"LITTLE WOMEN" (1949) ReviewLouisa May Alcott's 1868 novel is a bit of a conundrum for me. I have never been a fan of the novel. I have read it once, but it failed to maintain my interest. Worse, I have never had the urge to read it again. The problem is that it is that sentimental family dramas - at least in print - has never been appealing to me. And this is why I find it perplexing that I have never had any problems watching any of the film or television adaptations of her novel. One of those adaptations proved to be Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1949 adaptation, which was produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. It is hard to believe that the same man who had directed such hard-biting films like "LITTLE CAESAR", "I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG" and"THEY WON'T FORGET", was the artistic force behind this sentimental comedy-drama. Or perhaps MGM studio boss, Louis B. Meyer, was the real force. The studio boss preferred sentimental dramas, comedies and musicals. Due to this preference, he was always in constant conflict with the new production chief, Dore Schary, who preferred more realistic and hard-biting movies. Then you had David O. Selznick, who wanted to remake his 1933 adaptation of Alcott's novel. One can assume (or not) that in the end, Meyer had his way."LITTLE WOMEN", as many know, told the experiences of the four March sisters of Concord, Massachusetts during and after the U.S. Civil War. The second daughter, Josephine (Jo) March, is the main character and the story focuses on her relationships with her three other sisters, the elders in her family - namely her mother Mrs. March ("Marmee") and Aunt March, and the family's next-door neighbor, Mr. Laurence. For Jo, the story becomes a "coming-of-age" story, due to her relationships with Mr. Laurence's good-looking grandson, Theodore ("Laurie") and a German immigrant she meets in New York City after the war, the equally good-looking and much older Professor Bhaer. Jo and her sisters deal with the anxiety of their father fighting in the Civil War, genteel poverty, scarlet fever, and the scary prospect of oldest sister Meg falling in love with Laurie's tutor.Despite my disinterest in Alcott's novel, I have always liked the screen adaptations I have seen so far - including this film. Due to the casting of Margaret O'Brien as the mild-mannered Beth, her character became the youngest sister, instead of Amy. Screenwriters Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason and Andrew Solt made other changes. But they were so mild that in the end, the changes did not have any real impact on Alcott's original story. Ironically, both Victor Heerman and Sarah Y. Mason wrote the screenplay for Selznick's 1933 film. I thought Mervyn LeRoy's direction injected a good deal of energy into a tale that could have easily bored me senseless. In fact, MGM probably should have thank its lucky stars that LeRoy had served as producer and director. As much as I admired LeRoy's direction of this film, I must admit there was a point in the story - especially in the third act - in which the pacing threatened to drag a bit. My only other problem with "LITTLE WOMEN" is that I never really got the impression that this film was set during the 1860s, despite its emphasis on costumes and the fact that the March patriarch was fighting the Civil War. Some might say that since "LITTLE WOMEN" was set in the North - New England, as a matter of fact - it is only natural that the movie struggled with its 1860s setting. But I have seen other Civil War era films set in the North - including the 1994 version of "LITTLE WOMEN" - that managed to project a strong emphasis of that period. And the production values for this adaptation of Alcott's novel seemed more like a generic 19th century period drama, instead of a movie set during a particular decade. It is ironic that I would make such a complaint, considering that the set decoration team led by Cedric Gibbons won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction.I certainly had no problems with the cast selected for this movie. Jo March seemed a far cry from the roles for which June Allyson was known - you know, the usual "sweet, girl-next-door" type. I will admit that at the age of 31 or 32, Allyson was probably too young for the role of Jo March. But she did such a phenomenon job in recapturing Jo's extroverted nature and insecurities that I found the issue of her age irrelevant. Peter Lawford, who was her co-star in the 1947 musical, "GOOD NEWS", gave a very charming, yet complex performance as Jo's next door neighbor and friend, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence. Beneath the sweet charm, Lawford did an excellent job in revealing Laurie's initial loneliness and infatuation of Jo. Margaret O'Brien gave one of her best on-screen performance as the March family's sickly sibling, Beth. Although the literary Beth was the third of four sisters, she is portrayed as the youngest, due to O'Brien's casting. And I feel that Le Roy and MGM made a wise choice, for O'Brien not only gave one of her best performances, I believe that she gave the best performance in the movie, overall.Janet Leigh, who was a decade younger than Allyson, portrayed the oldest March sister, Meg. Yet, her performance made it easy for me to regard her character as older and more emotionally mature than Allyson's Jo. I thought she gave a well done, yet delicate performance as the one sister who seemed to bear the strongest resemblance to the sisters' mother. Elizabeth Taylor was very entertaining as the extroverted, yet shallow Amy. Actually, I have to commend Taylor for maintaining a balancing act between Amy's shallow personality and ability to be kind. The movie also featured solid performances from supporting cast members like Mary Astory (who portrayed the warm, yet steely Mrs. March), the very charming Rossano Brazzi, Richard Stapley, Lucile Watson, Leon Ames, Harry Davenport, and the always dependable C. Aubrey Smith, who died not long after the film's production.Overall, "LITTLE WOMEN" is a charming, yet colorful adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel. I thought Mervyn LeRoy did an excellent job in infusing energy into a movie that could have easily sink to sheer boredom for me. And he was enabled by a first-rate cast led by June Allyson and Peter Lawford. Overall, "LITTLE WOMEN" managed to rise above my usual apathy toward Alcott's novel.
"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1948) ReviewThere are times when I find myself amazed at the longevity of Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel, "The Three Musketeers". The novel has been in circulation for nearly 170 years. Hollywood and other film industries have been adapting the novel for the movies or television for nearly a century. One adaptation I recently viewed was the Hollywood movie produced and released by MGM Studios in 1948. We all know the story. A young Frenchman from Gascon sets out for Paris in the early 17th century to join the King's Musketeers. During this journey, he meets a beautiful, mysterious woman and picks a fight with one of the lady's escorts. Upon his arrival in Paris, d'Artagnan presents himself to Commander de Treville of the Musketeers and successfully joins the unit, despite losing his father's letter of introduction. D'Artagnan also manages to annoy three of the most skillful Musketeers - Athos, Aramis and Porthos - and schedule a duel with all three of them. His duel with Athos ends when members of Cardinal Richelieu's men tries to arrest the Musketeers. And d'Artagnan assists the Musketeers in their fight against the Cardinal's men. The young Gascon befriends his fellow Musketeers, acquires a valet named Planchet and falls in love with the goddaughter of his new landlord, Constance Bonacieux. However, Constance also happens to be Queen Anne's dressmaker. Thanks to her romance with d'Artagnan, the latter becomes involved in royal and political intrigue as he helps Constance prevent Cardinal Richelieu from exposing the Queen's romance with England's Duke of Buckingham; and becomes the target of one of the Cardinal's top agents - the beautiful and deadly Milady de Winter, who happened to be the mysterious woman he had briefly encountered on the road to Paris.Directed by George Sidney and written by Robert Ardrey, "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" turned out to be the second most faithful adaptation of Dumas' novel. Mind you, there were differences. Due to Code restrictions, Constance Bonacieux was the goddaughter of d'Artagnan's landlord, not the wife. Therefore, this version avoided any adulterous taint in the relationship between the hero and his lady love. The war conducted between France and Spain featured in Dumas' novel was transformed into a private military campaign conducted behind King Louis XIII's back, between Richelieu and Buckingham. And Milady de Winter's prison guard in England turned out to be Constance (in hiding from Richelieu), instead of John Felton, one of the Duke's officers. Which meant that Constance's death occurred at Buckingham's castle, instead of inside a monastery in France. Fortunately, these changes barely made any negative impact on my viewing pleasure. But there were some aspects of the movie that did not sit well with me.Mind you, Gene Kelly's overall performance as d'Artagnan struck me as well done, despite the actor being over a decade older than the actual character. But there were times in the movie's first half when I found his performance a little hammy and strident - especially in his effort to convey the image of a passionate and impetuous youth. A good example of this hamminess was his reaction to his first sight of Constance Bonacieux. Screenwriter Robert Ardrey did very little to showcase the Comte de Rochefort character in the film and ended up wasting the presence of actor Ian Keith, who portrayed the character in this film and in the 1935 adaptation. I liked Frank Morgan's portrayal of King Louis XIII, but I must admit that he seemed to old for the role. And the Queen Anne character, portrayed wonderfully by Angela Landsbury, practically disappeared in the movie's second half, despite the major roles played by Constance and the Duke of Buckingham during that period.Despite these quibbles, I must admit that "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" is probably my second favorite adaptation of Dumas' novel. One thing, the Technicolor featured in this film is absolutely beautiful. The color, combined with Robert H. Planck's photography of the movie's locations really took my breath away . . . especially in scenes that featured some of the characters' travels across France and England. Herbert Stothart, who had won an Oscar for his work on 1939's "THE WIZARD OF OZ", did an admirable job of blending the movie's score with the on-screen drama and action. Speaking of action, this movie featured some of the best sword fighting choreography I have ever seen on screen. The fight scenes definitely benefited from Kelly's dancing skills and athleticism. But Kelly was not the only one who looked good in the action scenes. So did Van Heflin, Robert Coote and especially Gig Young. Even Keenan Wynn, who portrayed d'Artagnan's valet Planchet, looked good in one or two scenes. I must admit that Walter Plunkett's costume designs looked absolutely beautiful - for both the male and female characters. However, a part of me suspected they were not an accurate reflection of early 17th century France.Ardrey's adaptation of Dumas' novel may not have been perfect. But I cannot deny that the screenwriter still fashioned a first-rate script. He did an excellent job in meshing the two major plotlines of the novels - the theft of Queen Anne's diamonds and Milady de Winter's activities against d'Artagnan and the Duke of Buckingham in the movie's second half. George Sidney's energetic direction and excellent performances from the cast elevated the script even higher. Not only did the sword fighting sequences impressed me, I especially enjoyed the long sequence that featured d'Artagnan's journey to England to fetch Queen Anne's diamonds. The movie also featured some fine dramatic scenes. One of them featured superb performances from Lana Turner and Vincent Price, in which the two villainous characters discuss the fates of both the Duke of Buckingham and d'Artagnan. Another turned out to be a showcase for Van Heflin in which the drunken Athos revealed the details of his failed marriage. But my favorite featured Athos' revelation of Milady as his estranged wife in a conversation with d'Artagnan. This scene revealed some outstanding performances from both Heflin and Kelly.No movie is perfect. I can honestly say that the 1948 movie, "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" is no bastion of perfection. It has its flaws. But it also possesses virtues that outweigh its flaws - including an excellent cast, beautiful photography, and a well-written adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel. Most of all, all the movie's virtues were increased tenfold from a well-paced and energetic direction from George Sidney. It is a pity that MGM Studios failed to profit from "THE THREE MUSKETEERS". The studio certainly deserved to.
Below are images from "THE THREE MUSKETEERS", the 1948 adaptation of Alexandre Dumas, père's 1844 novel. Directed by George Sidney, the movie starred Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, June Allyson and Van Heflin:
"THE THREE MUSKETEERS" (1948) Photo Gallery
