.....At least not in this post, which is devoted to the films made with Gene Kelly, journeyman actor, not the dazzling dancer. Kelly himself denigrated his own dramatic efforts, but a few of us really like the man when he puts the dancing slippers away and takes on a few roles that required him to be a mere mortal.
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| Above: Gene Kelly in one of his earliest and best non-musical films, The Cross of Lorraine (1943). |
To begin, here's a subjective list of my favorite non-musical Gene Kelly movies in order of preference. None of them are ever going to make any critics "best of" lists, but Kelly was better than he knew in some of these movies (while some really make you wonder). Too bad it is difficult to find some of these on DVD or on the TCM schedule:
Cross of Lorraine (1943)
Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
The Devil Makes Three (1953)
Black Hand (1950)
Christmas Holiday (1944)
Pilot #5 (1943)
The Three Musketeers (1948)
The Happy Road (1957)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Crest of the Wave (1954)
Love Is Better Than Ever (1952) - cameo
Viva Kneivel (1977)
40 Carats (1973)
I shall try to share views here about these movies in detail in the near future, but I hope you'll compose your own lists and comments about this neglected side of Gene Kelly's storied career. To get us started, there is one almost totally unknown movie that Kelly made while serving in the U.S. Navy-- Combat Fatigue Irritability (1945), or, as I like to call it, "Aw--For Chrissake!"...you'll see why, and hear our Gene swearing like a...sailor! But not like the one he played in Anchors Aweigh or On the Town. Cover the ears of Jerry the Mouse, and enjoy the way a movie about post traumatic stress disorder might have sounded at the end of WWII without those buttinskys at the Production Code office. Btw, Gene is believable as a simple swabbie whose emotions are roiling after his exposure to war and his return to life in "These United States" but the Navy medicos seem determined to cheer the guy up. Maybe this then-innovative approach to combat fatigue really helped a few people.:
5 comments:
I regard Inherit the Wind (and Kelly's performance) to be a superb film. But, you're right, when I, and others, think of Kelly I recall his musicals, but I think that's because they were so darn good!
Kim, I would say that Inherit the Wind (1960) is among the best films in American cinematic history, blending social commentary with soaring dramatic entertainment--in large part because of the presence of two masters: Spencer Tracy and Fredric March.
For Kelly, however, I suspect that his own daunting standards for performance extended to his own portrayal of an H.L. Mencken-like journalist, the big city cynic, E.K. Hornbeck. In an interview found in John Boorman and Walter Donohue's Projections Four and a Half: Film-makers on Film-Making, (Faber and Faber, 1995), Kelly made this self-critical insight: "I guess Inherit The Wind was as good a job as I ever did, although maybe I acted better in The Black Hand (1950), which was a programme picture that made a lot of money. In some scenes in Inherit the Wind, I reverted to over-acting, which I'd never gotten over from my days on Broadway. But I think I held enough back beside Freddie and Spence to be plausible."
In James Curtis' extraordinary Spencer Tracy: A Biography (Knopf, 2011), the author quotes Kelly as explaining that the opportunity to study the work of these two powerhouses up close really compelled the actor-dancer to attempt the role. "I could understand and see what Fred was doing. He was like Olivier. A wonderful technician. You could see the characterization taking shape--the cogs and wheels beginning to turn. If you studied his methods closely, it was all there, like an open book. But with Spence it was just the reverse. He'd play a scene with you, and you'd think nothing much was happening. Then when you saw the rushes, there it all was--pouring out of his face. He was quite amazing. The embodiment of the art that conceals art. It was impossible to learn anything from Spence, because everything he did came deep down from some inner part of himself which, to an outsider anxious to learn, was totally inaccessible. All you could do was watch the magic and be amazed."
Sometimes that latter comment applies to the way that this viewer feels when watching Kelly dance--and act. Thanks so much for taking the time to post a comment here.
What an interesting topic, Moira! (And how good to see a post from you!) Gene Kelly is one of my favorites from way back, and yet I've only seen three of the films you list here, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE HAPPY ROAD (it was on TV often as I was growing up), and INHERIT THE WIND.
INHERIT THE WIND is one of the rare films where our opinions diverge, as this one really didn't work for me when I saw it at UCLA last month. I thought Kelly brought an energy to his scenes the film needed, but I also never believed him. (Or much else about the film, LOL.) So I'll be interested to read a divergent opinion from someone whose taste I greatly respect! :)
But I love the Kelly quote comparing Tracy & March! In fact I was able to have Mr. Curtis sign his Tracy bio at INHERIT THE WIND. I've not started it but I found that any page I opened to looked interesting!
Back to Gene Kelly -- thanks to TCM I've been able to record several of these dramatic titles, I've just not caught up with them yet. I also have a Region 2 DVD of CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY but I've been holding off watching it until I see if perhaps it might be shown at the Noir City festival in Hollywood this year -- San Franciscans were lucky enough to have the Film Noir Foundation show it in December with Durbin's LADY ON A TRAIN. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and I'm sure they'll spur me to pull out some recordings and check them out!
Meanwhile, I'll make it a point to watch this short subject tomorrow! Thanks so much for posting it.
Best wishes,
Laura
Hi Laura,
How nice of you to respond to my post! While I do think that Kelly had moments when he was believable as an H.L. Mencken type in Inherit the Wind (1960), particularly in his one-on-one scenes with Spencer Tracy. I have always loved the scene at the end, when Kelly, as Hornbeck, confronts the weary Spencer Tracy, and calls him a fraud--but Henry Drummond (Tracy) simply puts The Origin of the Species and The Bible together and walks away.
My feelings about Inherit the Wind are not really based on whether it is a movie of quality--it's barely cinematic at all at times--but the content of the ideas continue to fascinate me, as does some of the acting. I agree that Gene was not entirely believable in the part (I keep wondering what an Arthur Kennedy might have brought to the role). How interesting that your overall reaction to Inherit the Wind was so different than my own. I suspect that my own emotions are, perhaps a bit like yours with The Happy Road, influenced by repeated viewings as a child, since the highly theatrical Inherit The Wind was often shown daily for a week at times by Million Dollar Movie (did every area have this program in the past?).
While I realize it is fictionalized version of the Scopes case, I also tend to associate the film with comments made to me from my lawyer father about the idea of tolerance within the story. While in college and law school in the 1930s, he had visited court rooms in the NYC area whenever Clarence Darrow argued a case, just to study the man's command of the court room and the turn of his mind--even as the famous lawyer's powers were diminishing with age. Dad had become enchanted with Darrow after seeing the Roman Catholic G.K. Chesterton debate Darrow on the role of religion in modern society in 1931 as well. Dad was a big G.K. Chesterton fan, but to find his concepts of the universe so challenged by such a brilliant mind was intellectually exhilarating for an Irish-Catholic youth. Since then, I have had that kind of experience myself in life and it is one of the most valuable arguments for listening to people whose values we do not share--an intangible legacy from my father that is often of value to me, twenty five years after his death.
What a glorious double feature those lucky San Franciscans saw in the pairing of Christmas Holiday (1944) with Lady on the Train (1945)! I love Deanna Durbin movies anyway, so it will be fun to revisit that odd duck of a Gene Kelly film here eventually. Christmas Holiday features one of Kelly's strangest roles within the context of his career, but it is also interesting to see director Robert Siodmak tap into that beguiling and dangerous edge of aggressive drive that Kelly brought to a few portrayals, such as his early work as the slick vaudevillian in Me and My Gal. I am not sure that Kelly was comfortable with that sort of role on screen, even though his biggest Broadway hit had been his creation of the role of Pal Joey in 1940, in the Rodgers and Hart musical adaptation of John O'Hara's short stories. What a shame that MGM would not lend him to Columbia to play that part while Kelly was still young enough!
Again, thank you for sharing your insights and I hope to be posting again very soon on one of Kelly's earliest appearances in a non-musical role.
Moira, I love the interesting background to your thoughts on INHERIT THE WIND -- how fascinating that your father was able to watch Clarence Darrow in action! What a wonderful anecdote -- thoroughly enjoyed your comments.
Best wishes,
Laura
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