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2018 in Review – Theatre & Film: “It’s come to my attention that you don’t know who I am.”

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 21st CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Adelaide, ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE, ADELAIDE THEATRE, AMERICAN DRAMA, AMERICAN FILM AND CINEMA, ASIAN CINEMA, ASIAN THEATRE, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BRITISH DRAMA, BROADWAY, CHINESE CINEMA, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, ENGLISH DRAMA, ENGLISH THEATRE, festivals, FILM, Hollywood, LONDON, MOVIES, MUSICALS, OZ-ASIA, PLAYS, South Australia, THEATRE, Uncategorized, UNITED KINGDOM, USA

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“It’s come to my attention that you don’t know who I am” – is a line that Cate Blanchett delivers with deep and devastating effectiveness when she first enters THOR RAGNAROK. Could it be that she is referencing her old acting teachers, Kevin Jackson and myself? Not certain – but what this line does reflect is the subject of ‘identity politics’ that has come to dominate so much of modern theatre and film.

So – here we are – at the end of 2018 – that brief time in which we reflect on what we have seen and done over 2018, amidst the plethora of ‘Best of’ lists. I am not necessarily into the ‘Best of ’ etc. I have a fervent dislike of art becoming a kind of superficial competition, which is why I don’t watch a lot of TV. My lists are far more personal and revealing, reflective of those productions that affected me in one way or another, and have stayed with me for various reasons. I have my favourites, certainly, but they are not necessarily the “Best” of anything. I like the respective following works – because they moved me – that’s all.

I feel very fortunate to be living and working in Adelaide, partly because I am able to see a relatively vast range of national and international productions each year. This is primarily due to the respective festivals, such as the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Film Festival, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, and (my favourite) the Oz-Asia Festival.

So – here we go. However, let me first state that I did not see any opera this year, nor did I see much dance and ballet, so these kind of productions are not on my list. All the theatre productions listed below were different in their own way, yet each profoundly moved me as well as enlightened and thrilled me.

THEATRE (in roughly chronological order)

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JOHN BUCCHINO: IT’S ONLY LIFE – Davine Productions (USA/AUST. – Fringe Festival)

FLESH & BONE by Elliot Warren – Unpolished Theatre (UK – Fringe Festival)

KING JACK QUEEN by Baboab Tree Theatre Company (UK – Fringe Festival)

SMOKING WITH GRANDMA (Threewords Playwright (China – Fringe Festival)

KINGS OF WAR based on the ‘History’ plays by William Shakespeare – directed by Ivo von Hove and produced by Toneelgroep Amsterdam (Adelaide Festival)

US/THEM by Carly Wijs and BRONKS, Belgium (Adelaide Festival)

FLA.CO.MEN – Israel Galvan (Spain – Adelaide Festival)

MEMORIAL by Alice Oswald – directed by Chris Drummond with Helen Morse (Brink Productions) (Australia – Adelaide Festival)

PATTI LUPONE (USA – Cabaret Festival)

JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL (USA – Cabaret Festival)

NASSIM by Nassim Soleimanpour (Iran – Oz-Asia Festival

SECRET LOVE IN PEACH BLOSSOM LAND by Stan Lai (China – Oz-Asia Festival)

SUTRA by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Netherlands/China – Oz-Asia Festival)

FAITH HEALER by Brain Friel – directed by Judy Davis with Colin Friels, Alison Whyte and Paul Blackwell. (State Theatre of South Australia.)

THE PURPLE LIST by Libby Pearson (UK – Feast Festival)

SEUSSICAL by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens– Northern Light Theatre Company

LINES by Pamela Carter (UK) – directed by Cory MacMahon (UK)

GODS OF STRANGERS by Elena Carapetis (State Theatre of South Australia)

Whilst this is really just shameless self-promotion, nonetheless, I am very proud of the productions that STARC the company I have formed with Stefannie Rossi and Marc Clement, produced in 2018. This includes TOYER by Gardner Mackay, TWO by Jim Cartwright, and REASONABLE DOUBT by Suzie Miller. Plus – there was Genet’s THE MAIDS.

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Suzie Miller’s REASONABLE DOUBT, Elena Carapetis’ GODS OF STRANGERS, as well as Jada Alberts’ BROTHERS WRECK were the outstanding new Australian plays produced in Adelaide in 2018. I did see other new works in Sydney and Melbourne – but that’s another story, and none of them had the same impact on me as these three works. I may be biased re REASONABLE DOUBT but it was an honour and privilege to direct and produce the Australian premiere of this play.

FILM (not in any order of preference)

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SHOPLIFTERS (2018) directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (JAPAN)

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018) directed by Jon M. Chu (USA)

A STAR IS BORN (2018) directed by Bradley Cooper (USA)

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018) directed by Bryan Singer (USA.UK)

HEREDITARY (2018) directed by Ari Aster (USA)

GURRUMUL (2018 directed by Paul Damien Williams (AUSTRALIA)

Films released at the end of 2017 and seen in 2018

SWEET COUNTRY (2017) directed by Warwick Thornton (AUSTRALIA)

THE INSULT (2017) – directed by Ziad Doueiri (LEBANON)

A FANTASTIC WOMAN (2017) directed by Sebastian Lelio (CHILE)

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017) directed by Luca Guadagnini (ITALY)

THOR – RAGNAROK (2017) directed by Taika Waititi (USA/NZ)

DARKEST HOUR (2017) directed by Joe Wright (UK/USA)

THE POST (2017) directed by Steven Spielberg (USA

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017) directed by Martin McDonagh (USA)

THE DISASTER ARTIST (2017) directed by James Franco (USA)

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017) directed by Rian Johnson (USA)

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (2017) – directed by Michael Gracey (USA)

BLADERUNNER 2049 (2017) – directed by Denis Villeneuve (USA)

Rather an eclectic group – and there are others – but these are the ones that have stayed with me.

I was also very fortunate in representing the National Film and Sound Archive in presenting during the 2018 Adelaide Film Festival (which was excellent) the newly restored prints of Gillian Armstrong’s STARSTRUCK (1982) and John Duigan’s THE YEAR MY VOICE BROKE (1987). The latter, in particular, was very well received, and it was marvellous to see the very young Noah Taylor and Ben Mendelsohn who most certainly have gone on to have quite wonderful careers.

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2018 also marked the 100th Anniversary of the Raymond Longford’s and Lotte Lyall’s THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE (1918), which premiered in Adelaide on the 26 November 1918. I couldn’t attend the anniversary screening in Adelaide, so I watched this great Australian silent film classic at home.

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Re Australian films – I did see a number, including Stephan Elliot’s SWINGING SAFARI, Mark Grenfell’s THE MERGER, Chris Sun’s BOAR, Ben Howling’s CARGO, Marion Pilowsky’s THE FLIPSIDE, and Heath Davis’ BOOK WEEK. I also finally caught up with Simon Baker’s BREATH (2017) and Ben Young’s HOUNDS OF LOVE (2017). A number of these films I admit I watched at home as they either had a limited cinema release and/or went straight to Netflix.

So – a wacky combo of romantic comedies and horror. None of these films was ‘brilliant’, but they were OK; in fact, more than OK. I particularly liked and appreciated the romantic comedies, perhaps the most difficult of all film genres to successfully pull off.

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 It was, however, Paul Damien Williams’ documentary GURRUMUL and Warwick Thornton’s SWEET COUNTRY that were the stand-outs – especially SWEET COUNTRY.

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Warwick Thornton’s SWEET COUNTRY is terrific! And yet – I don’t know anyone who has seen it. Seriously. I saw it at the movies in Mitcham and I was one of three people in the session. Rather depressing – especially for such an excellent Australian film, but the reality is that it has been a bit of a disaster at the box-office, and continues to be an unknown despite good reviews etc.

SWEET COUNTRY, however, did trigger and inspired me to explore in more detail the nature of Australian ‘westerns’, and the ‘Western’ as a film genre in general.

The ‘Western’ is arguably the most common form of film in World Cinema, beginning with the Tait’s THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906), the first feature film in World Cinema, and the shorter THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903).

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Subsequently, it is possible to argue that it was the ‘Western’ that began cinema and feature film. There are so many sub-genres in regard to ‘Westerns’, including musicals, comedies, horror, and science-fiction. Virtually all major ‘stars’ have at least one ‘Western’ in their body of work – and often more than one. Nor is the ‘Western’ confined simply to US film – they are everywhere; for example, the influential Italian/ Spanish ‘spaghetti westerns’ of Sergio Leone. Australian ‘Westerns’ have the strange title of ‘meat-pie’ Westerns.

There is not the time nor space to elaborate on this wonderful conundrum (what does the ‘West’ mean? Etc), but SWEET COUNTRY certainly joins the pantheon of great Australian ‘Westerns’ that includes WAKE IN FRIGHT, THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER, THE TRACKER, THE PROPOSITION, MYSTERY ROAD, GOLDSTONE, as well as earlier films such as ROBBERY UNDER ARMS, BITTER SPRINGS and even JEDDAH.

 The ‘Western’ is also very much a part of contemporary US films. Here is a list of some of the modern US ‘Westerns’ that I have watched. John McLean’s SLOW WEST (2015) and Ti West’s IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (2016) being two in particular that I enjoyed and would thoroughly recommend.

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THE HOMESMAN (2014) – directed by Tommy Lee Jones

SLOW WEST (2015) – directed by John McLean

BONE TOMAHAWK (2015) – S. Craig Zahler

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015) – Quentin Tarantino

IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (2016) – Ti West

BRIMSTONE (2016) – Martin Koolhoven

Looking back – WOW – quite pleased with myself that I have actually seen so much.

Finally – did Ms Blanchett wickedly reference either Kevin Jackson or myself in THOR RAGNAROK?

I don’t really know – but it certainly has been suggested. No matter – but if and whenever I see this wonderful ex-student of ours I do intend to say to her in a rather deep voice – It has come to my attention that you don’t know who I am (Kevin), quickly followed by – Have you been listening to a word I’ve said!!! (Me)

Bring on 2019.

TK

 

 

 

 

TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS – #3 – FOR THE TERM OF HIS NATURAL LIFE (1927)

04 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, LITERATURE, MOVIES, Uncategorized, USA

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ACTORS, Australia, Convicts, FILM, FILMS, Hollywood, MOVIES

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Marcus Clarke’s For the Term of His Natural Life (1874) is the greatest of all ‘convict’ novels. It is epic in scale and sweep, with multiple characters, locations, situations, and whilst there are major inconsistencies and wild melodramatic flourishes, nonetheless, it is a truly thrilling adventure story. The novel is still in print, although I’m not too sure how many ‘modern’ 21st Century Australians have actually read, or even know about it. However, after it was first published it was probably the most popular and well-read work of Australian fiction in the late-nineteenth century.

For the Term of His Natural Life was virtually immediately adapted for the theatre, and there were two early silent film versions in 1908 and 1911. It is, however, Norman Dawn’s 1927 silent film epic that was and remains the best dramatic realization of the novel – even though what remains of the original feature film is incomplete.

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At the time it was the most expensive Australian film ever made. The film was produced by Australasian Films and was to be directed by Raymond Longford. Australasian Films, however, desiring an American release instead employed American director Norman Dawn, and imported American silent film ‘stars’ to play the major roles of Rufus Dawes (George Fisher) and Sylvia Vickers (Eva Novak),  amongst others. The film was a great success in Australia but did not repeat that success when shown in the UK and USA. It was actually not released in the USA until 1929, which by that time was already going through its film revolution with the introduction of ‘sound’, subsequently making For the Term of His Natural Life seem old-fashioned and out-of-date.

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For some it may still be regarded as such, nonetheless, there are some truly extraordinary scenes, particularly those depicting convict life in Port Arthur, Adelaide. The film-makers went to great lengths and expense in authentically re-creating convict life in Port Arthur, including location shooting at Port Arthur, as well as borrowing clothes from Tasmanian museums and duplicating them for the film. Some of the Port Arthur footage from the final film was used by Charles Chauvel in a 1932 ‘travelogue’ called Ghosts of Port Arthur. 

It is primarily due to these extraordinary Port Arthur prisons sequences that For the Term of His Natural Life earns and deserves its place amongst the ‘Top Australian Films of All Time’.

TONY KNIGHT

Leviathan: An Astonishing History of Whales – South Australian Maritime Museum

24 Thursday May 2018

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 19TH CENTURY ART, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, ENGLISH HISTORY, HISTORY, PEOPLE, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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ANIMALS, ART, Australia, Hollywood, Port Adelaide, South Australian maritime museum, SOUTH KOREA, TRAVEL, whales

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As part of the South Australian History Festival that has been running throughout May, there is a truly fascinating exhibition at the South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide – Leviathan: An Astonishing History of Whales. This a celebration of the compelling majestic power and beauty of whales.

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Part of this exhibition is devoted to the history of ‘whaling’, past and present. Hunting whales, despite its current ‘politically incorrect’ status, was and still is part of human history. Why hunt whales? Many people today, including myself, would find such a thing truly repulsive – and it is! Nonetheless, whilst acknowledging the brutality of ‘whaling’, this exhibition captures the fascination, dependence upon and respect for whales by a number of human groups and tribes, some of which continue to hunt whales today. This includes a few modern indigenous tribes in places such as Indonesia and Greenland, as well as past ‘western’ commercial whaling that inspired artists and writers, including Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

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I am most certainly not defending the hunting of whales and ‘whaling’, nonetheless, there is a fascinating mystery, a kind of ‘romanticism’ about ‘whaling’ that is part of past and modern human history. Why? Neither I nor this exhibition has an answer, yet it does exist and is a conundrum – which is partly why this exhibition is so fascinating and well worth a visit. Furthermore, it is a part of South Australian history as Port Adelaide once was a trading centre for commercial whaling in the now distant past. This may be uncomfortable for many who think it should be buried beneath the veneer of the niceness of modern ‘political correctness’ – nonetheless, it remains an historical fact. This exhibition challenges as well as informs without being gory and horrific, adding to its overall impressive value.

Furthermore, there are many other reasons why a visit to the South Australian Maritime Museum is worthwhile. There are numerous artefacts from the past that are fascinating. This includes a series of ‘figureheads’ that once stood proudly at the prow of sailing ships – a lost art form in itself.

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Tony Knight

 

 

GREAT ACTORS: Olivia de Havilland

19 Tuesday Sep 2017

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 20TH CENTURY ART, 21st CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, AMERICAN DRAMA, AMERICAN FILM AND CINEMA, BROADWAY, CINEMA, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, ENGLISH THEATRE, FILM, Film Noir, HISTORY, Hollywood, LITERATURE, MOVIES, MUSICALS, PEOPLE, PLAYS, SHAKESPEARE, THEATRE, Uncategorized, USA

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Olivia_De_Haviland_1933DAME OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND was born 1 July, 1916, in Tokyo and at the grand age of 101 she is still alive and well and living in Paris. Whilst her parents were British, nonetheless she and her younger sister Joan (later known as Joan Fontaine) was raised in Saratoga, California by their mother. She made her acting debut in an amateur production of Alice in Wonderland. What follows in this rather lengthy article is essentially a tribute to Olivia de Havilland’s brilliant career. In my respective acting classes I am often citing past great actors and films, of which my young (and not so young) students are often completely unaware. Many have not even seen or even know about Gone With The Wind, which is perhaps the film that most would identify with Olivia de Havilland. However, there is so much more to this extraordinary actress and 20th and 21st Century woman.

Nmidnight_1935In 1934 she played the role of Puck in a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That summer the legendary director Max Reinhardt came to Los Angeles to direct a production of The Dream at the Hollywood Bowl. One of Reinhardt’s assistants saw Olivia de Havilland in the Saratoga production. Due to this assistant’s praise Reinhardt offered de Havilland the second understudy for the role of Hermia. One week before the production opened Gloria Stuart (Titanic), who was playing Hermia, and the first understudy left the production and Olivia de Havilland went on. Reinhardt A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream_1935was so impressed with the then 18 years old Olivia de Havilland that he subsequently cast her as Hermia in his lavish 1935 film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She appeared with alongside other Hollywood legends including James Cagney, Dick Powell and a very young Mickey Rooney. Also in the cast was Australian actress Jean Muir who played Helena.

Following A Midsummer Night’s Dream she then appeared in Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn. This hugely popular film, Olivia de Havilland’s ‘break-out’ film, led to more films in which she starred with Errol Flynn – Four’s A Crowd (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), They Died With Their Boots On (1941).

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Olivia_de_Havilland_and_Errol_Flynn_in_Captain_Blood_trailerThe 8 films that Olivia de Havilland did with Errol Flynn’s is a classic example of the successful on-screen romantic couple. Born from the Hollywood Studio system, as well as the classical theatre, many have tried to emulate this very specific but elusive kind of movie magic, but only a few have ever been as successful as the de Havilland-Flynn pairing. This includes, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and Doris Day and Rock Hudson. In modern cinema the films of Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler are the only on-screen pairing that comes close, although I would also argue that the pairing of Kiera Knightly and Orlando Bloom in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series captures this special type of movie magic.

It'sLoveI'mAfterPosterIn the 1930s as well as the films she made with Errol Flynn she also appeared in a few films with Bette Davis, my favourite being It’s Love I’m After (1937). This marked the beginning of a life-long friendship between Olivia de Havilland and Bette Davis, which is an aspect of de Havilland’s current plans to sue the producer’s of the TV series Feud that deals with the relationship between Davis and Joan Crawford, and in which Catherine Zeta-Jones appears as Olivia de Havilland. One delightful little story about Olivia de Havilland’s relationship with Bette Davis can be found in the This Is Your Life: Bette Davis episode in which Olivia de Havilland makes a surprise appearance. She talks about her relationship with Bette Davis, who is sitting right next to her, and they laugh about how prior to The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex de Havilland was Flynn’s leading lady, but in Elizabeth and Essex she now was Bette Davis’ maid! Haha!

00aOlivia de Havilland also appeared in such ‘big budget’ epics such as Anthony Adverse (1936), but then came the biggest of them all – Gone With The Wind (1939).220px-Poster_-_Gone_With_the_Wind_01 I love Gone With The Wind, in which Olivia de Havilland played ‘mealy-mouthed’ Melanie Wilkes. She, like the rest of the film, is simply wonderful. I am fully aware that it now attracts some severe criticism in regards to its depiction of slavery and African-American stereotypes. Whilst there may be some validity in these censures, nonetheless, it is still a great film – for many reasons. Olivia de Havilland was amongst the first to congratulate Academy Award co-Best Supporting Actress nominee Hattie McDaniel when McDaniel won the award – the first African-American actress to do so. I love Hattie McDaniel’s quip when she was criticized as subscribing to so-called ‘Uncle Tom’ black stereotypes for her fabulous and memorable performance of Mammy: “I’d rather make seven hundred dollars playing a maid than seven dollars being one’.

images-1Despite being somewhat overshadowed by Vivien Leigh, with whom Olivia de Havilland enjoyed a great friendship and working relationship, nonetheless, de Havilland’s Melanie also displays a wonderful ‘cool charm’ and ability to successfully lie and deceive. This ‘cool charm’ is particularly apparent in the second half of the film, in the Atlanta section, involving the deception of the army in regards to her wounded husband, Ashley (Leslie Howard). Olivia de Havilland is also at her best in all her scenes with Vivien Leigh (and there are a lot) including the final ‘death of Melanie’ scene. She is also wonderful in her scenes with Clark Gable, comforting him after the death of Bonnie, and before that her one scene with the terrific Ona Mason as Belle Watling.

imagesOne terrific example of superb screen acting is the sequence in which Melanie recognizes from afar the returning battle scarred Ashley (Leslie Howard); in this short sequence there are no words spoken, and the range of emotions that go across Olivia de Havilland’s face is wonderful and extraordinary – from concern, intrigue, disbelieve, realization and finally rapturous joy. I love Gone With The Wind and have watched it many many times, and always find it delightful and discovering something new about it.

downloadOlivia de Havilland made 16 films during the 1940s. The best of these in the e 40s are Santa Fe Trail (1940), The Strawberry Blonde (1941), Hold Back the Dawn (1941) and The Died with their Boots On (1941). During WW2 Olivia de Havilland was an active member of the Hollywood Canteen, dancing and entertaining troops. This is somewhat reflected in the film images copyThank Your Lucky Stars (1943), in which she appears in a comic song ‘The Dreamer’ with Ida Lupino and George Tobias. Olivia de Havilland also bravely visited front-line troops on islands and other places in the Pacific war zone.

From 1943 to 1945 Olivia de Havilland was engaged in a legal battle with Warner Brothers to whom she was contracted. This was a battle for artistic freedom. A number of others, including Bette Davis, had challenged the fixed and rigid control the respective studios had over their contract players and failed. Not Olivia de Havilland. Her landmark victory meant that in future contract players were able to negotiate their artistic freedom and work with other studios. It went into law as the ‘De Havilland Law’. Even her estranged sister, Joan Fontaine, acknowledged her victory, stating, “Hollywood owes Olivia a great deal”. Subsequently, however, due to Warner Brothers’ influence, and the respective studios ganging together, Olivia de Havilland was ‘blacklisted’ and did not work for two years.

220px-ToeachhisownPOSTERIn 1945 she signed a two-picture deal with Paramount Pictures and subsequently made To Each His Own (1946), for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress.What To Each His Own exemplifies is Olivia de Havilland’s artistic need and desire to play characters that go through a considerable transformation, physically as well as psychologically. In To Each His Own Olivia de Havilland beautifully plays an unwed mother who has to give up her child. In this highly romantic drama the character she plays, Jody, ages from a young innocent American girl to an old woman in WW2 London. Whilst it is perhaps easy today to dismiss this sentimental drama, nonetheless, for its time it was covering controversial ground. Furthermore, To Each His Own marked the beginning of a new period in Olivia de Havilland’s career that saw her make films which what are possible her most impressive in regards to acting performances.

220px-The_dark_mirror_vhs_coverThis includes the complex ‘film noir’ psychological thriller The Dark Mirror (1946), in which she plays the dual role of twins battling each other in a torturous love triangle. This fascinating film, written by Nunnally Johnson and directed by Robert Siodmak has been regarded as a precursor to Johnson’s The Three Faces of Eve (1957). Olivia de Havilland was experimenting with the so-called ‘method acting’ technique, and did an enormous amount of research into the psychology of twins. It is speculative as to whether or not she also drew on her own problematic relationship with her sister, Joan Fontaine.

What is definite is that her work in The Dark Mirror in a way prepares Olivia de Havilland for her next two films that are in many ways the highlights of her career – Anatole Litvak’s The Snake Pit (1948), and William Wyler’s The Heiress (1949) for which Olivia de Havilland received her second Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award and the New York Film Critics Award for Best Actress. Olivia de Havilland is simply marvelous in both The Snake Pit and The Heiress. There is an extraordinary and truly fascinating depth and complexity in the respective characters that she plays in these films. 220px-Snakepit1948_62862n

The Snake Pit is a harrowing and profoundly moving story about madness and the insane. One is completely seduced by Olivia de Havilland’s character, Virginia – is she insane or isn’t she? Just as effective as Russell Crowe in Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind (2001) one is drawn into the world of Olivia de Havilland’s Virginia – a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum, but doesn’t know how she got there.  Heiress_wylerThe Heiress is based on Henry James classic novella Washington Square, and the play adaptation by Ruth and Augustus Goetz. It is a story about deliberate cruelty. A young woman, a wealthy heiress called Catherine Sloper who is cruelly treated by her father, brilliantly played by Ralph Richardson. She falls in love with a young man, Morris Townsend, played by the irresistible Montgomery Cliff, who deserts her after being offered financial remuneration by her father. Years later, after her father has died and Catherine has inherited her fortune, Morris returns in the hope that Catherine will forgive him and that now they can be married. Catherine goes along with Morris’ plans until the devastating ending. When challenged by her Aunt Lavinia (Miriam Hopkins) as to how Catherine can be so cruel, Catherine replies, “I was taught by experts”. This is a great story, complex and intriguing and Olivia de Havilland is simply brilliant, especially in the final scenes. Once again – as with The Snake Pit, and her other films in this period, one is seduced by her seeming innocence, unaware of the serpent that lies beneath until the end. Well worth watching.

220px-Rachel_moviepDue to family commitments and various theatre engagements in New York, which included playing Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Candida in George Bernard Shaw’s Candida, Olivia de Havilland did not make another film until 1952. When she did it was the mystery romance, My Cousin Rachel (1952), which was Richard Burton’s first US film. This was followed by Not as a Stranger (1955), which was Stanley Kramer’s debut film, and also featured Frank Sinatra. Her marriage to French journalist Marcus Goodrich meant that she relocated to live in Paris. She returned to Hollywood to make Michael Curtiz’s western The Proud Rebel with Alan Ladd, and 1959 she was in the British courtroom drama Libel (1959), directed by Anthony Asquith with Dirk Bogarde.

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220px-The_Light_in_the_Piazza_posterHer marriage to Marcus Goodrich ended in 1962, but they continued to TheLightInThePiazzacohabitate in the same house in Paris. In that same year Olivia de Havilland scored her greatest stage success, appearing with Henry Fonda on Broadway in Garson Kanin’s A Gift of Time. She also appeared in Guy Green’s film Light in the Piazza (1962) that many years later became the basis for Craig Lucas’ and Adam Guettel’s magnificent musical The Light in the Piazza (2005). In 1962 Olivia de Havilland published her semi-autobiographical book, Every Frenchman Has One, about her life in Paris, which subsequently became a bestseller.

220px-Lady_in_a_Cage_-_1964-_poster-1In 1964 Olivia de Havilland made two rather extraordinary psychological horror films. The first was Walter Grauman’s Lady in a Cage (1964), which featured a young James Cann. This is really odd 1960s film – and it is stylishly very 1960s, almost psychedelic at times, with the addition of a doco-drama element. The other film was Robert Aldrich’s Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) with Bette Davis, as well as other ‘old Hollywood’ actors, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Morehead, Mary Astor, and Australian actor Cecil Kellaway. Olivia de Havilland took over the role that Joan Crawford was playing when Crawford became too ill and had to withdraw. This film also features the young Bruce Dern.220px-Hush_Hush_Sweet_Charlotte_Poster Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is Robert Aldrich’s follow-up to his What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). As Bette Davis told me (yes – me) Baby Jane was the better of the two films due its script superiority. Still – Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a highly entertaining film, with the seemingly innocent Olivia de Havilland being actually as ruthless and cold-blooded as she was at the end of The Heiress.

 The 1970s was the decade that saw the final major film works of Olivia de Havilland. None of them are particularly good or memorable, although Airport ’77 (1977) is the best of the series that followed the success of Airport (1970); and the disaster film The Swarm (1978) is rated as one of the ‘worst films ever made’, and one of the ‘100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made’. Her final film was forgettable The Fifth Musketeer (1979).

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Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Olivia de Havilland was in a number of TV movies and mini-series. This included playing the Queen Mother in The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982). Her best TV performance was as the Dowager Empress Maria in Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986), for which she won a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series.

As the above indicates it is a phenomenal and highly diverse career.

She has been honoured many times, most recently being made a Dame of the British Empire the day before her 101th birthday on 31 June, 2017.

As previously mentioned, she is now back in the limelight due to her objections and legal battle with the makers of Feud: Bette and Joan (2017), in which Catherine Zetta-Jones plays Olivia de Havilland. Time will see how this all plays out. However, Time is not on Olivia de Havilland’s side. It is hoped that due to this incredible woman’s deserved status, as well as longevity and age, that no matter what she request that the respective producers will yield to her demands, and apologize for any offense. What does it really matter if Feud is shelved and unavailable for a few years. It has already been screened, and will soon fade into obscurity. We now are all fully aware that being a ‘celluloid hero’ doesn’t mean immortality; the ‘stars’ and films of yesteryear are now largely forgotten and unwatched. However, Olivia de Havilland is still with us. Olivia de Havilland now is really the only person left from the so called ‘Golden Years of Hollywood’. A wonderful actress, and a trailblazer, not only in terms of career but also in enabling other Hollywood artists to work freely. A LEGEND. Thank you Olivia de Havilland.

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TONY KNIGHT.

 

 

 

 

 

MUSICALS: FILM: Deep In My Heart (1954) – Sigmund Romberg

14 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, AMERICAN DRAMA IN THE 1950S, BROADWAY, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, Hollywood, MOVIES, MUSICALS, PEOPLE, PLAYS, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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downloadSigmund Romberg (1887-1951) is now a relatively neglected musical theatre artist; and yet, once upon a time, particularly in the 1920s, he was amongst the most celebrated of Broadway musical composers The film Deep in My Heart (1954), directed by film musical master Stanley Donen, is a Hollywood ‘musical bio-pic’ based on the life of Sigmund Romberg.

The ‘bio-pic’ is a sub-genre of filmic ‘historical drama’, which remains the primary genre in world cinema. One only has to look at the respective film awards from across the world to clearly see that most ‘Best Film’ awards have gone to ‘historical drama’ films. The musical ‘bio-pic’ is curious genre, wildly different in form and structure. Some attempt to cover and entire life of a particular musical artists, and some focus only part. A number of ‘musical bio-pics’ are based on successful theatre musicals, others are original film works, In all cases, however, the popular ‘hits’ of this artist is interweaved into the narrative – sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Part of this challenge involves whether or not the particular song advances the narrative, and/or reveals something specific about the artist.

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The most successful original works include Michael Curtiz’s Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) which is based on the life of Broadway artist George M, Cohan, and brilliantly portrayed by James Cagney; Alfred E. Green’s The Jolson Story (1946) and Henry Levin’s  Jolson Sings Again (1949) with Larry Parks as Al Jolson.

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In more modern times there are Sidney J. Furie’s Lady Sings the Blues (1972) about Billie Holiday, beautifully played by Diana Ross; Michael Apted’s Coal Miner’s Daughter(1980) about Loretta Lynn, played by Sissy Spacek; Mike Leigh’s Topsy-Turvy (1999) about Gilbert and Sullivan, played respectively by Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent.

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In the 21st Century we have James Mangnold’s Walk the Line (2005) about the early life of Johnny Cash, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and June Carter, played by Reese Witherspoon; and Stephen Freares delightful Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) with Meryl Streep in the title role, as the woman labelled ‘the worst opera singer in the world’.

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Films based on Broadway musicals include William Wyler’s Funny Girl (1968) with Barbara Streisand repeating her performance as Fanny Brice, catapulting Streisand to international stardom. There are also a number of ‘made for television’ films and mini-series, such as Gypsy (1993) based on the Broadway musical of the same name about Gypsy Rose Lee, with Bette Midler as Lee’s mother, Rose; and Life with Judy Garland: Me and my Shadows (2001) with Judy Davis giving a mesmerizing and award winning performance as Judy Garland. There are many others, but these are my personal favourites.

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Deep in My Heart is the fourth in a series of ‘musical bio-pics’ that MGM made in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The others include – Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) about Jerome Kern, Words and Music (1948) about Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and Three Little Words (1950) about ‘Tin Pan Alley’ team Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. All these films are highly fictionalized, sanitized and sentimental, to the point of absurdity, treatments of the respective real artists lives. However, they all worth watching as these films contain spectacular musical numbers featuring the greatest MGM musical stars, including Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra and Mickey Rooney. As one critic in Variety wrote about Till the Clouds Roll By – ‘Why quibble about the story?’.

I love the works by Sigmund Romberg. Deep in My Heart may not be historical accurate, nor is it particularly dramatically interesting, but the songs and the musical sequences are thrilling. They don’t necessarily capture the magical potency they have in the theatre, but as a tribute to Romberg, which is what the film essentially is, they are truly excellent. Furthermore, they are performed by great musical artists, including Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, Ann Blyth, Jane Powell, Howard Keel – and more. There is a wonderful musical number, ‘I Love to go Swimmin’ with Wimmin’, with Gene Kelly and his brother Fred Kelly, the only time they appeared together on-screen.

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The film ‘stars’, however, are Jose Ferrer as Sigmund Romberg and Merle Oberon as Dorothy Donnelly, who was Romberg’s friend and wrote the book and libretto for The Student Prince (1924), Romberg’s most successful musical/operetta. Jose Ferrer is a terrific actor who rose to fame with his Academy Award winning performance of Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Merle Oberon is one of the screens great ‘professional beauties’, and is also an excellent actress. Whilst Jose Ferrer is a bit hammy and theatrical as Romberg, in the most delightful way, it is Merle Oberon who brings real gravitas, heart and soul to the film. Her final scene is extremely moving.

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Deep in My Heart follows the rise of Sigmund Romberg as a young ‘Tin Pan Alley’ composer in New York who prefers the more classical repertoire from his homeland Vienna than the contemporary and popular ‘ragtime’. After meeting Sam Harris he succumbs to popular tastes and writes a string of ‘hits’ with the hope that he will eventually be able to do his own preferred work. This he finally achieves with the production of Maytime (1917) and Blossom Time (1921), quickly followed by his masterworks The Student Prince (1924), The Desert Song (1926) and The New Moon (1928). He then lapses into relative obscurity, no longer deemed ‘fashionable’, Finally, however, after the death of his dear friend Dorothy Donnelly, and with the encouragement of his wife, he does a special concert at Carnegie Hall that honours him, his music and his legacy.

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His legacy – yes! Romberg is perhaps still considered ‘unfashionable’, nonetheless, his work is still highly relevant. His highly romantic songs prefigure those one can find in the works of Andrew Lloyd Weber, as well as Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boubil. These musical theatre artists, as well as Romberg fall into those works that bridge formal Viennese operetta and conventional jazz and pop orientated musical theatre. Romberg’s work is just as valid in musical theatre training as are the works of Gilbert and Sullivan – maybe even better – as they provide a ‘classical’ foundation for the singing voice that is perfect for modern musical theatre.

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So why is Romberg not done? I know from bitter experience that in a number of cases in regard to training I had to insist that Romberg was included in respective exercises and showings. This was somewhat reluctantly agreed too, but with a shaking of heads and sense of patronizing and indulging the ‘old man’. However, in all cases, once one of Romberg’s songs was performed the magic happened. They have their own unique and dramatic potency that can enrapt an audience. Rather than simplistic, overt sentimentality they demand considerable depth and technical skill. This is best exemplified by ‘Deep in my heart, dear’ from The Student Prince, ‘The Desert Song’, ‘Romance’ and ‘The Sabre Song’ from The Desert Song, and ‘Softly, as a Morning Sunshine’ and ‘Lover, Come Back to Me’ from The New Moon.

1785fe118e0aacdc030679d40da77075--new-moon-vintage-paper‘Lover, Come Back to Me’ is quite rightly one of the most important and wonderful popular songs from the 20th Century, evident in the many past and modern artists who have recorded their own versions of this beautiful song. Furthermore, there are the thrilling energetic numbers, such as ‘The Drinking Song’ in The Student Prince, ‘The Riff Song’ and ‘The Military Marching Song’ in The Desert Song, and ‘Stouthearted Men’ in The New Moon. It is perhaps difficult for young people to appreciate that when ‘The Drinking Song’ was first performed in 1924 its enormous popularity was almost regarded as revolutionary in ‘Prohibition’ America. It is still a wonderful and powerful ‘show-stopper’.

This prejudice against Romberg, however, I fear will remain – until a visionary producer/director comes along and re-invents the work in the same way that Joseph Papp re-invented Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in 1981, turning that show into a modern mega-hit. This could easily happen to The Desert Song, as it could with another similar work from the same period – Rudolf Friml’s The Vagabond King (1925). All of Romberg’s major musicals were turned into films. Whilst these films may endorse the ‘unfashionable’ opinion of Romberg, nonetheless, they are all we currently have as a record of these once extremely popular works – plus Stanley Donen’s Deep in My Heart. There are also, however, numerous recordings by past and modern singers, classical and popular, who at the very least are savvy and clever enough to appreciate the power and potency of the works of Sigmund Romberg.

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TONY KNIGHT

PLAY: The Teahouse of the August Moon

25 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by APHK PHOTOGRAPHY in ACTING, ACTORS, AMERICAN DRAMA IN THE 1950S, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, LITERATURE, MOVIES, PLAYS, THEATRE, Uncategorized

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THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON

Tonight I watched THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, a 1956 American film comedy based on the play and book of the same name; all of which were very successful at the time. I have long been aware of this play and film, and its success and importance in American drama, but this was the first time that I had ever actually sat down and watched it through. It was also of great interest to me – being a Marlon Brando fan – to watch Brando’s attempt at a complete transformation.

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THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON by John Patrick, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Vern Sneider, opened on Broadway 15 October 1953. It was a great success, winning numerous awards, including the Tony and the New York Drama Critics for Best Play, as well as the Pulitzer Prize. David Wayne won the Tony Award for Best Actor for his performance as the Japanese interpreter, Sakini. The subsequent film in 1956 featured Marlon Brando as Sakini, with Glenn Ford as Captain Fisby, and Machiko Kyo as Lotus Blossom, a Geisha. Whilst Brand and Ford may be relatively well known, Machiko Kyo may not be – not until one is reminded that she is the female lead in Kurosawa’s RASHOMON (1950); this was to be her only non-Japanese film, and stands in contrast to most of her work.

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Standing in contrast – this implies a challenge – a departure from what may have been a generally accepted public persona by a particular actor. The same is true for Marlon Brando. His Sakini must be one of Brando’s most light-hearted characters, and certainly his most successful comedy.

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It has been customary to lam-blast this play, as well as Brando’s performance for ‘yellow-washing’. In other words, a ‘white actor’ playing an Asian character. This is still very much an issue today, part of a general push internationally for more employment and equal opportunities for non-white performers. I do not wish to enflame this debate, but rather for this once highly regarded play, and film, to be re-assessed. Why? Because it is absolutely charming, funny, joyous and touching.

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Yes – yes – it is full of stereotypes, funny-little-Asian folk v crass excitable American soldiers. Yes – it is very much a product of its time – post WW2 American drama. I have written before about this period, which also saw the beginning of the Cold War, McCarthyism, HUAC, and the publication of the Kinsey Report, the first in-depth study of the sexual activities of the contemporary American male and female. As previously mentioned, in a great deal of American drama in this period, there is considerable focus on the uncovering of a secret; that something rotten lies buried within that dramatically will eventually be exposed. The same is true for THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON. There is a secret – which is the actual construction of the TEAHOUSE, which is not why Captain Fisby was sent to the village of Tobiki in Okinawa – he was sent to create a schoolhouse and advance ideas of American democracy.

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There is a delightful satiric edge to how both the American and Japanese characters react and relate, to each other as well as the different cultures and ideas of respectability and images-14honour. It’s all very light-hearted, whimsical and fun. For example, at the beginning of the film, Colonel Wainwright Purdy III (yep – that’s his name) is worried about the morals of the men n his charge. Purdy is played by Paul Ford who played the character on Broadway. Purdy has seen Officers dancing with enlisted men! He instructs his Sergeant (played by Harry Morgan) to send out a memo – ‘No officer can dance with his privates!’. Well – it made me giggle.

I don’t wish to spoil the enjoyment that still can be had from this massive hit play and film from the 1950s. It certainly can be accused, and has been, of racial stereotyping, and a whole lot of other seemingly modern-day offensive matter. However, moving through this may I offer a couple of things in its defense.

For the play and the film to be so successful there must be something more than just the whimsy associated with a light-hearted cultural clash – and there is. The story verges on tragic-comedy at the end when Fisby’s Teahouse is exposed and he is ordered to leave. The final scene between he and Lotus Blossom, with Sakini as translator, in the ruins of the recently destroyed Teahouse, is extremely moving; and beautifully played by Brando, Ford, and especially Machiko Kyo. It is about the complexity of saying goodbye to someone and somewhere you deeply love, about acceptance in regard to things that drive people apart, the importance of memory of ‘time past’, and that one is ordinary and to be happy with that.

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It is not a-typical at all in context with a lot of other drama of the time; the heroics are not of earth-shaking importance, there is no grand-standing declaration of independence, ethics, morals, and human rights – it is all quite ordinary, realistic, simplistic, and tragic in its predictability – but then – magic happens.

In the true nature of classical comedy, with a wonderful deus ex machine, there is a happy ending. To be honest – despite enjoying this climatic moment in the film I think this may work better in the theatre. After being completely destroyed the Teahouse is once again fully restored due to its full beauty through the ingenuity and craftiness of Sakini and the village folk of Tobiki.

To watch this ‘live’ in a theatre would be so uplifting and exciting as well as – well – magical – joyous theatre magic!

As a side note – if any Head of a Theatre Design Department should read this – try setting this play and its design challenge to a young design student. The Teahouse is created and it must be stunning and beautiful; it then must be destroyed; and then – in a matter of a minute, for the climax of the play, it must be magically rebuilt and restored to its full beauty.

As regard to Brando and his performance of Sakini, for which he worked diligently, and respectfully, fully committing his talent and skill, I enjoyed his transformation – or attempt at a transformation.

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Brando had already established himself as the leading actor of his time with A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) and ON THE WATERFRONT (1954). THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON comes after DESIREE (1954) in which Brando plays Napoleon Bonaparte, and sits between GUYS AND DOLLS (1955) and SAYONARA (1957) in a kind of unique arc that involves romance, comedy and interest in Japanese culture, as well as his obvious artistic drive to transform and challenge himself with different dramatic styles and characters.

Despite modern sensibilities, there is an artistry with the actor at work, just as much as there is with Olivier’s Othello, or John Hurt’s Elephant Man, or Yul Brynner’s King of Siam. I don’t wish to offend anyone, but to censor and suppress a talented actor’s desire to transform into a character with a different racial background may be nowadays ‘politically correct’, nonetheless, it is still artistic censorship, and subsequently needs to be at least questioned.

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You may be embarrassed and even offended by Brando’s performance – I was not; but rather fascinated (as always) with what he was going to do – how he was going to do it – and appreciating the artistic challenge. Not for all tastes, but hardly worth the outright condemnation that his performance as well as this play has earned. Whether or not this is cringe material or not, it is still worth watching – not necessarily because the transformation is successful or not but because of the attempt, the challenge for the actor, and the degree of difficulty.

But – have a look yourself – and you be the judge. I enjoyed it – immensely; and can easily see why this play and film were such big hits in the 1950s – and could be again! Why? Because it offers hope – hope for a better future, and joy in being human.

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I would so love to see this play in the theatre. I very much doubt, however, that I will. The size of the cast and the cost of the design alone would be enormous. Maybe in the US perhaps, where revivals of popular old classics such as HARVEY, PICNIC, and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE have been met with great critical acclaim and popular success. This is not the case here in Australia – a different aesthetic in which ‘de-constructivist’ theatre from the 1990s still reigns supreme, and every story and set is generally about a victim caught in a waste land – not much joy I’m afraid. THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, subsequently, would be something radically different. Yes – ‘old fashioned’, but not without artistic worth, merit and success – hope and joy, and genuine theatre magic.

 

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