Ted Cassidy and Ellen Corby in "Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family,” 1965 episode of “The Addams Family”

The Addams Family - Season 1 Episode 17 (1965) Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family

Caged (1950) John Cromwell

April 1st 2024

"LITTLE WOMEN" (1949) Review

"LITTLE WOMEN" (1949) Review

Louisa 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 and they left out some of Alcott's memorable plot points from the novel's narrative. But these changes, however regretful a few of them were (namely Jo and Amy's conflict over the former's manuscript) 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. This should not be surprising, considering that this adaptation bears a strong similarity to the earlier version. 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 Astor (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.

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CAGED (1950)

A young innocent fights to survive the harsh life in a women's prison.

Sabrina (1954) Review

Sabrina Fairchild is the daughter of a rich families chauffeur and she has always been head over heels in love with David Larrabee. After a trip away she returns and it is actually his older brother Linus who begins to be a more suited match for her. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continue reading Untitled

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I came across a post that stated actress Corby was a lesbian. Corby was best known for playing Grandma Walton, first in the TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971), and for 6 seasons of the TV series… plus various followup TV movies. A real life stroke couldn’t keep her down - after she recovered she was back on the show.

I was curious, so I decided to do a little research on the web. My first source was Wikipedia. While not necessarily accurate on all topics, it usual sites source if something was published in an article, book, or public statement. But I didn’t find anything about Corby being a lesbian.

A vague reference came in a paragraph about Corby’s marriage in 1934 to Francis Corby, a film director. He was 20 years older than her and they divorced in 1944 without having children. Curiously it add “In 1954, Corby met Stella Luchetta”. The source is from the LA Times that provides the added detail, “She is survived by her friend of 45 years, Stella Luchetta.”

“Survived by” comments are usually reserved for relatives and in Hollywood “friend” can be code for partner or lover.

I searched further. A couple blogs mentioned Corby swore like a sailor and smoked off camera. Most made said she and Luchetta were lovers. Some added Corby’s last words were “love you” to Luchetta. No references, no news article, no biography.

One blog allowed readers comments and many were incredible homophobic.

“I feel like my childhood has been a big ole lie”

“She was a clean decent woman NOT a Fag!”

“They were Not Queers. None of them! They were the decent people you saw on screen.”

So here are the “facts” as I’ve been able to find them:

Corby married an older man in 1934 and divorced him in 1944. (One source said they separated shortly after the marriage but waited to divorce.)

She met Stella Luchetta in 1954. But most accounts they soon moved in together as “friends”.

Corby suffered a stroke in 1976.

At this point Luchetta was referenced as a “caregiver”.

Some straight people are threatened by the idea Corby might be a lesbian.

That’s not much to go on. Nearly all gay actors of her generation couldn’t come out due to the homophobia and impact on their careers. Those that did, didn’t come out until their senior years. So it’s no surprise that if Corby was a lesbian, she would have stayed in the closet.

My personal opinion is that yes, Ellen Corby was probably a lesbian. Unlike her homophobic “fans” I hope that Ellen found love with Stella.

Harriet Craig (1950, Vincent Sherman)

5/29/22

14 aprile … ricordiamo …

14 aprile … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2023: Garn Stephens, è stata un’attrice cinematografica, televisiva, teatrale e musicale americana e, in seguito, una sceneggiatrice. Era nota per i suoi ruoli nella serie televisiva Phyllis e nel film horror del 1982 Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Debuttò a Broadway nel 1971 nella pièce Father’s Day e nel 1973 ha cantato il ruolo di Jan nella produzione originale del musical Grease a New…

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Ellen Corby (June 3, 1911 – April 14, 1999)

Caged

“Pile out, you tramps. It’s the end of the line!”

“In this cage, you get tough, or you get killed.”

“Who’s the cute trick?”

“Kindly omit the flowers.”

“Keep it active. She’ll be back.”

Screenwriter Virginia Kellogg went behind bars to capture slang and elements of prison routine, and boy did it pay off. John Cromwell’s CAGED (1950, TCM, Plex) is a punchy good time, even when it’s hectoring the audience about the need for prison reform. It set many of the tropes of the women’s picture, but stands on its own perched on the dividng line between camp and high drama. It’s also unusual in that it got veiled lesbianism and references to drugs and prostitution past the Production Code. Eleanor Parker stars as the young innocent sent to prison because she was in the car while her husband got himself killed trying to rob a gas station. She’s thrown into a world of corruption, sadism, sexuale exploitation and terrific character women. A lot of the fun comes from watching the situation change her, and Parker gives a carefully modulated performance in which the young innocent is as interesting and believable as the woman she becomes. She’s not the whole show. You also get Ellen Corby as a crazed husband killer, Jan Sterling as a dumb blonde, Betty Garde (the original Aunt Eller) as the recruiter for a shop-lifting ring, Lee Patrick as a vice queen who could be the dictionary illustration for “lipstick lesbian,” Olive Deering as a suicidal inmate, Jane Darwell as matron of the isolation room, Gertrude W. Hoffmann as a lifer and Gertrude Michael as a fallen society woman. Best of all are Agnes Moorehead, who could ring nuance out of a laundry list, as the sympathetic warden and Hope Emerson as the sadistic matron who looks on Parker as a source of income and possibly something more. Cromwell was always a whiz at directing actors and melds the cast into a solid ensemble. He and cinematographer Carl E. Guthrie create some powerful visuals, but one of the most stunning effects uses sound. In her first night in the cell block, Allen has to adjust to sleeping in a room full of people as the soundtrack fills with coughs, yawns, and sobs that gradually overwhelm her and us.

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Bad movie I have Susan Slept Here 1954