TFM 364- Final

The Career of Orson Welles

"Boy genius" • Directed innovative plays • Famous radio adaptation of "War of the Worlds" • Signed by RKO at the age of 23 -Welles has total control except for story approval and budget cap • Makes Citizen Kane at the age of 25

The Theme Song

"Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling" -prominent within the film -major way of promoting the film

Film noir =

"black film" or "dark film"

Nuances to the General Structure of the Western

*Town* *Hero*

Key Themes/Ideas in Rebel Without a Cause

*not feeling nurtured* by parents • Looking to provide nurture to others • Formation of *surrogate family* • *Inability to find consistent values* that produce positive results • Teenage problems are many; *solutions are non-existent* (or at least unclear)

Innovative and influential due to

- Flashback structure - Deep-focus cinematography

Four major pulp/crime writers in 1920s and 1930s:

-Dashiell Hammett, -Raymond Chandler, - James M. Cain, -Cornell Woolrich

Reflection of problems of living in the modern world

-Double Indemnity critiques urban world where a person is a number rather than an individual

Rule Breaking in The Lady from Shanghai

-Nature of the voice-over; possibility of a flashback • Depiction of the star, Rita Hayworth • Courtroom scene mockery

Double Indemnity:

-adaptation of 1936 novel of same name by Cain - Screenplay co-written by Chandler and Billy Wilder

Recurring characters

-femme fatale an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who will ultimately bring disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.

Reflection of post-World War II U.S. life

-femme fatale reflects fear of post-war female power -and sense of male inadequacy

Narrative structure

-flashbacks and voice-overs

Proponent of Method acting

-focus on the actor experiencing the character's emotions

Key moods and themes

-hopelessness and despair -fatalism: fate is more important than individual action

Visual style

-nighttime scenes -scenes that appear dim -low-key lighting

The Complexity of High Noon • Will Kane

-straddles civilization-savagery line -status as a vigilante

Reasons for decline (3)

-television -nation's shift from passive to active entertainment -expansion of the suburbs

Subject matter

-unhealthy fixation on crime and erotic desires

Definition of the Western Setting:

-usually post-Civil War to 1890 -usually the American Southwest

Teenagers attending movies because

-young folks now had disposable income -teenagers wanted nights away from their families

Suggestions about guilt in Strangers on a Train

1. Evil thoughts are something that everyone has 2. Ordered, "respectable" life depends on the repression and denial of evil urges. 3. We, as audience members, are positioned to share a sense of guilt through the... -portrayal of Miriam -retrieval of cigarette lighter from storm drain

In 1951, Strangers on a Train was viewed as a...

1. Fun story about a man (Guy) who must deal with a lunatic (Bruno). 2. Technically proficient film, especially through the use of parallel editing to build suspense

4 Hitchcock filmmaking characteristics

1. Presents a world of normality where evil lurks below the surface 2. Belief in the fundamental badness/guilt of individuals 3. Scenes driven by character perception/psychology 4. Use of expressive objects

Hitchcock's keys to creative power during the studio era

1. Serving as his own producer 2. Becoming a brand name (the "Master of Suspense")

Dates of the classic film noir phase:

1941 to mid 1950s

2 key parallels between Guy and Bruno

2 key parallels between Guy and Bruno 1. Both are uncertain of their identities 2. Bruno as the embodiment of Guy's evil, repressed desires -marrying senator's daughter for advancement -desire to kill Miriam

"Light woman" - Amy

Amy. blonde white innocent

Rise of Films about Young People

Due to fact that most moviegoers from 1950s onward were young (16-24 years old)

"Dark woman"

Helen. Owns saloon. Implicates she was a prostitute. Intelligent. Mannered. Dark hair, darker clothes, dark skin. Embodies more of savagery

the town was already saved from savagery in the past. What happens when the town becomes civilized.

Is that people become cowards/soft and allow savagery to reenter the town.

Alfred Hitchcock

Not given much critical respect during most of his career • Begins to be respected thanks to Cahiers du Cinema critics and Andrew Sarris • Concept of the auteur

Use of "real time: in High Noon

Stresses how soon Frank Miller will arrive • Creates added urgency when Kane can't find help • Thus, "real time" creates suspense and sense of anguish

James Dean

The "first American teenager"

Western =

The U.S. Genre • Popularity/quantity of films made • Topic deals with fantasies of U.S. national identity

Citizen Kane (1941)

Thinly veiled portrait of William Randolph Hearst

frontier =

U.S. identity -frontier expansion causing major economic growth -extermination of Indians as "natural," Darwinian progress involving survival of the fittest

also..

Using space to match Michael's situation -Grisby asking to be killed on high cliffs -Aquarium -Crazy house and hall of mirrors

To make town civilized, you need

a hero with a gun. Ironically to become a civilized town you need someone with some savagery. Fight savage with savage.

Amy (light woman)

ambiguous reasons for helping Will

KAne and frank miller both

banged Helen

Jim wants a

better life but not sure of what

Characters constantly

checking the time Everyone looking at clock / aware Time is very important and emphasized

Looking to provide nurture to others-motif?

coat around shoulder

Jim doesn't feel that his

dad is strong, wants to be his pal not a father, too fem)

Kane slept with

dark woman (Helen Ramirez) suggests he has a dark savage time. Aggression.

When u walk out of film-

feeling of teenage confusion, angst, senseless cold world, no feeling, no meaning, essentially alone

Played throughout the whole film

influential because it promoted the movie. Song got record sales, radio play, music sheets. Starts the interest theme song An extra way to advertise your movie / make more money

Decline of Movie Attendance

late 1940s, through late 1960s • Massive: from 90 million per week in 1946 to 46 million per week in 1953

he message: there is

no clear solution... Characters who are confused and don't know what they want

Town

often divided between elements of civilization and savagery -ex.: "dark woman" versus "light woman" saloon vs. church

Amy realized her

pacifist behavior doesn't work on frontline. Shoots the guy to save Kane. Standing by her husband (ambiguous about her stance)

Color symbolism with

red white and blue to suggest american problems

Townspeople

represent the negative impact of being civilized people in saloon vs people in church. Connected and opposed to each other. Kane slept with

Civilization-

town, townspeople, women

Hero

who saves the town from savagery, either a) Falls into the "civilization" category, or b) Straddles the civilization/savagery line

Savagery-

wilderness, Indian, Outlaw

Widescreen Cinema

• Becomes widely used in 1953 • CinemaScope was the most widely used in 1950s • Occurred primarily as a response to television • Coincided with major increase in color films

Typical Western Elements in High Noon

• Outlaws • Church • Lawman "Light woman" - Amy • "Dark woman" - Helen • Townspeople -in saloon and church • Hero saves town • Hero defeats outlaws • Hero does leaves town at conclusion

The Five Major Studios in the 1930s and 1940s

• Paramount • MGM • Warner Bros. • Fox • RKO

Examples of Sophisticated Visual Storytelling in The Lady from Shanghai

• Staging: arrangement of characters in the frame and the coordination of their movements