. Reality intrudes when Burt’s past catches up to him in the form of an ex-wife and estranged father. The young man’s stories don’t add up, and his family’s version doesn’t speak well for him. And their claim that he is unstable is indisputable, as Burt begins to fall apart. Still, there is more than meets the eye, as Milly is determined to not only help Burt, but get to the truth of the matter.

Crawford's Milly eventually realizes that she's ready to take a chance on love with
 Robertson's Burt Hanson in "Autumn Leaves."

Kudos goes to both director Aldrich and star Crawford.  They were known to go over the top and both the film’s direction and lead performance are surprisingly restrained and effective. Yes, there are moments when Robertson's troubled young man’s downfall is a bit voyeuristic. But Aldrich is empathetic to character Burt Hanson’s plight and makes him neither a weakling nor a bad guy. The director gives this "woman's picture" a noir-ish take, with camera work that heightens the tension. Best of all, Aldrich's look at the May-December romance between the typist and the tie salesman is treated seriously. 

Burt Hanson's mental illness is handled sensitively in "Autumn Leaves,"
without sentimentality or sensationalism.

As for Joan Crawford, she rarely got to play a sympathetic character so warmly in the '50s—an era of tough cookies, control freaks, or flat-out neurotic bitches: The Damned Don't Cry; Harriet Craig; This Woman is Dangerous; Torch Song; Johnny Guitar; Queen Bee; Female on the Beach; and The Best of Everything

Joan Crawford's Milly, having a night on the town, in "Autumn Leaves."

Joan's spinster typist Milly Wetherby is practical, confident, yet warm and caring; Crawford’s scenes depicting her loneliness certainly resonate. When Millie finally takes a chance on love, she gives her all, and you care for Crawford’s character. Along with Baby Jane, this is Joan's best latter day role and performance. Except for a few trademark Crawford poses in some of the big scenes, Joan is at her most genuine and straightforward here.

At nearly 50, Joan was in fine form in "Autumn Leaves," here with
co-star Cliff Robertson and director Robert Aldrich. 


The only criticism I have is that it's a shame someone couldn't get Joan to tone down her visual style in Autumn Leaves. At nearly 50, a swimsuit scene shows Joan in fine form and her huge eyes and bone structure were eternal. While the infamous Crawford shadows are ever-present, along with some heavy duty makeup contouring from the jaw line down, this was pretty typical of the era. But Joan's makeup of her eyes, eyebrows, and lips are truly startling, especially when she's in scenes with younger cast members, who are made up to look like merely attractive mortals. Joan’s severe cropped hair was unfortunate for most of her '50s.This called more attention to her age, along with some ill-advised extreme close-ups. 

Not sure who thought extreme close-ups like these of Joan Crawford were a good idea.

As Burt Hanson, this was Cliff Robertson's first leading man role. Robertson would play another mentally challenged man a dozen years later, as Charly, for which Cliff won an Oscar. Robertson uses his boyish charm to an almost Jimmy Stewart-like degree. He's very winning and it’s startling when he turns on a dime into a rage. When his character is hauled away, Burt has a male Blanche DuBois moment. 

Robertson's Burt depends on the kindness of strangers and Crawford's Milly
in "Autumn Leaves."

The 1956 film featured a great supporting cast, with Vera Miles looking every inch the Hitchcock blonde as the scheming ex-wife. This year was a break out for Miles as well as Cliff Robertson. Along with this showy role, Miles worked with John Ford in The Searchers and Alfred Hitchcock for the first time in The Wrong Man. Smoothly villainous Lorne Greene is memorable as Burt’s father, before he became saintly patriarch Ben Cartwright three years later. Ruth Donnelly is a scene stealer as outspoken but big-hearted Liz, Milly’s apartment complex manager. Also, future Baby Jane cast member Marjorie Bennett has a great bit as the waitress with an attitude.

A striking shot of Burt's loving family, as played by Lorne Greene and Vera Miles.

There's a number of lovely scenes in Autumn Leaves: the banter between landlady Liz and Joan's work-at-home typist; lonely Joan determined to have a nice night out solo; the first meeting of Burt and Milly at the restaurant; their courtship and the navigation of trust into love; the scenes where Milly battles Burt's selfish father and ex-wife that give Joan a chance to breathe some fire; the breakdown scenes, which are realistic; and the ending is hopeful, but not corny.

The two Mrs. Hansons: Joan Crawford as the current Mrs.; Vera Miles is the ex!

For a ‘50s film soap opera, Autumn Leaves feels authentic. It’s a Crawford fan favorite, and even those who aren’t one of Joan’s fans may be pleasantly surprised.

"Autumn Leaves" seems to be copying the love scene from another Columbia film,
 "From Here to Eternity." Legend has it that Joan Crawford turned the Deborah Kerr role down!

Also, here’s my look at Joan’s signature role, Mildred Pierce: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-joan-crawford-became-mildred-pierce.html

Milly gets her happy ending, though warned Burt might have changed once cured,
at the finale of "Autumn Leaves."


Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Richard Burton Double Shot: ‘Ice Palace’ & ‘Bramble Bush’

Richard Burton, 1960 B.C. -- Before Cleopatra!



After 1960 WB duds "Ice Palace" & "The Bramble Bush," Richard Burton starred
on Broadway in the hit, "Camelot." Then Fox came calling, with "Cleopatra."

 

I recently watched Richard Burton in two 1960 soaps: Ice Palace and The Bramble Bush. The latter was especially sudsy and stultifying, but with Burton stiff and stone-faced in both. These were his last movies before he went off to play King Arthur in Broadway’s Camelot, which gave the once-promising film actor a box office boost. But this was the stage and not the movies, where the big bucks were. That all changed when Burton’s contract was bought out to return to 20th Century Fox, and paid $250,000 to portray Marc Anthony to Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra. Since WB had paid Richard $125,000 each for Ice Palace and The Bramble Bush, Burton would get a Cleo boost in just about every way!

In his first 8 years in film, Burton made mostly bombs.

Arriving in Hollywood in the early 1950s, Richard Burton was given the big build up by 20th Century Fox. First, he was cast as co-star to two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland in My Cousin Rachel. Burton got a Supporting Actor Oscar nod for his role, but the film was not a commercial success. Then Richard received a Best Actor Oscar nom for the smash epic, The Robe. After that, it was a very mixed bag for Burton at Fox. For the few hits like The Desert Rats, there was Burton in a turban in The Rains of Ranchipur. Then there was blonde and bewigged Burton, as Alexander the Great. Richard was then adrift with Joan Collins’ nun in The Sea Wife. After Burton left Fox, he made a strong British art film, 1959’s Look Back in Anger.

"Ice Palace," a standard studio film at a time when audiences wanted something new. 

Though 1956’s Giant is regarded as a classic, some criticize the Texas epic as too long and soapy. Giant naysayers, take a gander at Alaskan counterpart Ice Palace. Both were adaptations of best-selling novels by Edna Ferber. The movie versions were made by Warner Brothers. The stories had two alpha male characters that clashed for decades and were in love with the same woman. Both mixed history and personal stories that often played like soap opera. 

Edna Ferber's last novel, "Ice Palace."

But there were significant differences that made ‘56’s Giant a classic and 1960’s Ice Palace a clinker. The greatest was that Giant was directed and produced by George Stevens. The filmmaker was at his peak, whose vision focused on Ferber's research and take on the Texas state of mind. This also symbolized the US and her intriguing characters were based on real people. While Stevens realized audiences needed romance and action, he put Texas’ issues and the characters’ lives in the forefront and the plotting was subtly secondary. Stevens also cast up and coming actors with real substance. All this makes for a strong film decades later.

Aging Robert Ryan, quirky Carolyn Jones, bored Richard Burton,
and plastic Martha Hyer are the stars of 1960's "Ice Palace."

With Ice Palace, penny-pinching Jack Warner was in charge, not an innovative director. So, Ice Palace got competent studio director Vincent Sherman, a cast of young WB actors who were TV lightweights, veteran actor Robert Ryan, and then-journeyman actor Richard Burton. No hot new stars, like Rock Hudson or James Dean. The female star Ryan and Burton pined for was Carolyn Jones, a quirky starlet given her biggest break here. While Jones was the best of the cast, these three actors didn't exude the youth and freshness of Rock, Jimmy, and Elizabeth Taylor. Despite some location filming, Ice Palace feels full of scenes that are glaringly obvious with back lot shooting, rear projection, fake snow, and emphasis on wall-to-wall soap opera plotting, which dominates over social issues.

Richard Burton as ruthless tycoon Jeb Kennedy in "Ice Palace."

Burton plays Jeb Kennedy, a variation of Jett Rink, the poor boy who becomes super rich, and a super SOB. Burton’s Jeb is in love with another man's girl; thwarted, he marries a rich girl to get a jump in life, and makes her miserable. As the movie's anti-hero, Burton just bellows, scowls, and is generally stone-faced.

"The Bramble Bush" was one of many "Peyton Place" imitations.

The Bramble Bush was obviously inspired by Peyton Place: a "sexy" soap set in New England, where everybody seems unhappy and “unfulfilled.” And the plot revolves around the latter issue being alleviated! As Guy Montford, Burton’s doctor returns to his home town in Massachusetts. Best friend Larry McFie (Tom Drake) is dying and wants Doc Burton to bump him off, with hopes that Guy will take over as husband to his wife, played by Barbara Rush. Meanwhile, nurse Fran (Angie Dickinson) is madly in love with Guy, but has to fend off Jack Carson’s lech lawyer Bert, who wants to marry her. And Burton’s doc has it in for the town drunk, who he blames for family problems. The film has an excellent cast, but all drown in soap suds and dumb dialogue. The attempts at daring and sexy are coy and hypocritical, hallmarks of the mid-century Hollywood. Daniel Petrie directs competently, but unexcitingly.

By 1960, Richard Burton was still handsome but at 35,
he was looking stocky and low-energy in an era of buff hunks
like same age Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, and Tony Curtis.

The cast does what they can with clichéd material: Rush is no-nonsense and natural as always. Carson is good in likeable heel mode. James Dunn once again plays an alcoholic, as he did in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Angie Dickinson as the sexy but sincere nurse is sympathetic, though her character is called upon to literally grovel for Burton on her knees!  

Nurse Angie Dickinson throws herself at Doc Richard Burton in "Bramble Bush."

Then there's Burton, who performs as always, when faced with inferior material: murmuring lines, snapping them curtly, and bellowing through his big scenes. Why the doc stirs everyone up in this town is beyond me. The worst is when Guy confesses why he hates town drunk, Stew. As a boy, Guy catches his neglected mother in bed with Stew. Guy blurts the truth at the family dinner table, resulting in his father’s later suicide. Burton’s recitation of this secret isn’t exactly on par with his monologues in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? When faced with bad material, there are stars who make the best of it, and stars who just walk through it for the paycheck or contractual obligation. Burton was the latter.

Ironically, Burton's character can't tolerate James Dunn's messy town drunk.

Luckily, Burton’s best was yet to come—Becket, Night of the Iguana, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Taming of the Shrew, Anne of a Thousand Days, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Richard truly excelled as a star character actor in this period. Later, there were more artistic duds that Burton walked through—The Sandpiper, The Comedians, Boom, Hammersmith is Out, and Divorce His/Divorce Hers. Stick with the former group and avoid the latter, including Ice Palace and The Bramble Bush.

Though Robert Ryan & Richard Burton's characters are supposed to be scrappy
 young men at the beginning of "Ice Palace," Ryan was 50 and Burton was 35.