"FORT APACHE" (1948) Review
Between 1948 and 1950, director John Ford made three Westerns that many regard as his "cavalry trilogy". All three films centered on the U.S. Army Cavalry in the post-Civil War West. More importantly, all three movies were based upon short stories written by American Western author, James Warner Bellah.
The first film in Ford's "cavalry trilogy" was "FORT APACHE" released in 1948. Starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda, the movie was inspired by Bellah's 1947 Saturday Evening Post short story called "Massacre". Bellah used the Little Bighorn and Fetterman Fight battles as historical backdrop.
The movie began with the arrival of three characters to the U.S. Army post, Fort Apache, in the post-Civil War Arizona Territory - a rigid and egocentric Army officer named Lieutenant Owen Thursday; his daughter Philadelphia Thursday; and a recent West Point graduate named Second Lieutenant Michael O'Rourke, who also happened to be the son of the regiment's first sergeant. The regiment's first officer, Captain Kirby York, and everyone else struggle to adjust to the martinet style of Thursday. Worse, young Lieutenant O'Rourke and Philadelphia become romantically interested each other. But since O'Rourke is the son of a sergeant, the snobbish Thursday does not regard him as a "gentleman" and is against a romance between the pair. But Thursday's command style, the budding romance and other minor events at Fort Apache take a back seat when the regiment is faced with a potential unrest from the local Apaches, due to their conflict with a corrupt Indian agent named Silas Meacham. Thursday's command and his willingness to adapt to military command on the frontier is tested when he finds himself caught between the Meacham's penchant for corruption and the Apaches' anger and desire for justice.
"FORT APACHE" proved to be one of the first Hollywood films to portray a sympathetic view of Native Americans. This is surprising, considering that Bellah's view of the Native Americans in his story is not sympathetic and rather racist. For reasons I do not know, Ford decided to change the story's negative portrayal of the Apaches, via screenwriter Frank S. Nugent's script. Although Ford and Nugent did not focus upon how most of the other characters regarded the Apaches, they did spotlight on at least three of them - Captain Kirby York, Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Thursday, and Captain Sam Collingwood. Both Thursday and Collingwood seemed to share the same negative views of the Apaches, although the latter does not underestimate their combat skills. York seemed a lot more open-minded and sympathetic toward the Apaches' desire to maintain their lives in peace without the U.S. government breathing down their backs. In the case of "FORT APACHE", York's views seemed to have won out . . . for the moment.
As much as I enjoyed "FORT APACHE", I must admit that I was frustrated that it took so long for it to begin exploring its main narrative regarding the Apaches and Meachum. The movie's first half spent most of its time on three subplots. One of them featured the clash between Thursday and the men under his command. The second featured the budding romance between Philadelphia Thursday and Second Lieutenant O'Rourke. Do not get me wrong. And the third featured scenes of the day-to-day activities of the fort's enlisted men and non-commission officers. I must admit that I found the last subplot somewhat uninteresting and felt they dragged the movie's narrative. I had no problems with the Philadelphia-Michael romance, since it added a bit of romance to the movie's plot and played a major role in Lieutenant-Colonel Thursday's characterization. And naturally the York-Thursday conflict played an important role in the film's plot.
The ironic thing about "FORT APACHE" is that the plot line regarding the Apaches does not come to the fore until halfway into the film. Due to this plot structure, I found myself wondering about the film's main narrative. What exactly is "FORT APACHE" about? Worse, the fact that the Apache story arc does not really come to fore until the second half, almost making the film seem schizophrenic. There were plenty of moments in the first half that led me to wonder if director John Ford had become too caught up in exploring mid-to-late 19th century military life on the frontier.
Many have claimed that "FORT APACHE" is not specifically about life at a 19th century Army post in the Old West or the U.S. government's relations with the Apaches. It is about the conflict between the two main characters - Captain Kirby York and Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Thursday. In other words, one of the movie's subplots might actually be its main plot. Both York and Thursday were Civil War veterans who seemed to have conflicting ideas on how to command a U.S. Army post in the 19th century West and deal with the conflict between the American white settlers and the Apaches, trying to defend their homeland. Captain York had expected to become Fort Apache's new commander, following the departure of the previous one. Instead, the post's command was given to Colonel Thursday, an arrogant and priggish officer with no experience with the West or Native Americans. What makes the situation even more ironic is that while York had wanted command of Fort Apache, Thursday is both disappointed and embittered that the Army had posted him to this new assignment.
The problem I have with this theory is that movie did not spend enough time on the York-Thursday conflict for me to accept it. Thursday seemed to come into conflict with a good number of other characters - especially the O'Rourke men and his old friend Captain Sam Collingwood. York and Thursday eventually clashed over the Apaches' conflict with Silas Meacham. And considering that a great deal of the movie's first half focused on the day-to-day life on a frontier Army post and the Philadelphia-Michael romance, I can only conclude that I found "FORT APACHE" a slightly schizophrenic film.
Despite this, I rather enjoyed "FORT APACHE". Well . . . I enjoyed parts of the first half and definitely the second half. While I found some of Ford's exploration of life at a 19th century Army post rather charming, I found the movie's portrayal of the entire Apaches-Meachum conflict intriguing, surprising and very well made. Instead of the usual Hollywood "white men v. Indians"schtick, Ford explored the damaging effects of U.S. policies against Native Americans. This was especially apparent in the situation regarding Silas Meacham. Ford and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent made it clear that both Captain York and Lieutenant-Colonel Thursday regarded Meachum as a dishonorable and corrupt man, whose greed had led to great unrest among the Apaches.
And yet . . . whereas York was willing to treat the Apaches with honor and consider getting rid of Meachum, Thursday's rigid interpretation of Army regulations and arrogant prejudice led him to dismiss the Apaches's protests and support Meachum's activities because the latter was a U.S. government agent . . . and white. Worse, Thursday decided to ignore York's warnings and use this situation as an excuse for military glory and order his regiment into battle on Cochise's terms - a direct (and suicidal) charge into the hills. U.S. policy in the Old West at its worst. God only knows how many times a similar action had occurred throughout history. I might be wrong, but I suspect that "FORT APACHE" was the Hollywood film that opened the gates to film criticism of American imperialism in the West, especially the treatment of Native Americans.
Another aspect of "FORT APACHE" that I truly enjoyed was Archie Stout's cinematography. What can I say? His black-and-white photography of Monument Valley, Utah and Simi Hills, California were outstanding, as shown below:
Thanks to Ford's direction and Jack Murray's editing, "FORT APACHE" maintained a lively pace that did not threatened to drag the movie. More importantly, the combination of their work produced a superb sequence that featured the regiment's doomed assault on Cochise's warriors. Richard Hageman's score served the movie rather well. Yet, I must admit that I do not have any real memories of it. As for film's costumes . . . I do not believe a particular designer was responsible for them. In fact, they looked as if they had come straight from a studio costume warehouse. I found this disappointing, especially for the movie's female characters.
"FORT APACHE" featured some performances that I found solid and competent. Veteran actors like Dick Foran, Victor McLaglen and Jack Pennick gave amusing performances as the regiment's aging NCOs (non-commissioned officers). Guy Kibbee was equally amusing as the post's surgeon Captain Wilkens. Pedro Armendáriz was equally competent as the more professional Sergeant Beaufort, who was a former Confederate. Grant Withers was appropriately slimy as the corrupt Silas Meachum. Miguel Inclán gave a dignified performance as the outraged Apache chieftain Cochise. The movie also featured solid performances from Anna Lee and Irene Rich.
John Agar's portrayal of the young Michael O'Rourke did not exactly rock my boat. But I thought he was pretty competent. I read somewhere that Ford was not that impressed by Shirley Temple as an actress. Perhaps he had never seen her in the 1947 comedy, "THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBYSOXER". Her character in that film was more worthy of her acting skills than the charming, yet bland Philadelphia Thursday. John Wayne also gave a solid performance as Captain Kirby York. But I did not find his character particularly interesting, until the movie's last half hour.
I only found three performances interesting. One came from George O'Brien, who portrayed Thursday's old friend, Captain Sam Collingwood. I thought O'Brien did a great job in portraying a man who found himself taken aback by an old friend's chilly demeanor and arrogance. Ward Bond was equally impressive as Sergeant Major Michael O'Rourke, the senior NCO on the post who has to struggle to contain his resentment of Thursday's class prejudices against his son. But for me, the real star of this movie was Henry Fonda as the narrow-minded and arrogant Lieutenant-Colonel Owen Thursday. I thought he gave a very brilliant and fascinating portrayal of a very complicated man. Thursday was not the one-note arrogant prig that he seemed on paper. He had his virtues. However, Fonda did an excellent job in conveying how Thursday's flaws tend to overwhelm his flaws at the worst possible moment. I am amazed that Fonda never received an Oscar nomination for this superb performance.
How can I say this? I do believe that "FORT APACHE" had some problems. I found the movie slightly slightly schizophrenic due to its heavy emphasis on daily life on a frontier Army post in the first half. In fact, the movie's first half is a little problematic to me. But once the movie shifted toward the conflict regarding the Apaches and a corrupt Indian agent, Ford's direction and Frank S. Nugent's screenplay breathed life into it. The movie also benefited from a first-rate cast led by John Wayne and Henry Fonda. I must admit that I feel "FORT APACHE" might be a little overrated. But I cannot deny that it is a damn good movie.
"42ND STREET" (1933) Review
I have always been a major fan of movie musicals. My favorite period for musicals stretched between the years 1945 and 1969. I find this ironic, considering that one of my all time favorite movie musicals is "42ND STREET", which was first released over a decade earlier, at the height of the Great Depression in 1933.
When talking pictures first arrived in the late 1920s, the Hollywood industry did not hesitate to produce musicals. One of the earliest films to win the Best Picture Academy Award was the 1929 musical, "THE BROADWAY MELODY". I have never seen this film, but I had a few glimpses of other musicals made during the first four or five years of the talkies. At worst, they were just awful. At best, they were mediocre. Then along came "42ND STREET" in March 1933 and Hollywood musicals have never been the same . . . well, almost.
Based upon Bradford Ropes' 1932 novel and written by Rian James, James Seymour and an uncredited Whitney Bolton; "42ND STREET" was originally slated to be directed by Mervyn Leroy. However, the director of Depression-era hits like "LITTLE CAESAR" and "I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG" found himself unable to helm the movie, due to illness. The directing assignment went to Lloyd Bacon, a contract director at Warner Brothers Studios. In addition, producer Darryl F. Zanuck hired choreographer Busby Berkeley to direct the film's big musical numbers near the end of the film.
"42ND STREET" begins when a pair of Broadway producers decide to put on a musical show called "Pretty Lady", starring stage star Dorothy Brock. The latter is involved with wealthy Abner Dillon, the show's financial backer. But while Dorothy busies herself with playing hot and cold with Dillon, she is secretly dating her former vaudeville partner, the out-of-work Pat Denning. The producers hire Julian Marsh to direct the play. However, Marsh's health is in bad shape, due to the high stress of his job. And he is also broke, due to the 1929 Stock Market Crash. He needs "Pretty Lady" to be a hit in order to secure enough cash for retirement. The competition for casting selection becomes fierce, especially for some the chorines, whose desperation for a job leads them to resort to sexual promises. Lorraine Fleming manages to get hired, due to her relationship with dance director Andy Lee. Both she and Ann "Anytime Annie" Lowell help a young woman named Peggy Sawyer to get hired. Peggy is a hoofer from Allentown, Pennsylvania who finds difficulty in getting a job due to her naivety and inexperience. Not only does she managed to befriend Lorraine and Ann, but also the show's juvenile lead, Billy Lawler. Peggy also acquires another friend - namely Pat Denning. Her friendship with Pat nearly affects his romance with Dorothy Brock and also the show.
When most fans and critics discuss "42ND STREET", they tend to focus on Busby Berkeley's direction of the musical numbers and the sexual innuendo that seems to permeate the film's narrative. What do I think of "42ND STREET"? Well . . . just as I had earlier hinted, it is one of my favorite musicals. Because it is regarded as a "backstage musical", most of the performances are limited to the film's last act, when Pretty Lady" has its opening night in Philadelphia. The only exception is the "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" number, which was performed by Bebe Daniels in a rehearsal sequence. Overall, I have no problems with the musical numbers. Songwriters Harry Warren and Al Dubin created some memorable tunes. My favorites tend to be "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" and "Young and Healthy". The first number is a personal favorite, thanks to Daniels' charming and slightly wicked performance. And between Dick Powell's energetic performance and the dazzling choreography directed by Busby Berkeley, the second number holds a special place in my heart. Ironically, when mentioning Berkeley's choreography, I do not mean actual dancing. I was referring to the number's complex geometric patterns created by the dancers moving or marching in place. Berkeley was known for this kind of choreography. I also enjoyed "Shuffle Off to Buffalo", due to its sexual innuendos, but it is not a big favorite of mine. I do love the movie's main and final song, "42nd Street". I find it energetic and entertaining - including the instrumental version during the number's New York Street montage. But I am not particularly in love with the actual choreography in the last number that features the song.
But more than anything, I really enjoyed the narrative behind "42ND STREET". Recently, I came across an article in which the blogger revealed that he or she had read the source material behind the 1933 movie - namely Bradford Ropes' 1932 novel. The blogger also revealed that the screenwriters had changed a good deal of Ropes' story. The novel mainly focused upon the personal lives of the show's cast and crew. It barely focused upon rehearsals or any of the backstage hang ups, until the last act. In a way, this structure reminds me of the 1933 movie, "DINNER AT EIGHT", which focused on the lives of a family planning a dinner party and their guests. According to the blogger, Ropes' novel was even racier than the movie. In fact, one subplot dealt with a romance between Julian Marsh and Billy Lawler. But since overt homosexuality was not tolerated in the old Hollywood films - even during the Pre-Code era - the movie's screenwriters developed a budding romance between Lawler and Peggy Sawyer, kick starting the first of several on-screen teamings between Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler.
The lack of a romance between two of the three leading male characters did not exactly make "42ND STREET" squeaky clean. The sexual innuendos that flew between the chorine characters provided plenty of ammunition for the Moral Brigade to raise their eyebrows. The movie is filled with memorable lines like:
*"Not Anytime Annie? Say, who could forget 'er? She only said "No" once, and THEN she didn't hear the question!"
*"It must have been hard on your mother, not having any children.".
But what I found really interesting . . . and somewhat disturbing about "42ND STREET" is that the film went beyond mere innuendos.
I was slightly taken aback by the sheer number of sexual politics that seemed to dominate the movie's narrative. "42ND STREET"featured chorus girls like Ann "Anytime Annie" Lowell and Lorraine Fleming willing to promise anything in order to become part of the show's chorus. Even leading lady Dorothy Brock seemed willing to subject herself to the slimy attentions of the show's money bags, Abner Dillon, in order to maintain her job with this show. The movie also featured one male character - namely the unemployed Pat Denning - who seemed willing to be Dorothy's boy toy, while she services Dillon. However in Pat's case, I suspectlove may be the reason behind his willingness to be Dorothy's personal bed warmer. In one or two cases, the prostitution that went on in this movie seemed to go beyond sex. A good example of this proved to be a decision made by the show's two producers, Barry and Jones, and Marsh. Desperate for Dillon's continuing finances, the three men were not only willing to hire Dorothy for the lead, but also hire local gangsters to rough up Pat Denning, when they learn about his affair with Dorothy.
However, the movie's sexual politics not only feature prostitution, but also another ugly subject. Sexual harassment. The movie did not hesitate to reveal the sexual manhandling and harassment of the female chorus members. In one scene, Lorraine Fleming had to resort to a caustic one-liner to stop a male dancer from groping her. From the moment she arrived at the theater, Peggy was either subjected to groping by male chorus dancers and crewmen, or propositioned. Most of this is handled with humor by the movie's screenwriters. But there was one scene in which I found particular scary. At a pre-show party at a Philadelphia hotel, Peggy had to fend off the unwelcome groping of a drunken chorus boy named Terry, who had been presented himself as a friend during the show's rehearsals. Worse, Terry hunted Peggy down throughout the hotel after she fled the party, leading me to suspect that he had intended to rape her all along.
Some people have commented that one of the movie's flaws is that it has become dated over the past eighty years or so. Personally, I feel that the march of time has not made "42ND STREET" dated. Despite the 1930s musical numbers and dialogue, the movie's story and theme is as fresh today as it was eighty years ago. More importantly, the Great Depression background gave the movie's narrative an earthy, yet realistic aura that still resonates today. But the movie does have its flaws. And for me, those flaws centered around the casting of Ruby Keeler and the final musical number, "42nd Street".
It occurred to me that I could have accepted Ruby Keeler as the movie's talented ingénue, Peggy Sawyer, if it not for the presence of . . . Ginger Rogers. I read somewhere that the movie's original director, Mervyn LeRoy, had suggested Rogers for the role of "Anytime Annie". Why "Anytime Annie"? Rogers could have easily portrayed the wide-eyed naivety of Peggy Sawyer. She was only 21 years-old when the movie was shot. She had portrayed similar characters in a few of her early movies with Fred Astaire. More importantly, she could both act and dance circles around Keeler. The latter, on the other hand, had a decent singing voice and was a damn good hoofer. But a hoofer only dances with his or her feet and not the entire body. And when it came to using her entire body, Keeler seemed rather sluggish. Keeler's performance was also rather stiff. This is not surprising, since this was her first movie. So why on earth did Warner Brothers settled on Keeler, when they had a bigger talent in Rogers? Then I remembered . . . Rogers was dating Mervyn LeRoy at the time this movie was made. But Keeler was married to Al Jolson, who was still a top Warners Brothers contract player at the time.
My other major problem with "42ND STREET" is the final musical number. As I had previously stated, I enjoy Harry Warren and Al Dubin's song very much. It may be 82 to 83 years old, but I still find it very catchy. I had no problems with the song. On the other hand, I had a lot of problems with the dancing featured in this number. I did not find it particularly impressive. Yes, I was impressed by Berkeley's precision-style choreography and use of the camera to display it in the "Young and Healthy" number. I was not impressed by the actual dancing featured in "42nd Street". Ruby Keeler's solo dancing led me to wince a bit. Well, perhaps more than a bit. I noticed that the . . . um, "strutting" done by the extras in the New York street montage segment seemed a bit offbeat. And the final segment featuring the background dancers seemed rather awkward and not particularly mind-blowing. I have seen better dancing in other Berkeley films, especially the "Lullaby of Broadway" dance number in 1935's "GOLDIGGERS OF 1935".
"42ND STREET" featured some fine performances from the cast. Most of them not only gave it their all, but also provided a great deal of energy to the movie. Both Ginger Rogers and Una Merkel were hilarious as the two showgirls who befriend Ruby Keeler's character. I also impressed by the energetic performances provided by George E. Stone and Guy Kibbee, who portrayed dance director Andy Lee and the wealthy Abner Dillon, respectively. However, I was not that impressed by Ruby Keeler's portrayal of Peggy Sawyer, which I found rather stilted. And I thought both George Brent and Dick Powell were particularly wasted in this film as Pat Denning and Billy Lawler. Fortunately, both men will go on to proved their real talent in later films. I personally thought the best performances came from the movie's two leads - Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels. Baxter walked a fine line between indulging in borderline hamminess and conveying a world weary desperation in his portrayal of the tough-minded director, Julian Marsh, who is determined to produce one last hit. And he did it with a seamless skill that still leaves me breathless with admiration. I was also impressed by Bebe Daniels, who did an excellent job in her portrayal of the ambitious Dorothy Brock, who found herself torn between her love for Pat and her willingness to be Dillon's plaything, despite her personal disgust toward him.
It is a miracle that after 82-83 years, "42ND STREET" still holds up well for me. Ironically, it was not the musical numbers or Busby Berkeley's choreography that really impressed me. It was the backstage story filled with sharp humor, sexual politics and desperation that I believe resonates even to this day. It was the story, along with Lloyd Bacon's solid direction and a talented cast led by Warner Baxter and Bebe Daniels that still makes "42ND STREET" a favorite of mine, even to this day.
