The Kid: Correcting Life Through Art

This is my entry in The Kid in the Front Row's global challenge to bloggers to watch the same movie at the same time and then blog about it today. Since he is the Kid in the Front Row, he has requested that the film we watch and write about be Charlie Chaplin's "The Kid."

Do you believe in the mystic powers of the universe? Do you believe that a force must make itself be head at all costs? Do you believe that the notes from a song, an image, an email from afar or a dream could all be part of the message that must be acknowledged?

I have loved Charlie Chaplin for a very long time now, but as with many of my obsessions, my passion waxes and wanes. It had been a bit on the waning side of late, owing to other pressing issues (like Cary Grant), but something has been stirring. First, a new show opened on Broadway called “Chaplin: The Musical.” I saw it twice in three weeks. I simply couldn't resist. While at the show, I picked up a book (Chaplin: A Life) written by psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Weissman and have immersed myself in the psychology of Mr. C, particularly how his childhood shaped his work. Meanwhile, Charlie has been creeping more and more into my blog. He is a persistent fellow.

Being immersed in this story, I did a Google on the word “Chaplinesque” and wrote a blog about it. The poet, Hart Crane, coined the word in his poem after seeing  “The Kid.” So, I felt it appropriate to help define the word in Charlie’s own words about that film ("a smile - and perhaps, a tear").

Right after I posted the article (and I do mean right after), I received an email regarding the challenge and the chosen film. Okay universe, I am listening.

So now, what can I say, Charlie, except that besides being a genius, an artist, and a poet, you are a mystical wizard who reaches across the decades and pulls us towards you again and again and again. As with your dream of angels and love in the film, so does your Little Tramp continue to pull at our heartstrings, haunt our dreams and invade our subconscious.

If you have seen "The Kid," I do not have to tell you how funny and heartbreaking and beautiful this film is. If you haven't seen it, I hope my enthusiasm for it will inspire you to seek it out. The story, created by Chaplin shortly after the death of his infant son, is a story of abandonment, poverty and homelessness that parallels Chaplin's own Dickensian London childhood. But, because the artist has control of the story, art does not have to imitate life. In film, the child is loved and ultimately reunited with a loving mother.

Charlie is not sure he wants to take on this responsibility!

In addition to the beautiful balm that Chaplin puts on his poverty-stricken childhood, "The Kid" offers many other wonders. A few of my favorites:

The magical Jackie Coogan: As a pint-sized Charlie, he is second to none in adorableness and skill. When  he cries for his papa it is impossible not to be moved. When he smiles, you heart can not help but melt. He may have been totally coached by Charlie, but Jackie proved to be Chaplin's most worthy co-star and is a total scene-stealer.

The beautiful Edna Purviance in her only feature length film with Chaplin: Edna was nearing the end of her on-screen relationship with Charlie, but here she is presented as a beautiful woman and loving mother and she is lovely and moving. She deserves every loving close-up he gives her.

Some awfully funny Chaplin gags: his initial ambivilence about caring for the baby, his makeshift nursery, and his crooked glazier business are all side splitting, but the one that gets me every time is Charlie's outrageous flirtation with the woman whose window Jackie has broken.

A peek into the mean streets of Chaplin's London boyhood: although filmed in Los Angeles, the feel is Oliver Twist and we feel Chaplin knows this landscape.

 So, thank you, Kid in the Front Row, for creating a global bow and tip of the hat to that most universal master of film. Not into silents? Think of this film as a concert for the eyes. Set to Chaplin's own 1971 musical score, every move tells a story, and every gesture gives us a precious glimpse into the heart of a true artist of the cinema: our beloved Little Tramp, our Lion, Charlie Chaplin.

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Chaplinesque

Being in a totally besotted Charlie Chaplin mood these days, I came across the origin of the word "Chaplinesque." While the dictionaries define it as relating to the films or character of Chaplin, somehow it means more than that.

After seeing Chaplin's "The Kid," American poet Hart Crane knew he had seen a fellow poet on the screen and was inspired to write about what it means to have the soul of a poet in this world:

Chaplinesque
by Hart Crane

We make our meek adjustments,

Contented with such random consolations

As the wind deposits

In slithered and too ample pockets.

For we can still love the world, who find

A famished kitten on the step, and know

Recesses for it from the fury of the street,

Or warm torn elbow coverts.

We will sidestep, and to the final smirk

Dally the doom of that inevitable thumb

That slowly chafes its puckered index toward us,

Facing the dull squint with what innocence

And what surprise!

And yet these fine collapses are not lies

More than the pirouettes of any pliant cane;

Our obsequies are, in a way, no enterprise.

We can evade you, and all else but the heart:

What blame to us if the heart live on.

The game enforces smirks; but we have seen

The moon in lonely alleys make

A grail of laughter of an empty ash can,

And through all sound of gaiety and quest

Have heard a kitten in the wilderness.

The poet must tell truths for all society's outcasts. The poet, he of sensitive heart, will rescue one even more downtrodden. There is always  more than the cane and the swift kick in the pants. Chaplin, despite the great fame and wealth he achieved, never could shake his early years of poverty and deprivation. In his films, he never stopped remembering how society rejects the disadvantaged. With gaiety and pathos, he never forgot the common man. And he never stopped trying to rescue the kitten in the wilderness or the damsel in distress. Chaplinesque: something with a smile and, perhaps, a tear.

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The Irksome Jimmy Stewart

Who doesn't love Jimmy Stewart? 

I certainly adore him. In youth he is sweet and funny and very human (oh, and super cute, too). As he aged, the charm remained and a mature wisdom and reliability was added to the package. So why then are the three movie characters I find most irksome all played by Jimmy Stewart?

Rear Window

Mr. Good Times

As L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, the wheelchair-bound photographer, Jimmy is one royal pain in the butt. I mean, here is Grace Kelly, beautiful, luscious and oh-so-available; practically throwing herself at him throughout the entire picture and his is just cranky. He is downright cruel to her, suggesting that they just keep things “status quo” without any hope for the future. What a guy. Come to my apartment, sleep with me, and let’s keep it at that. Really, every time I see that scene, I want Grace to just say “see ya.” But, I guess that would ruin a great movie. 

A girl like Lisa Carol Fremont should NOT have to work this hard

He does eventually warm to Lisa after she shows herself to have the adventurer’s spirit, but the poor thing practically has to get killed to get him to notice her. He really is no fun.

Vertigo

This is a man losing his grip

As Detective John “Scottie” Ferguson, Jimmy is an obsessed man whose disregard for Judy Barton is borderline nuts. First, he brushes off the perfectly lovely, level-headed Midge. Too normal, I guess. 

Midge - you don't know it, but it was your lucky day when you
walked down that hospital corridor without  Johnny-O

Judy holds the secret of her identity as the dead and adored Madeleine, so she reluctantly plays along with his little makeover scheme. But Jimmy is a real tyrant here, bullying Judy, bullying the saleslady who sells the suit, the dress and the shoes, as well as the beautician who must get just the right shade of blonde. 

Just one of Judy's "WTF" moments

He has a right to be miffed that he was played for a sucker, but the dragging of Judy up the tower is pretty vicious. Couldn't he have just called the cops?

The Philadelphia Story

Why Ruth wants this sourpuss is a mystery

As pompous man of the people reporter Macaulay “Mike” Connor, Jimmy is only slightly more likable than George Kittridge, the man Katharine Hepburn's Tracy Lord plans to marry. He is smart, but he is oblivious to co-worker Ruth Hussey’s devotion to him. 

Is there really more than one choice?

Instead, he falls for a woman whose character and class he been berating on a non-stop basis. He is ultimately a gentleman, but a truly annoying one. Tracy is grateful for the attention, but she has her head on straight when she chooses ex-husband Cary Grant (as CK Dexter Haven) over the reporter. He is more fun and poor Ruth Hussey only gets him by default. I’ll bet he’ll spend their marriage pining for Tracy and complaining about what a stuck up snob she is.

Note to self: quit complaining - you know you love the guy!

Of course, all of this means that Hitchcock had issues and Jimmy Stewart is a fine and complex actor. These three characters irk me to death and yet these are three of my favorite films. I think, perhaps, that characters who go by names other than those given to them are just plain annoying. That must be it.

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PARAMOUNT AT 100: Isn't it Romantic?

This is my contribution to the Paramount Centennial Blogathon hosted by the Hollywood Revue. The studio that defines Hollywood is 100 years young! For a look at more Paramount Centennial celebrations, click here.

A Paramount Pictures "wheel of stars" featuring the best of their female stars of the 1920s

Love Me Tonight

In 1932 Paramount Pictures produced one of the world's most perfect films. "Love Me Tonight" is a musical box of bon bons that makes you close your eyes and say "my, that is perfectly delicious." Directed by Rouben Mamoulian (with a Lubitsch touch), scored with brilliance by Rodgers and Hart, and starring Maurice Chevalier at his most charming and Jeanette MacDonald at her pre-code best, it is a reflection of the sophisticated and cosmopolitan product that Paramount was famous for. Unlike the sometimes stately but empty mansions of MGM, Paramount's depiction of the screen elite was infused with wit, cheek and utter comfort. Is there any doubt that Princess Jeanette belongs in a castle?

Jeanette MacDonald before Nelson Eddy:
sexy, kittenish and not afraid to wear lingerie with panache

This is an adult fairy tale that has it all - a charming story, a cast of unforgettable characters (Myrna Loy's man-hungry but castle-bound Valentine is a hoot), two leads that have enormous chemistry and a score that elevates the tale to greatness.

The story is a sweet and light confection. Maurice Courtelin (Chevalier, of course), a humble Parisian tailor, is stiffed for his services by the spendthrift and usually broke aristocrat, Viscount Gilbert de Vareze (the always welcome Charlie Ruggles). He promises Maurice the money once he can get it from his tightwad uncle, the Duke d'Artelines (C. Aubrey Smith). Tired of waiting to get paid, Maurice decides to storm the Duke's castle and demand payment for his services.

Castle inhabitants: the spendthrift, the nympho, and the stuffy Duke

On his way to the castle, Maurice has a chance encounter with the Princess Jeanette. For him, it is love at first sight. She rejects him, but maybe something stirred inside of her. Only 22, we learn that she was a widow at age 19 to a husband old enough to be her grandfather. Clearly, the Princess has needs!

There's something about Maurice...

Upon entering the castle, Viscount Gilbert introduces Maurice as the Baron Courtelin in order to hide his true identity as a lowly tailor. There Maurice not only manages to fool the Duke, Valentine, Jeanette's other suitor, the Count de Savignac (a very funny Charles Butterworth) and Jeanette's three aunts, but he also manages to fool the Castle's domestic staff, who wait on him hand and foot.

Dreaming of their lovers

While the Viscount tries to get Maurice's money, Maurice makes headway in his play for Jeanette until she finally succumbs to his charms. But, Maurice cannot help himself! Seeing how poorly Jeanette's riding suit is crafted, he proceeds to not only criticize her tailor, but to also create a new outfit for her. Maurice measures Jeanette for a new riding suit and, when discovered in mid-measure, he is forced to admit the truth: he is nothing but a tailor. 

Making sure the measurements are just right

Of course the castle's royalty is outraged, but even their anger can't match the utter disgust of the domestic staff who were forced to wait upon someone of their own class. All of this is done with great, sly humor. 

As if there was any doubt, all's well that ends well. Jeannette realizes that she can't live without her tailor and they are at last reunited. Peace and love reign once again.

The Men Behind the Music: Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

The Score, one of Rodgers and Hart's very best, is integrated beautifully into the story. Each song is presented in a wholly organic and cinematic way. The score includes:

"Lover" - beautifully sung by Jeannette, but to her horse, not Maurice.

"Mimi" - one of Chevalier's signature songs, but also sung by the inhabitants of the castle.

"A Woman Needs Something Like That" - sung by Jeannette and her doctor (Joseph Cawthorn), a song that makes the case for sex for the Princess.

"That's the Song of Paree" - a breathtaking opening scene of the sights and sounds of Paris woven into a song of celebration for the City of Light.

"Love Me Tonight" - another lovey love song for Maurice and Jeanette.

"The Son of a Gun is Nothing But a Tailor" - a hilarious complaint of being duped by a commoner.

Isn't it Romantic?

However, the iconic and lasting musical moment of "Love Me Tonight" is an enduring love song that defines romance as more than sexual love. Romance as joy, happiness and fulfillment is first defined by Maurice in his joy for his friend's wedding, next by a cab driver getting a fare and soldiers in the field, then by the beautiful violin music played by a gypsy and, finally, all tied together by Jeanette MacDonald, as the unhappy Princess, who is stirred by the beautiful music of the night as she expresses her longing for love to the stars. A perfect presentation of a perfect song that can only be produced when all of the stars align and the heavens bestow a kiss upon we mere mortals.

"Isn't it Romantic" has been a musical thread woven over the decades that pays tribute to the glamour and glory and genius of the very best of Paramount. The song has come to be  the siren song of the great studio (Billy Wilder especially loved it) and can be heard in these later Paramount productions:

"The Lady Eve" (1941)

"The Palm Beach Story" (1942)

"A Foreign Affair" (1948)

"Sabrina" (1954)

"The Day of the Locust" (1975)

"The Out-of-Towners" (1999)

Paramount also produced a film titled "Isn't it Romantic?" in 1948, but the song wasn't used.

If you hear the strains of this song in a movie, it must be a Paramount production.

Happy Birthday, Paramount Studios!

Paramount, the studio of Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Claudette Colbert, the Marx Brothers, Carole Lombard, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Paulette Goddard, and so many more, still stands tall in Hollywood. So much as changed, so much has been lost, but still, there is Paramount. She's gone through more changes than Joan Rivers' face, but she she has survived.

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CHAPLIN: THE MUSICAL

Today, I was fortunate to see "Chaplin: The Musical" on Broadway. I can only write my review of this show as one who truly, madly, deeply loves Chaplin the artist and the man. If you want objectivity, sorry, I can't oblige.

First things first: the show (book by Thomas Meehan and Christopher Curtis; music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis) is neither a biography nor an examination of his work, although both are included. Instead, it is a musical portrait of a time and a colossus of the era. America at the dawn of the twentieth century was a place where dreams could be lived and the past could be obliterated. Like Gatsby, those with a shady, painful, uneducated - you fill in the blank - past could reinvent the present and no place provided a better opportunity for all of life's refugees to start anew than Hollywood, California, USA. All you needed was determination and a dream.

The early Hollywood scenes were especially well done. True, Mack Sennett is reduced to a rather bombastic bully, Mabel Normand is barely mentioned and Edna Purviance is totally omitted (I was sad about that), but, as I said, this is not a biography. The freewheeling, frenetic pace of the early movie-making era is joyfully presented and the audience loved it. The entire production is done in shades of black, white, sepia and gray. Only one special occasions do we see red, usually in the form of a rose, as a symbol of love.

Chaplin's personal story is well known. The show focuses on his adoration of and traumatic separation from his mentally ill mother, Hannah. The complicated relationship Chaplin had with her as a child and as an adult are beautifully portrayed. His pain, sadness and shame in her and himself are the thread that was woven over and over again into his work his entire life. In a film, order can be restored. In a film, a mother's love can triumph. In a film, a little boy is safe.

The women, the marriages and divorces, the political damage - all are touched upon, as are many of the great films. The music is fine and touching and blends well with the story. We know that exile is coming, but we also know that he will find the love of his life, Oona O'Neill. Their courtship and love affair are charmingly portrayed, culminating in his 1972 appearance at the Academy Awards.

No matter how wonderful all of the above is, however, there would be no show without Rob McClure. He is magical as Chaplin, never a caricature, always a whole human being. He moves like him, looks like him, and for those of us who love Charlie, this is about as close as we will ever get.

Ultimately, this is the story of a great man, a genius, whose fame is immortal. Almost 100 years after his first film, his image is still vital. There are many stars of bygone eras whose photos would draw a blank if you asked a young person to identify them. But Chaplin never draws a blank stare. They might not know his work, but they know the image. The Little Tramp is forever because he touched that innocent, undamaged yearning in our hearts. It was a creation of genius. Once you open your heart to him, he will never leave.

And now, I am going to watch a Chaplin DVD (preferably one with Edna Purviance) because I just love that man!

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Norma Desmond & Lina Lamont: Silent Sweeties on the Town!

Your intrepid Hollywood reporter Dora Bailey here reporting on the latest sightings in tinsel town!

What 2 silent sweeties have become BFFs and have formed what some might call an unholy alliance? Our sources tell us that former greats and current cougars Norma Desmond and Lina Lamont (you remember them, don’t you?) are joining forces and are planning to stage a double-pronged comeback.

Word on the boulevard is that Norma is penning an epic version of “Salome” for CB DeMille's eyes only, while Lina is angling for a star turn as Marie Antoinette. Norma and Lina have been spotted together around town shopping and lunching, always with their precious little heads together in a conspiratorial huddle. Norma has stormed the gates of Paramount and Lina as been sniffing around MGM (that other Norma better watch out).

Lina Lamont: longing to tell them to eat cake

Norma as Salome: is that a studio
exec's head on that platter?

Can the ladies make a comeback? We hear that Norma hates that word and prefers “return, but no matter how you word it, the question remains: will the movie-going pubic will take these 2 former divas of silent emotion back into their hearts? After all, it is a new world. 

Lina & Norma face their fears

Talkies Ain't For Sissies

The boys and girls of today's silver screen not only have to act, but speak, as well. Our sources confirm that Norma has an excellent speaking voice. Her challenge will be to shed the drama queen image of the silent era. Fans today like their stars more down to earth. Word is that our Miss Norma actually believed all of that publicity (can you imagine?). But, we hear she has a younger writer helping her whip that "Salome" script into shape. Let's hope he can steer La Desmond into modern times.

Norma and her writer work on the script.

Lina's voice may be more problematical and maybe, just maybe, the role of Marie Antoinette might not be the right return vehicle for her (especially if it is a musical). True, she looks gorgeous in period costumes, but unless Marie was born in the Bowery, it might be hard for the public to accept her as the French queen of opulence. And since the collapse of Monumental Pictures, Lina may have some difficulty finding another studio to call home.

Lina works the MGM executives and angles for a good part

Our humble suggestions:

Norma: Darling, try to remember that you are an actress first and a star second and maybe you and that script writer if yours can convince Paramount to take a chance on you.

Lina: Honey, your fortune may well rest in comedy. There can never be enough zany blondes and we all know that you can take a pie in the kisser!

All we can say is – good luck ladies and we who once worshiped you wish you the greatest success! We'll be watching. Until next time, this is Dora Bailey from the streets of Tinsel Town!

Paramount & MGM: Watch out!

" I caaaaaaaaaaaaaan't wait to see my new movie!!"

* For those who still hold Lina Lamont dear to their heart, her fan club is still out there, refusing to let her be forgotten. For more info, click here.

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