4/11/23
Newsletter #304
The Crack of Dawn
One of the ten films nominated for Best Picture in 1939 (considered by many to be the best year for movies), and probably the lowest-budget, and only independent Released through United Artists), was Of Mice and Men, based on John Steinbeck’s novel. Starring a very young Burgress Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr., directed by Lewis Milestone, with a score by Aaron Copeland, but interestingly, produced by the renowned comedy producer, Hal Roach.
Hal Roach Studios (called “The lot of fun”) makers of such popular fare as the Laurel & Hardy films and the Little Rascals (known then as Our Gang), went broke in the stock market crash of 1929. But Hal Roach wouldn’t be stopped, and just kept making movies. He licensed out Laurel & Hardy and the Little Rascals. In 1939 Roach made his big comeback with two hit films: Of Mice and Men and One Million, BC (starring Victor Mature in his first lead role).
Nevertheless, Hal Roach did not prosper as an independent producer of serious films. The advent of WWII didn’t help, either. By 1949, at the age of sixty, everyone considered Roach washed up. But he still wasn’t done making movies. So, he tried to repeat his success from a decade earlier with Of Mice and Men. He purchased the film rights to John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony, then once again hired Lewis Milestone to direct and Aaron Copeland to compose the score. For the leading part of the young ranch-hand he hired the hot up-and-comer, Robert Mitchum, then rounded out the cast with Old Hollywood pros like the great Myrna Loy as the mother of the seven-year-old boy, who is really the lead.
Lewis Milestone took a strange approach to the style of the film. It’s extremely set-bound, has a very theatrical feeling, and bright color. At one point we hear an owl hooting, then cut to a close-up of an obviously fake owl mechanically turning its head. Aaron Copeland’s score is brilliant and huge (I listen to it all the time), but inappropriate for such a small story.
In the story one of the family’s horses is giving birth. It’s a difficult delivery and looks like it will last all night. The little boy desperately wants to watch, but Mitchum isn’t sure it’s a good idea, so he asks the boy’s mother if it’s OK. Myrna Loy (whom I love) listens to the situation, then says (and this is why I thought of this, and I must paraphrase), “Sooner or later everybody hears everything, and sees everything, so you may as well just get on it.” And the boy watches the miraculous birth of the red pony.
I bring this up in regard to today’s issue of trying to keep information from kids. No matter what you do, or how many books you ban, sooner or later everybody hears everything, and sees everything, so you may as well just let them get on it.
Sadly for Hal Roach, The Red Pony was a critical and box-office disappointment. He hadn’t been able to repeat his past triumph and his film career ended.
I saw Hal Roach on the David Letterman Show about twenty years ago and he was over ninety. Letterman asked him why he put Laurel and Hardy together. Roach said, “One of them was fat, the other was skinny, I thought it would be funny.”
I’m on a plane winging my way back to Detroit from Barcelona. Barcelona is the most wonderful city I’ve ever seen.
Have a nice day.