Duty, Dignity, and the Desert: Re-evaluating “Sergeant Rutledge”

Directed by John Ford and released in 1960, Sergeant Rutledge is a groundbreaking Western that blends a courtroom drama with the rugged aesthetics of Monument Valley. The film stars Woody Strode in a career-defining title role as Braxton Rutledge, a respected First Sergeant in the 9th Cavalry—a unit of Buffalo Soldiers. The narrative is framed through a tense court-martial at Fort Linton, where Rutledge stands accused of the rape and murder of a young white woman and the killing of her father, his superior officer. Jeffrey Hunter co-stars as Lieutenant Tom Cantrell, the idealistic officer tasked with defending Rutledge against a backdrop of deep-seated racial prejudice.

The film utilizes a sophisticated flashback structure to recount the events leading up to the trial, as witnesses testify about Rutledge’s flight and eventual capture. Unlike many traditional Westerns of the era, Ford uses these sequences to highlight the heroism and dignity of the Black soldiers who served on the frontier while simultaneously exposing the systemic racism they faced from the very society they protected. Constance Towers provides a key performance as Mary Beecher, the primary witness whose testimony provides the emotional core of the mystery. The cinematography captures the stark beauty of the desert, contrasting the vast, open landscape with the claustrophobic, high-stakes atmosphere of the courtroom.

Upon its release, Sergeant Rutledge was notable for being one of the first major Hollywood productions to treat the history of the Buffalo Soldiers with such gravity and for casting a Black actor as the central protagonist in a Western. While it features the classic hallmarks of a John Ford production—including a cast of familiar character actors and a sweeping visual style—the film remains a powerful exploration of justice and valor. It stands as a significant cinematic milestone, challenging the racial conventions of the genre and offering a nuanced look at the complexities of duty and identity in post-Civil War America.

John Ford (1894–1973) was a titan of the American cinema, renowned for a career that spanned over fifty years and earned him a record four Academy Awards for Best Director. Born John Martin Feeney in Maine, he became synonymous with the Western genre, famously utilizing the sweeping sandstone buttes of Monument Valley as the backdrop for masterpieces like Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956). Beyond his frontier epics, Ford was a master of Americana and social commentary, directing poignant classics such as The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and How Green Was My Valley (1941), while also serving with distinction in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a documentary filmmaker. His visual style, characterized by wide-angle shots and a deep focus on the dignity of the common man, left an indelible mark on film history and influenced generations of directors from Orson Welles to Steven Spielberg.

Jeffrey Hunter (1926–1969) was a versatile American actor whose striking looks and quiet intensity made him a mainstay of 1950s and 60s cinema. Born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr. in New Orleans, he rose to prominence as a contract player for 20th Century Fox, often portraying earnest, heroic characters. He is perhaps best remembered for his collaborations with director John Ford, most notably as Martin Pawley in The Searchers (1956) and the lead in Sergeant Rutledge (1960), as well as for his portrayal of Jesus in the 1961 epic King of Kings. Beyond the big screen, Hunter secured a unique place in pop culture history by starring as Captain Christopher Pike in "The Cage," the original 1964 pilot for Star Trek. His career was tragically cut short at the age of 42 following a cerebral hemorrhage and a fall at his home, but he remains celebrated for his dignity on screen and his contributions to the Golden Age of the Western.

Constance Towers (born May 20, 1933) is an accomplished American actress and singer whose career spans over seven decades across film, television, and the Broadway stage. She gained cinematic prominence for her collaborations with legendary director John Ford, starring as the resilient female lead in both The Horse Soldiers (1959) and Sergeant Rutledge (1960). In the 1960s, she took on daring roles in Samuel Fuller’s cult classics Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss, showcasing her range beyond the traditional Western. A gifted soprano, Towers also enjoyed a prolific stage career, notably starring as Anna Leonowens in several revivals of The King and I opposite Yul Brynner. To modern audiences, she is perhaps best known for her long-running, chilling portrayal of the villainous Helena Cassadine on the daytime soap opera General Hospital, a role she has played intermittently since 1997 with commanding elegance.

Woody Strode (1914–1994) was a pioneering athlete and actor whose physical presence and quiet dignity broke significant racial barriers in both American sports and cinema. Before his film career, Strode was a standout football star at UCLA and became one of the first African American players to integrate the NFL in the modern era when he signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. Transitioning to Hollywood, he became a favorite of director John Ford, delivering a powerful, stoic performance in the title role of Sergeant Rutledge (1960) and appearing in the classic Two Rode Together (1961). Strode is also widely remembered for his unforgettable turn as the gladiator Draba in Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960), where his climactic fight with Kirk Douglas became one of the most iconic scenes in film history. A true trailblazer, Strode continued to work steadily in international productions and Westerns until his death, leaving behind a legacy as a symbol of strength and integrity on the silver screen.

Sergeant Rutledge trivia

A High-Stakes Screen Test
Director John Ford was so committed to casting Woody Strode in the title role that he personally filmed Strode’s screen test. Despite the actor’s impressive physical presence, Ford reportedly gave him some tough love during the process to ensure he captured the specific, stoic vulnerability required for the character of Braxton Rutledge.

Cinematic Pioneer
Sergeant Rutledge is historically significant as one of the first major Hollywood Westerns to feature a Black protagonist in a heroic, dignified capacity. While Buffalo Soldiers had appeared as background characters in earlier films, this was a landmark moment for the genre, centering an entire narrative on the valor and struggle of a Black soldier.

Revisiting Monument Valley
The film was shot on location in Monument Valley, the iconic landscape that became a visual signature of John Ford’s Westerns. This particular production marked Ford’s return to the valley after a several-year hiatus, using the familiar red sandstone buttes to contrast the freedom of the frontier with the rigid, claustrophobic atmosphere of the courtroom.

Reunited on Screen
The film served as a reunion for several members of Ford’s “Stock Company.” Jeffrey Hunter and Constance Towers had both previously worked with Ford, Hunter in The Searchers (1956), Towers in The Horse Soldiers (1959). This shared history allowed for a shorthand on set, contributing to the strong ensemble chemistry that carries the film's complex emotional themes.

 

Constance Towers, Jeffrey Hunter, and Woody Strode

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The Architecture of Justice
John Ford chooses to frame the majority of the film within the confines of a courtroom, using flashbacks to piece together the events in the desert. How does this non-linear structure affect your perception of Sergeant Rutledge’s guilt or innocence? Does the "trial" format make the film feel more like a traditional Western or a legal thriller?

Duty vs. Dignity
During the trial, Rutledge explains that the 9th Cavalry and the "Buffalo Soldier" uniform were the only things that gave him a sense of status and respect in a prejudiced society. In your opinion, why did Rutledge remain loyal to a military and a country that still treated him as a second-class citizen? How does the film reconcile his heroism with the systemic racism he faces?

The Role of Mary Beecher
Constance Towers’ character, Mary Beecher, is the only person who truly witnesses Rutledge’s character outside of the military structure. How does her testimony contrast with the "official" version of events presented by the prosecution? Does her perspective as a woman in the 1880s provide a unique parallel to the marginalization experienced by the Black soldiers?

Ford’s Monument Valley
Director John Ford is famous for using Monument Valley to represent the "American Myth." In Sergeant Rutledge, he uses this iconic backdrop to tell a story about racial tension and a search for truth. How does the vast, open landscape of the flashbacks compare to the claustrophobic, tense atmosphere of the courtroom scenes? Does the setting change the way we view the "morality" of the characters?

 

 

 

Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur wonder why "The Whole Town’s Talking"

The Whole Town’s Talking (1935) is an American comedy film directed by John Ford and starring Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur. The screenplay was written by Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin and based on a story by W. R. Burnett (Little Caesar, High Sierra).

Arthur Ferguson Jones (Robinson) is a mild-mannered advertising clerk who has a crush on Wilhemina Clark (Arthur) who barely knows he’s alive.

Jones looks precisely like the notorious bank robber “Killer Mannion” and is arrested by the police. When his true identity is confirmed, they let him go with a “passport,” a letter that says he’s not Mannion.

Mannion devises a plan to use his lookalike, making Jones the fall guy for a crime he has planned.

Will Mannion get away with his crime with Jones holding the bag?

Jean Arthur and Edward G. Robinson

John Ford (1894 - 1973) was an American film director who won a record four Academy Awards, more than any other director in history. He is perhaps best known for his western films, but ironically the Academy Awards he won weren’t for classic westerns like Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956). Ford got his start in silent film, first as an actor, then as a writer-director. He directed many silent films including the epic The Iron Horse (1924). Once the sound era arrived, Ford was one of its first pioneers. He hit his stride in the 1930s with films like The Lost Patrol (1934), The Whole Town’s Talking (1935), and The Informer (1935), which brought Ford his first Academy Award for Best Director. Other popular Ford films include The Hurricane (1937), Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) the last three all starring Henry Fonda. He also had a long collaborative relationship with John Wayne. Wayne starred in many classic Ford films including She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).

Edward G. Robinson (1893 – 1973) was an American actor on the stage and screen. Robinson is a true star from Hollywood’s Golden Age where he starred in the gangster classic Little Caesar (1931), Kid Galahad (1937), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), The Sea Wolf (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Key Largo (1948). Robinson was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1973 but was never nominated for a competitive Oscar.

Jean Arthur (1900 – 1991) was an American stage and film actress whose career spanned three decades. Arthur got her start in silent films but became a major star with the advent of sound. Her unique speaking voice made her a natural for comedy. She came to prominence by having major roles in a series of films directed by Frank Capra: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other popular films Arthur starred in included Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and The More the Merrier (1943). For her work in The More the Merrier, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress; it was her only Academy Award nomination. Arthur’s last film role was in the classic western Shane (1953). After retiring from acting, she taught drama at Vassar College where one of her students was Meryl Streep.

The Whole Town's Talking trivia

• The Production Code didn't allow references to drugs or drug addiction but the reference to a character in the movie being "coked up" seems to have slipped by the censors.
• The $250.00 per week that Jones gets to write the article about Mannion translates to almost $5000.00 today.
• Mannion is never given a first name. He's always referred to as Killer Mannion or just Mannion.
• The movie inspired the Bollywood movie Duplicate (1998).

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

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Discussion questions

1. Did you enjoy Edward G. Robinson in a comedy role?
2. Was Robinson successful in playing two different characters?
3. Were you surprised to know that John Ford directed this comedy?
4. What did you think of Jean Arthur's performance? Did she and Robinson work well together?
5. Did anything surprise you?

Woody Strode is “Sergeant Rutledge”

Sergeant Rutledge (1960) is an American Western film directed by John Ford, starring Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers, and Woody Strode in the title role. Other actors in the supporting cast include Billie Burke and Juano Hernandez. Of all of Ford’s films, this may be the least well-known.

First Sgt. Braxton Rutledge (Strode) of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, which included several colored regiments during the late-19th century, is accused of killing his commanding officer Major Custis Dabney and the rape and murder of his daughter Lucy.

Circumstantial evidence piles up against Rutledge and his conduct, including deserting the Cavalry, make his guilt seem more certain than before. First Lt. Tom Cantrell (Hunter), also of the 9th Cavalry believes Rutledge to be innocent and defends him at trial.

Woody Strode, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Towers

John Ford (1894 – 1946) was an American film director. Best known for his classic westerns. Ironically he won four Best Director Oscars for non-western films, a record that has yet to be equaled. Ford directed more than 140 films going back to the silent era. Orson Welles and Ingmar Bergman are among the many who consider Ford the greatest director of all time.

Jeffrey Hunter (1926 - 1969) was an American film and television actor. He was signed to a long-term contract by 20th Century-Fox in the early 1950s and the studio groomed him for stardom, starting him out in small roles, and eventually offering him lead roles alongside some of the studio’s top stars. He was in competition for roles at Fox with fellow contract player Robert Wagner. The top stardom didn’t come at Fox. Hunter was cast in the second lead of John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) supporting John Wayne on loan from Fox. He made another film with Ford, The Last Hurrah (1958) starring Spencer Tracy. He left Fox in 1960 and the following year starred in King of Kings (1961) in the role of Jesus Christ. The film was a box office hit and probably the film Hunter is most remembered for. Hunter continued to make films and appeared often on television. In 1964, Hunter starred as Captain Christopher Pike in “The Cage,” the first pilot for Star Trek. Hunter declined to make another pilot for Star Trek and was too expensive to have been its star when the show went into production. While filming a movie in Spain in 1968, Hunter suffered a severe concussion, leaving him unable to speak. While recovering, he fell down the stairs at his home and hit his head, knocking him unconscious. He died after undergoing brain surgery on May 27, 1969. He was only 42.

Constance Towers (1933 - ) is an American film, stage, and television actress, and singer. Towers was a child voice actress on the radio in her native Montana.  She got her start in film during the mid-1950s and then transitioned to acting in the theater, including many Broadway productions. Towers starred in revivals of Show Boat (1966) and as Anna in The King and I (1977 and 1978). Later in her career, she played Clarissa McCandless on the daytime drama Capitol (1982 to 1987). She also played the soap opera villain on General Hospital beginning in 1997. Towers has appeared on numerous television series including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Designing Women, Fraiser, The Rockford Files, L.A. Law, and Cold Case. She was married to actor John Gavin from 1974 until his death in 2018 at the age of 86.

Woody Strode (1914 - 1994) was an American athlete and actor. Strode played football at UCLA with Kenny Washington and Jackie Robinson in 1939. Strode made early film appearances in the early 1940s before the United States entered World War II. He was drafted at age 27 and served in the United States Army Air Corps. After the war, Strode resumed his acting career in the 1950s in mostly walk-on and/or supporting roles. In 1960 he was cast as the Ethiopian gladiator Draba in Sparticus receiving a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Around this time he became friends with director John Ford. Ford would go on to cast Strode in the title role of Sergeant Rutledge against the studio which wanted either Sidney Poitier or Harry Belafonte. Strode’s film and television career continued steadily until his death in 1994 at the age of 80.

Sergeant Rutledge trivia:

• John Ford got Woody Strode drunk to get a better performance out of him in a particular scene.
• This was the third film Jeffrey Hunter made with John Ford.
• Constance Towers starred alongside John Wayne and William Holden in The Horse Soldiers (1959), the year before she starred in Sergeant Rutledge.
• Although well-received critically, the film was a box office disappointment.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

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Why watch this film?

• One of the earliest studio films to cast a black actor in a lead role.
• It is a John Ford film that gets passed over when his work is reviewed and discussed.
• The film has developed a higher profile over the decades since its release due to the subject matter which was ahead of its time.

Discussion questions:

1. What was your overall impression of the film? Did you like the narrative flow?
2. Did you think the film portrayed the time and setting accurately?
3. Would you have cast another actor, i.e., Sidney Poitier or Harry Belefonte in the role of Rutledge?
4. What did you make of the relationship between Rutledge and Cantrell? Between Rutledge and Mary Beecher?
5. Do you think the film holds up today?
6. Did anything surprise you?
7. How does this film compare to other movies directed by John Ford?

Henry Fonda is “Young Mr. Lincoln”

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) is an American biographical film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. It was produced by 20th Century-Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and Kenneth Macgowan. The film was photographed by long-time Ford cinematographer Bert Glennon. The supporting cast includes Alice Brady (My Man Godfrey), Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek (Stagecoach), Ward Bond, and Milburn Stone (Gunsmoke). The screenplay was written by Lamar Totti; he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original screenplay.

Henry Fonda as Abraham Lincoln

The film takes place in 1832 and is a fictionalization of the early career of Abraham Lincoln during his days in New Salem, Illinois. During Independence Day festivities, a man named Skrub White (Fed Kohler Jr.) has a scuffle with two brothers, Matt and Adam Clay (Richard Cromwell and Eddie Quillan). When White pulls a gun on the brothers, he is stabbed and killed. Neither brother will accuse the other and both are put on trial for murder. Lincoln defends the brothers matching wits with the experienced prosecutor John Felder (Meek).

The case against the brothers rests with the eye-witness testimony of John Palmer Cass. Will Lincoln be able to challenge his testimony? Will the brothers be hanged for murder?

Young Mr. Lincoln trivia:

• Henry Fonda was reluctant to play Lincoln, equating playing the Great Emancipator to playing Jesus Christ.
• Fonda wore special boots to make him appear taller.
• Makeup for Fonda was based on photographs of Lincoln at about age 45.
• This was Alice Brady’s last film; she died of cancer several months after the film wrapped.
• Lincoln used an almanac to dispute eyewitness testimony in a real case.

To watch the movie on YouTube click the link below.

Why watch this film?

• This was the first collaboration between John Ford and Henry Fonda, a collaboration that produced six films including The Grapes of Wrath (1940).
• The myth surrounding Abraham Lincoln is partly due to this fictionalization of his life.
• Henry Fonda gives one of his greatest characterizations on film.
• The production including the cinematography is first-rate.

Questions for discussion:

1. What did you think of Henry Fonda as Lincoln? Was he believable in the role?
2. Were you bothered by the fact that some liberty was taken with the actual facts of Lincoln’s life?
3. The film featured a strong supporting cast including Ward Bond, a Ford Stock Company regular. Did any of the supporting cast stand out to you?
4. Did anything surprise you (not including the loose history) about the film?

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Honest Abe or Henry Fonda?

Claire Trevor and John Wayne head the cast of “Stagecoach”

Stagecoach (1939) is an American Western classic directed by John Ford and starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne. The film was produced by Walter Wanger Productions and the cinematography was by Bert Glennon (Young Mr. Lincoln-1939, Our Town-1940, Destination Tokyo-1943).

Considered not only one of the best westerns of all time, but Stagecoach is also considered one of the best pictures of all time. Supposedly, Orson Welles watched the film 40 times in preparation for the making of Citizen Kane (1941). Welles said Stagecoach was the “perfect textbook of film-making.”

When a group of strangers boards a stagecoach in June of 1885, from Tonto, Arizona Territory, to Lordsburg, New Mexico, little do they realize their lives will forever be changed. On that stagecoach is Dallas (Trevor) a prostitute who is run out of town by the all-female Law and Order League, Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell), an alcoholic, Mrs. Lucy Mallory, (Louise Platt) an officer’s wife, whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek), and gambler and Southern gentleman Hatfield (John Carradine). Along the way, they pick up dishonest banker Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill) who has just embezzled money from his bank.

As if the stage wasn’t crowded enough, they meet up with the Ringo King (Wayne) who escaped from jail to avenge the deaths of his father and brother at the hands of Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler).

How these diverse personalities interact along the way is what makes the film so engaging. Will they be at each others’ throats or will they be able to pull together as they ride through dangerous Indian territory?

John Ford (1894 - 1973) was an American film director who won a record four Academy Awards, more than any other director in history. He is perhaps best known for his western films, but ironically the Academy Awards he won weren’t for his classic westerns like Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956). Ford got his start in silent film, first as an actor, then as a writer-director. He directed many silent films including the epic The Iron Horse (1924). Once the sound era arrived, Ford was one of its first pioneers. He hit his stride in the 1930s with films like The Lost Patrol (1934), The Whole Town’s Talking (1935), and The Informer (1935), which brought Ford his first Academy Award for Best Director. Other popular Ford films include The Hurricane (1937), Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) the last three all starring Henry Fonda. He also had a long collaborative relationship with John Wayne. Wayne starred in many classic Ford films including She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).

Walter Wanger (1894 - 1968) was an American film producer. He was active in films from 1910 until 1963. Wanger attended Dartmouth College and served in the United States Army during World War I. While working for what was to become Paramount Studios, during the early days of talking films, he recruited Broadway performers like Claudette Colbert, Jeanette MacDonald, Fredric March, and Miriam Hopkins to the movies. He also brought directors George Cukor and Rouben Mamoulian to the studio. Some of the films produced by Wanger include Foreign Correspondent (1940), The Long Voyage Home (1940), Scarlet Street (1945), The Reckless Moment (1949), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), I Want to Live! (1958), and Cleapatra (1963). Wanger was married to actress Joan Bennett (1940 - 1965).

The cast of Stagecoach

Claire Trevor (1910 - 2000) was an American actress who appeared in over 60 movies. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Dead End (1937), and The High and the Mighty (1954). She won the award for her performance in Key Largo (1948). Trevor got her start on the New York stage and made her film debut in 1933. She also appeared on radio with Edward G. Robinson in the popular radio program Big Town. Trevor’s most famous role is probably Dallas in Stagecoach, but she had other memorable roles in Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Born to Kill (1947). Her last film role was in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) where she played Sally Field’s mother. 

John Wayne (1907 - 1979) was an American actor and filmmaker. Nicknamed Duke, Wayne was a pop culture icon and one of the most popular movie stars of all time. During the end of the silent era, Wayne worked on movie sets and played bit parts in movies. He got the chance to play the lead in director Raoul Walsh’s The Big Trail (1930). The Western was an early widescreen epic and a box office disaster, which relegated Wayne to roles in a string of B Westerns. It wasn’t until his role as the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach that he became a star of A films who was now paired with some of the top actresses of the day. Wayne played a variety of roles in the movies but he is most identified with the Western genre and the movies he made with director John Ford. Some of Wayne’s popular films include Red River (1948), The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), The Searchers (1956), and The Longest Day (1962). Wayne won his one and only Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Tue Grit (1969).

John Wayne and Claire Trevor

Stagecoach trivia

• The hat John Wayne wore in the film was his own. He wore it in many westerns but retired it in 1959 after completing Rio Bravo.
• Local Navajo Indians played Apaches.
• Stagecoach was one of several big-budget Westerns released in 1939 including Union Pacific, Jesse James, and Dodge City.
• John Wayne made less money than most of his costars
• Thomas Mitchell won a Best Supporting Academy Award for this film but was very busy in 1939. Besides Stagecoach, he had important roles in Only Angels Have Wings, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Gone with the Wind!

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

To join the discussion on July 5, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with an invitation and link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions:

1. What did you make of John Wayne’s star-making turn in this film?
2. Of all the character actors, did one stand out to you?
3. How much experience with women do you think Wayne’s character had before meeting Dallas?
4. Why do you think this film is held in such high regard by critics and filmgoers today?
5. What do you think director John Ford thought of the character of Dallas?

Filming Stagecoach on location

Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara head the cast in “How Green Was My Valley”

How Green Was My Valley (1941) was an American drama film directed by John Ford and starring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Donald Crisp, Anna Lee, and Roddy McDowall. It is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Richard Llewellyn. The novel was published in 1939 and 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights and had originally planned to film in color on location in Wales. Studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck had envisioned an epic like Gone with the Wind, but World War II made that impossible.

The film is told in flashback as Huw Morgan, the McDowall character, now a grown man is leaving the beloved valley home of his youth. He tells the story of a time before the coal dust from the mines hadn't blackened his village and the surrounding area and a time when his father and all his brothers worked in the coal mines. In the beginning, working in the mine was decent, honorable work that the men were proud of. Eventually, things changed and the men decide to unionize with the help and approval of the new minister Mr. Gruffydd (Pidgeon). This disturbs miner Gwilym Morgan (Crisp) and for a time alienates him from his five sons who championed the union. Angharad Morgan (O’Hara) longs for the love of Mr. Gruffydd but will his devotion to the church get in the way of their relationship?

John Ford (1894 - 1973) was an American film director who won a record four Academy Awards, more than any other director in history. He is perhaps best known for his western films, but ironically the Academy Awards he won weren’t for his classic westerns like Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956). Ford got his start in silent film, first as an actor, then as a writer-director. He directed many silent films including the epic The Iron Horse (1924). Once the sound era arrived, Ford was one of its first pioneers. He hit his stride in the 1930s with films like The Lost Patrol (1934), The Whole Town’s Talking (1935), and The Informer (1935), which brought Ford his first Academy Award for Best Director. Other popular Ford films include The Hurricane (1937), Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) the last three all starring Henry Fonda. He also had a long collaborative relationship with John Wayne. Wayne starred in many classic Ford films including She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).

Maureen O’Hara and Walter Pidgeon

Walter Pidgeon (1897 - 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. During his long career, he was nominated for two Best Actor Academy Awards—Mrs. Miniver (1942) and Madame Curie (1943). Pidgeon worked on the stage before he entered films, making his Broadway debut in 1925. When he starting working in film, he starred in musicals. Once the interest in musicals declined, he began making a name for himself in dramas and comedies during the mid-1930s. His lead role in How Green Was My Valley restored his popularity. He was first paired with Greer Garson in Blossoms in the Dust (1941). They made a total of eight films together, making them one of the screen’s most popular acting teams. Some of their other films include Mrs. Miniver (1942), Mrs. Parkington (1944), Julia Misbehaves (1948), and That Forsyte Woman (1949). Pidgeon has success on his own in films like Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and the science fiction classic, Forbidden Planet (1956). One of Pidgeon’s last film roles was Funny Girl (1968) where he portrayed Florenz Ziegfeld.

Maureen O’Hara (1920 - 2015) was an Irish-American actress and singer. In her native Ireland, O’Hara trained with the Abbey Theatre at age 14. She screen-tested for the role of Mary Yellan in Jamaica Inn at age 19. Director Hitchcock wasn’t impressed with O’Hara’s test but Laughton persuaded him to cast her. After finishing the film, O’Hara moved to Hollywood where she was signed to contract at RKO. In 1941 she starred in How Green Was My Valley, her first collaboration with director John Ford. She starred alongside Tyrone Power in The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945) with Paul Henreid, and Sinbad the Sailor (1947) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. That same year she starred in the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street with John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, and a young Natalie Wood. Other popular films include The Quiet Man (1952), The Parent Trap (1961), and McLintock! (1963). 

Donald Crisp (1882 - 1974) was an English actor, producer, director, and screenwriter whose career began in the silent era into the 1960s. He played Ulysses S. Grant in D. W. Griffith’s silent epic The Birth of a Nation (1915). Crisp worked as an assistant to Griffith where he acquired the desire to be a director himself. He directed The Navigator  (1924) starring Buster Keaton and Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925) starring Douglas Fairbanks. Once the talkies arrived, Crisp devoted himself to acting in supporting roles in films like Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Valley of Decision (1945), and National Velvet (1944). His last film role was in Spencer’s Mountain (1963) with former film costars Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara.

Roddy McDowall (1928 - 1998) was a British-born American actor. He started his career as a baby model and then began appearing in films as a young child in England. When he came to Hollywood, he became an in-demand child actor where he appeared in dozens of films including My Friend Flicka (1943), Lassie Come Home (1943), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), and Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945). McDowell was able to successfully transition from child actor to adult actor appearing in lead and supporting roles in films like Midnight Lace (1960), The Longest Day (1962), Cleopatra (1963), and That Darn Cat! (1965). He may be best known as Cornelius, one of the intelligent apes in The Planet of the Apes (1968), its sequels, and short-lived TV series. McDowall also served as a producer of Overboard (1987) as well as co-starring with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.

How Green Was My Valley trivia

• John Ford won his third (out of a total of four) Best Director Academy Award.
• Wind machines were set up to get Maureen O’Hara’s bridal veil to blow in the wind exactly the way Ford wanted it to.
• Roddy McDowall was in the United States only two weeks before filming. He evacuated England with his mother and sister to avoid the Blitz.
• William Wyler was the original director when the film was set to film on location in Wales.
• The film beat out Citizen Kane for the Best Picture of 1941 and was nominated for a total of 10 Academy Awards; the most nominated film of the year.
• The Fox production crew turned an 80-acre plot in Brent’s Crags, CA, into a Welsh mining town when World War II prevented them from filming in Wales.

Why watch this film?

• It’s a Best Picture winner and one of John Ford’s most popular early successes in the sound era.
• The film marked Roddy McDowall’s introduction to American movie-goers.
• Marked the first Ford-directed film that Maureen O’Hara starred in.
• The film features several great character actors including Ana Lee, Sara Allgood, Patric Knowles, Barry Fitzgerald, John Loder, and Rhys Williams.
• The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture.

The Best Picture nominees for 1941

How Green Was My Valley-20the Century-Fox

Blossoms in the Dust-MGM

Citizen Kane-RKO

Here Comes Mr. Jordan-Columbia

Hold Back the Dawn-Paramount

The Little Foxes-RKO

The Maltese Falcon-Warner Bros.

One Foot in Heaven-Warner Bros.

Sergeant York-Warner Bros.

Suspicion-RKO

Interestingly, The New York Times declared Preston Sturges’s The Lady Eve the Best Picture of the Year; it wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture by the Motion Picture Academy.

To watch the film on YouTube, please click the link below.

To join the discussion on Zoom on June 14, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., click the link here. Once you RSVP, you’ll receive an invitation and links to join the discussion.

Discussion questions

1. Did you like the film narrative (flashback narration)?
2. Maureen O’Hara was only 21 when the film was released. What did you think of her performance as the only daughter of the Morgan family?
3. What did you think of the production? Was it convincing to you as a real mining town?
4. This film helped propel Walter Pidgeon to leading man status; what did you think of his performance?
5. Why do you think Huw chose to work in the mine rather than furthering in his education?

Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford have a “Lust for Gold”

Lust for Gold (1949) is an American western directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford. The supporting cast includes Gig Young, William Price, Will Geer, Edgar Buchanan, and Paul Ford. The movie is based on the book Thunder God’s Gold by Barry Storm. The cinematography was by Archie Stout who was the second unit director on several John Ford films including Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), Wagon Master (1950), and The Quiet Man (1952).

The plot concerns the legend of the Lost Dutchman gold mine. Ford is Jacob “Dutchman” Waltz and Lupino is Julia Thomas. 

The film begins in the present (1949-present) with a descendent of Waltz trying to find the mine himself. Then the movie flashes back to 1880 when Waltz and Wiser discover the mine and how Waltz managed to keep the mine a secret from the people of Phoenix, Arizona. 

Julia Thomas wants to escape her dreary life as a baker and sees Waltz as her ticket to wealth and happiness. One problem, she’s married to Pete Thomas (Young) who objects to her plans. Will she manage to get a hold of the gold from the Dutchman’s mine or will Pete and circumstances out of her control keep that from happening.

S. Sylvan Simon (1910 - 1951) was an American stage and film director and producer. He directed many films during the 1930s and 1940s including These Glamour Girls (1939), Whistling in the Dark (1941), Son of Lassie (1945), Abbot and Costello in Hollywood (1945), and Bad Bascomb (1946). Simon produced the film Born Yesterday (1950). Lust for Gold was the last picture he directed. He died of a heart at age 41.

Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford in a publicity still from the film

Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) was an English-American actress, director, and producer. She appeared in over 50 films and was one of Warner Bros.’s biggest contract players during the 1940s starring in High Sierra (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), and The Man I Love (1947). After she left Warner Bros., Lupino formed her own production company, producing, writing, and directing films that tackled subjects the big studios wouldn’t touch. During the 1950s, Lupino was the only female director working in Hollywood. She directed several small independent films but really made a name for herself directing for television. Lupino directed episodes of The Twilight Zone (starred in one too), The Rifleman, Bonanza, Rifleman, Gilligan’s Island, It Takes a Thief, Family Affair, and Columbo. In 1966, she directed her one-and-only big-budget studio picture, The Trouble with Angels starring Rosalind Russell and Haley Mills.

Glenn Ford (1916 - 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who was one of the biggest box office draws for three decades. Ford acted on stage in California before being signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures. He appeared in mostly B movies until The Lady in Question (1940), the first time he was paired with fellow Columbia contracted, Rita Hayworth. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, Ford’s career began to take off. He and Hayworth had a huge hit with Gilda (1946) and A Stolen Life (1946) with Bette Davis. For came into his own in the 1950s with films like Blackboard Jungle (1955), Interrupted Melody (1955) with Eleanor Parker, Jubal (1956), and The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) with Jeanne Crain, all box office successes. By the end of the decade, Ford was one of the biggest stars in the world. Ford continued making movies in the 1960s but his successes were more uneven than in the previous decade but had hits with Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father  (1963). In 1978, he played Clark Kent’s adoptive father in Superman. His last film role was Raw Nerve (1991).

Lust for Gold  trivia

• There are over 60 versions of the Lost Dutchman legend.
• George Marshall was the original director but quit after four days.
• One of the few films in movie history where the lead characters (Lupino and Ford) are shown in flashback.
• Some of the film was shot on location in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains.

To watch the film on YouTube, please click on the link below.

Join us on Zoom May 11, 2021 for a discussion of Lust for Gold at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Click here for details on how to participate. It’s free!

Questions for discussion

1. What did you think of the film narrative? 
2. Had you ever heard of the Lost Dutchman legend?
3. Noir or not? Would you consider this a western film noir?
4. Was Lupino’s character a femme fatale? 
5. What did you think of Ford’s characterization?

Ida Lupino and Glenn Ford

John Ford’s “My Darling Clementine” and myth of the American West

My Darling Clementine (1946) is an American western film directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, and Victor Mature. Many critics consider it one of the best westerns ever made.

The movie takes place in 1882, with the Earp brothers Wyatt (Fonda), Morgan (Ward Bond), Virgil (Tim Holt), and James (Don Garner) on a cattle drive to California. On the way, they meet Old Man Clanton (Walter Brennan). Clanton wants to buy the Wyatt cattle, but they refuse to sell. When they learn of the nearby town of Tombstone, the three older brothers ride in, leaving their younger brother James to watch over the herd. When Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil return to camp, they discover that their cattle have been rustled and James has been murdered.

This is the setup for the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Some Clementine Trivia
My Darling Clementine was Fonda’s first film role upon returning from service in World War II. Mature had one of his best roles as Doc Holiday, even winning praise from director Ford, which was no easy task. Darnell who was emerging as 20th Century-Fox’s top bombshell is the fiery Chihuahua. Jeanne Crain was originally considered for the role of Clementine Carter, but studio head Darryl F. Zanuck had bigger plans for her. He thought the supporting role was too small for Crain who was being groomed for major stardom. Brennan disliked Ford so much that he never work with him again. Jane Darwell who plays dance hall owner Kate Nelson won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath (1940) which starred Fonda as Tom Joad.

Linda Darnell and Henry Fonda in an iconic scene from the film

John Ford (1894 – 1946) was an American film director. Best known for his classic westerns. Ironically he won four Best Director Oscars for non-western films, a record that has yet to be equaled. Ford directed more than 140 films going back to the silent era. Orson Welles and Ingmar Bergman are among the many who consider Ford the greatest director of all time.

Henry Fonda (1905 - 1982) was an American stage and film actor. Fonda became a star in his first film role as Dan Harrow in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) co-starring established star Janet Gaynor. In 1938, he co-starred in Jezebel with Bette Davis. In 1939 he starred as Frank James along with Tyrone Power in Jesse James (the second biggest hit of the year), Young Mr. Lincoln, and Drums Along the Mohawk, the latter two directed by John Ford. Fonda worked steadily on the stage and on film until a year before his death. He won his one and only Oscar for On Golden Pond (1981).

Linda Darnell (1923 – 1965) was an American film actress. She signed a contract with 20th Century-Fox at age 15 and became a star almost overnight. She was immediately cast opposite Tyrone Power in Day-Time Wife (1939). She made two films with Power in 1940: Brigham Young and The Mark of Zorro. In 1941, she was again paired with Power in Blood and Sand, which also starred an up and coming Rita Hayworth. Darnell’s most famous role was that of Amber St. Clair in Forever Amber (1947), which turned out the be the biggest hit of the year. The role of Amber was the most sought after female role since the casting of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). Other important films she starred in include Unfaithfully Yours (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and No Way Out (1950). She died tragically at age 41 in a fire while visiting friends in Glenview, Illinois.

Victor Mature (1913 – 1999) was an American stage, film, and television who became a major movie star during the 1940s under contract to 20th Century-Fox. Before his film career took off, Mature starred in Lady in the Dark (1941) on Broadway opposite Gertrude Lawrence. Some of Mature’s notable films include I Wake Up Screaming (1941) with Betty Grable, The Shanghai Gesture (1941) with Gene Tierney. In 1942, he starred opposite Rita Hayworth in the musical My Gal Sal. Other notable films include Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1952), the first film released in the Cinemascope widescreen process.


To watch this film on YouTube, click on the link below. Be sure to use this link because there are several prints of this film on the channel, but this one is the best by far.



After you’ve watched the film, join us for a discussion on Zoom, July 21, 2020. Click on the link below to join the discussion.

Stephen Reginald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Discussion of "My Darling Clementine"
Time: Jul 21, 2020, 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75170417977?pwd=eUF5VFdKRmEzK1JWbisxNy9yV3pkZz09

Meeting ID: 751 7041 7977
Passcode: Z5pkxp


Discussion questions:
1. This film is considered one of the great American westerns. How does it rate in your estimation?
2. Henry Fonda was Ford’s first and only choice to play Wyatt Earp. What did you think of Fonda’s performance? Can you see another actor in the role?
3. John Ford was at first unhappy about the casting of Victor Mature (he had wanted James Stewart), but after interviewing the actor, he was convinced he was right for the part. What do you think?
4. Many critics think that Linda Darnell was miscast as Chihuahua. Do you agree with the critics and why or why not?

Great Films of 1939: "Stagecoach" April 16 at the Daystar Center

Great Films of 1939 series: Stagecoach
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: April 16, 2016
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Stagecoach (1939) changed the western film genre forever. Prior to this film, westerns weren’t taken too seriously and were relegated to low-budget second features or serials. John Ford’s classic also began the fruitful association and partnership with star John Wayne. Before Stagecoach, Wayne was starring in low-budget western second features at poverty row studios. The film boasts a wonderful performance from the female lead, Claire Trevor, who should have, like Wayne, emerged as a major movie star. The supporting cast features many who would become part of the John Ford stock company, including Thomas Mitchell (Academy Award Winner), Andy Devine, Tim Holt, and John Carradine.

Part of the “Great movies of 1939” series. Discover some of the greatest movies from Hollywood’s most famous year.

Backstory: Thomas Mitchell had a great 1939. Besides Stagecoach, Mitchell had major supporting roles in Only Angels Have Wings, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Gone with the Wind!

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

2015 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival Recap: Day 3

Colleen Moore and Neil Hamilton from Why Be Good?

The third day of the TCM Film Festival and I felt like a “seasoned campaigner,” to quote Jean Dixon from My Man Godfrey, a film from the festival’s first day. There were some great movies screening in the morning, but again, I opted to see things I hadn’t seen before, including another silent movie, a Disney classic, an early John Ford melodrama featuring Ralph Bellamy—in the lead—Pat O’Brien and Gloria Stewart, a Preston Sturges classic, a glossy melodrama from director Douglas Sirk, and some Hollywood home movies.

First up was the silent film Why Be Good? (1929) starring Colleen Moore and Neil Hamilton. Cari Beauchamp, an award-winning writer and documentary filmmaker introduced the film. We learned that the movie was thought to be lost, but that a print was discovered in Italy in the late 90s and eventually restored. The movie is about a young flapper, Pert—love that name—Kelly (Moore) who pretends to be a bad girl so she can go clubbing with her fast friends. Pert loves to dance and have fun, but she is strictly a “good girl.” The action begins when she meets a young man at a club after she ditches her lech of a date, when he falls asleep in a drunken stupor. As she is about to leave, she meets Winthrop Peabody Jr. (Hamilton). They are immediately smitten and Winthrop asks her out on a date for the following evening. Pert, tired from the late-night out with Winthrop, arrives tardy for work, only to be reprimanded by the new head of personnel, Winthrop! In order to please his father Winthrop Peaboy Sr. and show him that he’s up for his new job, junior is unusually harsh with Pert. This causes all kinds of confusion and frustration for the young couple. Of course the end of the movie resolves all, but the scenes between Pert and her parents, and the others in between, are both humorous and poignant. It’s easy to see why Moore was such a big star in the silent era. Besides being pretty and attractive, she had a effervescent personality that is hard to resist. Hamilton, Moore’s costar is best known today as Commissioner Gordon from the Batman TV series from the 1960s. Although the film is silent (no dialogue), it is accompanied by a synchronized score and sound effects, something that was fairly common during the transition from silent to talking films. The film boasts early screen appearances of Jean Harlow, Andy Devine, Mischa Auer, Phil Harris, and Grady Sutton, but the only one I really noticed was Harlow in a party scene. Two silents in two days and I enjoyed them both!

Bobby Driscoll receives his juvenile Oscar
from Donald O'Connor

After Why Be Good? it was a choice between 42n Street (1933) and So Dear To My Heart (1948). It was really no contest. I’ve seen 42n Street and the opportunities to see it on the big screen would come again, but not so with Disney’s So Dear To My Heart. Film critic Leonard Maltin who is a real fan of the film said he hoped he hadn’t “oversold” the movie with his enthusiastic introduction, gave us some backgrond on the film. We learned that the movie had originally been planned as Disney’s first all live-action film, but that the distributor, RKO, didn’t think they could “sell” a Disney film without animation. So some short animation scenes were inserted to appease RKO, even though they add little—other than the fact that they’re cute—to the overall story line. The plot surrounds Jeremiah Kincaid (Bobby Driscoll) and his efforts to raise a black sheep to be a county fair champion, a champion just like race horse Dan Patch, in 1903 Indiana. Jeremiah’s stern, but loving grandmother, Granny Kincaid (Beulah Bondi) is against her grandson raising the black sheep as a pet, but she eventually relents, against her better judgment. Others in the cast include a very young Burl Ives as Uncle Hiram Douglas, singing the Oscar-nominated song, “Lavender Blue” and Luana Patten as Tildy. Bobby Driscoll, who also scored a hit in The Window (1949) on loan to RKO won a special juvenile Academy Award for his performances. The movie is corny, sentimental, but charming and extremely watchable. I was transported to a simpler time in my life when my older sister would take me to every Disney movie, that was playing in our neighborhood, when I was a young boy.

After So Dear To My Heart, it was back on line at the same theater for John Ford’s Air Mail (1932). I never even heard of  Air Mail, so I was anxious to see it. Seven years before Howard Hawks’s Only Angels Have Wings, John Ford crafted this exciting film about young pilots transporting the mail under dangerous conditions from a desert airport at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Leonard Maltin introduced this film as not a classic, but as an entertaining film and early Ford directorial effort and a rare stint working at Universal Studios. Ralph Bellamy as Mike Miller is top-billed over Pat O’Brien (Duke Talbot) and the rest of the cast that also includes Gloria Stewart (Ruth Barnes), Ward Bond (Joe Barnes), and Slim Summerville (Slim McCune). Bellamy plays the level-headed and headstrong operator of the airport who hires hotshot pilot Duke Talbot to take the place of Joe Barnes (Ruth’s brother) who lost his life in a fiery plane crash. For a film shot in 1932, the special effects are fairly impressive. Most impressive are some of the miniature sets of the airport that were remarkably realistic. The real drama begins when Mike, whose eyesight isn’t what it used to be, flies out during some bad weather, against the wishes of his girlfriend Ruth. He crashes in a remote mountain area with little hope of being rescued. Duke who has run off with the widow of another pilot, decides he can rescue Mike. Duke makes the daring attempt to save Mike, successfully landing his plane where Mike is stranded. Duke manages to load Mike into the plane and take off. Although the plane is able to fly, it sustained some damage during its rocky landing. While flying, the plane begins to fall apart. Realizing that he can’t land safely, Duke flips the plane over on purpose, which causes Mike to fall out. Mike lands safely with his parachute. Duke crashes, but survives, making him an instant hero. It was great to see a film where Bellamy was not only the lead, but also the guy who actually gets the girl in the end. Maltin called this a “bread and butter” movie for Ford. Under contract to Fox, which was cutting salaries, Ford decided to go to work for Carl Laemmle Jr. at Universal to pick up some extra cash.


I was now ready for a good laugh, so the ideal choice was Christmas in July (1940). It was a long time since I last saw this Preston Sturges classic. Being a Sturges fan, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this film on the big screen with a live audience. It did not disappoint. Sturges’s follow-up to The Great McGinty (1940) chronicles the aspirations of Jimmy MacDonald (Dick Powell) and his efforts to win the slogan writing contest sponsored by Maxford House Coffee. Desperate to win, Jimmy dreams of providing for his mother and prove himself worthy of his girlfriend, Betty Casey (Ellen Drew). Jimmy’s “winning” slogan: “If you can’t sleep at night, it’s not the coffee, it’s the bunk.” The slogan doesn’t exactly resonate with Jimmy’s friends and family, but he’s convinced it’s a winner. As a practical joke, three of Jimmy’s coworkers phony-up a telegram announcing that Jimmy is the winner. Before his friends can tell him it’s a prank, Jimmy is off buying expensive gifts and furniture for his mother, an engagement ring and fur coat for Betty, and presents for just about everyone on his city block. Jimmy’s boss, J. B. Baxter (Ernest Truet) coincidentally, the head of another coffee company, is so impressed with Jimmy’s “win” that he gives him a promotion, his own office, and a private secretary (Betty). Things begin to unravel when Dr. Maxford discovers that the voting for the winning slogan is deadlocked because of the stubbornness of Mr. Bildocker (William Demarest). Jimmy is humiliated and embarrassed when he finds out his winning telegram was a joke and the owner and clerks from the department store where Jimmy bought all his gifts comes to take them all back. Jimmy pleads with his boss to let him keep his new job on a probationary basis until he proves himself. Jimmy’s boss agrees, but he gets no raise in the bargain. Finally Mr. Bildocker bursts into Dr. Maxford’s office proclaiming the deadlock is over. The winning slogan: “If you can’t sleep at night, it’s not the coffee, it’s the bunk!”

Jane Withers charms the crowd.

Next it was off to Club TCM for some Hollywood Home Movies. This was a great treat. Guests that shared their home movies included, Jane Withers, Bob Koster (son of director Henry Koster), and Neile Adams McQueen (widow of Steve McQueen). We saw some rare behind the scenes movies of Esther Ralston and Gary Cooper in a silent film that is lost to history, as well as images of Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, and Sophia Loren, during the filming of her first American film, Boy on a Dolphin (1957). Withers was the most fun, however. She narrated her home movies, which included the likes of Jackie Cooper, Roddy McDowell and other child actors of the era. Withers’s enthusiasm and charm was evident throughout and it was a treat just to see her.

For some reason (I blame Laura and Kristina) I decided to see Imitation of Life (1959) starring Lana Turner and John Gavin. Imitation is a glossy melodrama produced by Ross Hunter and directed by Douglas Sirk. Introduced by Sherry Lansing and Leonard Maltin, who both think the film is worth seeing and a film that resonated with Lansing when she first saw it at age 14. For me though, the film was almost a parody. The melodrama and acting style was over the top and it just didn’t work for me. After not getting into Too Late for Tears, watching this film was one of the few things I regret about the festival. I would have much rather enjoyed seeing Adam’s Rib or The French Connection, but that’s the way it goes; we have to make choices and sometimes we’re not happy with them.

Five films in one day was a record for me. I was exahausted and my eyes were sore and dry from all that movie-watching. On Sunday, my day started a little later than Saturday with my favorite movie experience of the festival: Calamity Jane (1953).

Check back for my last update, to be followed by a wrap-up, and some hints for first-time festival goers.

2015 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival Recap

2015 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival Recap: Day 1

2015 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival Recap: Day 2