Sam Goldwyn wanted the Edna Ferber book filmed, but according to Hawks, only the first half of the story was any good - the logging and the guy falling for the singer, the development of interesting characters. And then the second half didn't work so well. So he rewrote scenes for the second half and Goldwyn told him 'Directors don't write' which annoyed Hawks so much he quit and Wyler shot his scenes. It certainly does open like an archetypal Hawks film - tough guys doing a tough job, a strong male-male bond, the introduction of a tough woman character. That scene in which they destroy the bar with trays Hawks actually saw happen. He loved Frances Farmer and encouraged her to work in a diner for ten days to get the character right.
The earlier scenes with Arnold at home and his relationship with his family are also terrific.
Thanks Peter Bogdanovich for getting all this info. Hawks loved working with Gregg Toland (and therefore we deduce that Rudolph Maté shot the Wyler stuff). Richard Rossen directed the logging scenes, which are fascinating.
With Edward Arnold are Walter Brennan, Farmer, Joel McCrea, Mady Christians (the other Swedish lady), Mary Nash (Arnold's wife), Andrea Leeds (his daughter, Stage Door), Edwin Maxwell, Frank Shields, Cecil Cunningham, Charles Halton.
Screenplay by Jane Morfin and Jules Furthman. Music Alfred Newman.
 |
| Some interesting low angles here and there |
No comments:
Post a Comment