Bernard F. Dick Forever Mame, The Life of Rosalind Russell (2006)

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Only once in the film was there even the hint of a connection between
them when they revealed their secret aspirations: his to paint, hers to
write poetry. But that was it. The real star of the film was Mitchell Leisen,
who began his film career by designing costumes for Cecil B. DeMille s
films. (Leisen designed Constance Moore s in Take a Letter, Darling, leaving
Irene to handle Rosalind s). The physical production was elegant, particu-
larly the tobacco heirs museum-like estate. However, the film s take on
career versus marriage was retro even by 1940s standards. The problem
was the last shot; one would like to think that some women winced at the
sight of Rosalind Russell being yanked into a car by Fred MacMurray.
Rosalind s best Columbia film of the 1940s was My Sister Eileen, the
film version of the 1940 Broadway success by Joseph Fields and Jerome
Chodorov, who also wrote the screenplay. The original was an adaptation of
some New Yorker stories by Ruth McKenney that were, for the most part,
autobiographical and recounted the adventures of two sisters, Ruth and
Eileen Sherwood, who left Ohio to pursue careers in New York Ruth as a
writer and Eileen as an actress. As Ruth, Rosalind was playing the role that
Shirley Booth had originated on stage. Although Booth excelled in both
comedy and drama, she is chiefly remembered as a comic actress, particu-
larly for the long-running sitcom Hazel. What Booth brought to the charac-
ter was a self-deprecating sense of humor and a healthy cynicism that made
it possible for her to live in the shadow of her sister Eileen, everyone s
favorite, although, intellectually, not on a par with Ruth. Rosalind brought
the same qualities to the role, but added another: an air of sophistication
that even a plain blouse and skirt could not conceal. Since Ruth refuses to
wire home for money, she and Eileen must succeed on their own; Ruth
does, while Eileen charms soda fountain managers, who oblige her with
free lunches. Even when she lands in jail, the police wait on Eileen as if she
were their houseguest.
My Sister Eileen brought Rosalind her first Oscar nomination. Although
she knew she had no chance of winning, just to be nominated in the com-
pany of Greer Garson (Mrs. Miniver), who, in 1958, would replace her on
THE LADY AND THE MOGUL 83
Broadway in Auntie Mame; Bette Davis (Now, Voyager); Katharine Hepburn
(Woman of the Year); and Teresa Wright (Pride of the Yankees) was honor
enough. With World War II underway and patriotism on the rise after a
decade of isolationism, Greer Garson was a shoe-in for best actress for her
portrayal of Kay Miniver, a model of home-front courage who weathered
the Blitz as if it were a summer storm. That Rosalind was even nominated
indicates that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acknowl-
edged her brand of comedy, which lay somewhere between the drawing
room, the bedroom, and in Eileen a basement apartment (the layout var-
ied). After Eileen, Rosalind never had a vehicle where she could exercise her
true comedic talent until she returned to the stage in a touring version of
John Van Druten s Bell, Book and Candle in late 1951. Meanwhile, she tread
water in What a Woman!, She Wouldn t Say Yes, Tell It to the Judge, and A Woman
of Distinction, until she was rescued by Bell, Book and Candle, which allowed
her to make selective use of her impressive repertory of facial expressions,
double takes, throwaway lines, deadpan expressions, and camera-ready eyes
that moved from left to right as if they were executing a pan shot.
Eileen required Rosalind to play the comic scapegoat, garnering laughs
from moviegoers who would have been furious had they been in the same
situation: living in a basement apartment over a subway construction site.
However, if an actress alienates the audience by overplaying the character to
the point of exaggeration, the audience will laugh at the character s predica-
ment because they feel she has gotten what she deserves. The prospect of
two sisters from Ohio duped into paying a month s rent on a Greenwich
Village basement apartment with a barred window can be comic. But com-
edy works from the up the ante principle. Living below street level with a
window into which drunks can bend down and ogle the sisters in their paja-
mas can be comic. But what about the sisters discovering that work is [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

pobieranie @ do ÂściÂągnięcia @ ebook @ download @ pdf