After three WWII-themed pics from Fred Zinnemann (THE SEARCH; ACT OF VIOLENCE; THE MEN), and FROM HERE TO ETERNITY still to come, this runt of the liter gets overlooked. A ‘Problem Pic’ like THE MEN, it pivots from the damaged body of returning vet Marlon Brando in the earlier film, to the damaged mind (today’s PTSD) of ex-GI John Ericson. And that’s a problem of its own, since the film was supposed to be about War Brides, initiated by the dilemmas of young wives fresh off the boat, trying to adjust to America after months of separation from a husband (and new family) they hardly know. Timely stuff, and nearly everything targeting this part of the story, especially Pier Angeli, a real charmer in her film debut, fully up to the usual Zinnemann standard. Trying on a near Neo-Realistic film style for the flashback war scenes (note Angeli’s cousin in her small Italian town, it’s Franco Interlenghi from De Sica’s SHOESHINE), Zinnemann sets up the relationship while letting us see Ericson in panic mode under combat. (That’s Ralph Meeker in a memorable bit as his superior.) But once home, the drama tilts toward controlling, passive/aggressive Mom Patricia Collinge.* It makes tall/handsome Ericson look weak when he’s supposed to look troubled. Zinnemann knew it, too. Unhappy with this part of the script, he failed to convince his contented producer to let him do a bit more work on the film after a preview went too well. (No doubt, Zinnemann equally unhappy about that fulsome music score.) And wasting a strong supporting cast: Peggy Ann Garner, Rod Steiger, Bill Mauldin. Still, worth a look to self-edit the better film hiding in plain sight.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *For classic passive/aggressive Mother-Love horror, Irene Dunn, Joel McCrea & Laura Hope Crews in Sidney Howard’s THE SILVER CORD/’33. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-silver-cord-1933.html OR: The newlywed adjustment story Zinnemann probably had in mind, King Vidor’s late-silent THE CROWD/’28.
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