SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944)

(Week 13: Claudette Colbert)

SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944)

Directed by John Cromwell

Claudette Colbert is best known for her screwball comedies, like IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT where she is cute and lovable. But she makes a great character actress here. She plays Anne, a matriarch who tries to take care of her family while her husband is fighting in WWII. Serving as a pillar for her family, her face exudes optimism with subtle hints of agitation as she tries to repress her sorrow. In her moments of deep despair, she also performs extreme emotions believably.

It's a shame that the film was made into an epic. It lacks the substance to support it. While it does a great job capturing life at the homefront, it runs out of material fast. There isn't enough ups and downs in this film to keep it from being somber and monotonous. It serves as a nice portrait of loneliness and sentimentality, but being three hours long makes the film drag and lose its effects. 

The film does have a lot of great characters and a great cast to play them. Jennifer Jones as Jane, a young woman discovering romance and sexuality. She plays the role with some affectation of a young lady, which is irritating at times, but there are many moments where she manages to be heartfelt. It is hard not to sympathize with her. There are characters like this in much happier films, where the romance isn't threatened by war and death. In the goodbye scene at the train station, perhaps the most melodramatic scene in the film, she soars. Shirley Temple plays the younger daughter. She, I find really annoying. Being unfamiliar with her other films, I can't say that she has no talent. But if she had any she didn't bother to use it here. There isn't much of a chemistry between her and Jones or Colbert for that matter. 

The men in this film are much more interesting. Joseph Cotten plays Tony, an old friend of the family who is clearly in love with Anne. He is dashing in his uniform and charismatic as a playboy. Robert Walker plays William, a young corporal who tries to win the affection of his grandfather even though his heart isn't in the war. His character must have spoken for many young men at the time. (Keep in mind that the war was still going on when the film came out.) The grandfather, played by Monty Wooley, is a traditional man who values war glories and despises disorders and weakness in men. While his story line does provide a few moments of melodrama, he downplays his emotion and thereby giving his character the realism it needs. What the character provides more effectively, instead, is the humor. 

I enjoyed the film. It's old-fashioned and heartwarming, with just enough realism. Though a little excessive, it still manages for the most part to be honest and moving. If you're not bothered by its length and want to enjoy some gently-paced drama, I'd say that SINCE YOU WENT AWAY is a good choice.

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

(Week 3: Clark Gable)

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

Directed by Frank Capra

"The Wall of Jericho" (from eastbayri.com)

Clark Gable is handsome and extremely charismatic. He possesses great qualities of a romance hero. It is no wonder that this movie would have launched him to stardom--he shines so brightly he hides the movie's flaws under his light. 

Personally romantic comedy isn't my favorite genre. When the focus is on people falling in love, the film just isn't very interesting or wholesome. But there are people to whom these stories appeal, and there are stories like these that, if well told, could appeal to skeptics like me.

This film has a thin little plot line that works around its stars. Both Gable and his leading lady, Claudette Colbert, set examples for many romantic comedy couples to come. Colbert plays Ellie, a bratty, temperamental heiress who has a dispute with her father over the man she had just married. She runs away and on the way meets an out-of-work journalist played by Gable.

They start off not liking each other, but there are moments when they work together and find pleasantry in each other's company. No surprise, they fall in love. You see what they like about each other, and you see them struggling against their feelings due to their circumstances. We see growth in both characters, particularly in Colbert's. These are basic elements of storytelling well played. I also like a few of its memorable, iconic elements, like "the wall of Jericho" or the hitchhiking scene. 

Both Gable and Colbert reportedly hated the script and didn't want to participate in the film. I can see why. The script itself is nothing without them. More than carrying the film, they gave it a lot of charm necessary for this kind of movie. Ultimately I wasn't much moved or impressed by the film. However, for the mark it has left in film history and for its achievement in storytelling, I would say that IT HAPPENED ON NIGHT is worth a watch. In the right mood, you might even like it.