How do you create a Christmas film that is sentimental, without dripping it in eggnog? Especially when you’ve agreed to make it a romance between a shoplifter and her prosecutor, and set it in *gulp* Indiana, which is peppered with cornpone clichés in every cinematic portrayal? Miraculously, Remember the Night (1940) not only steers through these dangers, but manages to be fresh, original, funny, even moving, thanks to four very wise decisions:
1. Trusting Screenwriter Preston Sturges
Tone is a tricky thing, and Sturges was a master at it. He knew how long he could get away with sentiment, when to cut it with humor.
He developed complex leads. John, the hero (Fred MacMurray), is introduced to us as a wised-up NYC DA. He comes across as jaded and unfeeling in his treatment of the repeat shoplifter (Barbara Stanwyck). Yet we can’t help but laugh at his humorous take on the defense attorney’s silly ruses to win the trial, and admire his own tricks to postpone it. His decision to later assist Lee reveals a soft side Sturges further develops when the character is home with his relatives.
The shoplifter, Lee, is played by Stanwyck. I know I don’t really need to say anything else (see below), but during the trial, expressions–hope, disillusionment, amusement, anger–move quickly over her face, revealing that her hard life hasn’t completely hardened her. When John, feeling guilty about her jail time over the holidays, springs her until the second trial, she (thanks to the dirty mind of his bondsman) ends up at his apartment. At first, she assumes the worst. But when she discovers the mistake, she starts to enjoy John’s company, and the two end up traveling home to Indiana for Christmas–he, to see his beloved family; she, to visit the mother she hasn’t seen since she ran away.
In other hands, the plot wouldn’t have worked; I wouldn’t have even watched it had someone else written it. I am tired of portrayals of my home state, which is typically drawn as either the embodiment of (a) homespun happiness or (b) hickville. But Sturges avoids the trap by giving us a variety of Hoosiers. Stanwyck and MacMurray are both streetwise, smart, and sophisticated. While John’s mother and aunt initially appear to be simple souls, neither is a stereotype. Sturges gives each insight, making the scenes with them far more complex than they initially appear, and allowing us to enjoy the sentimentality of a homey xmas when it comes. Similarly, the scene with Lee’s cold mother, which could have played as far too maudlin, is beautifully understated and short.
True, Sturges does have some missteps. He makes the servant/helper Willie a rube (Sterling Holloway). He’s even an aspiring yodeler. Seriously? I decided that Willie was OK because he canceled out John’s simpleminded African American butler in New York, Rufus (Fred Toones, one of Sturges’ stock players). (I’ll take cinematic classism over racism any day.)
As the director, Mitchell Leisen doesn’t get enough credit for the film’s quality (nor did he get enough credit for Easy Living or Midnight). I’m particularly impressed with his choices of which look to linger upon, which face to highlight, in which moment. But more importantly, the story’s pacing–one of its chief charms–is due to Leisen choosing to cut some of Sturges’ script, according to Ella Smith. Given that there’s a breeziness to many of Leisen’s comedies, it’s hard to argue pacing is all to his writers’ credit. Surely, too, it should be seen as an asset when a director trusts his writers, as Leisen surely did. According to Smith, he even agreed to keep the title, despite having no idea what it meant.
2. Selecting Talented Actresses as the Resident Hoosiers
Character actresses Beulah Bondi (John’s mom) and Elizabeth Patterson (his aunt) would win acclaim for The Waltons and I Love Lucy, respectively, later in their careers; it’s not hard to understand why. The two, familiar faces in a number of 30s and 40s hits, mesh so beautifully it’s hard to believe they aren’t really sisters. Watch Patterson’s reaction when she shares a dress from her past with Lee, or Bondi’s worry as she watches her son’s increasing attraction to the shoplifter he’s prosecuting.
3. Casting an Understated Actor as the Hero
MacMurray is good in everything. He and Stanwyck would, of course, pair up again for the landmark noir, Double Indemnity. But this is the performance that won me over. Watch the scene when he meets Lee’s mom, how gracefully, subtly he handles it. The brevity and tone of the scene, of course, help, but another actor would surely have overplayed his reactions. Instead, MacMurray’s smooth, simple words, with just a twinge of emphasis, say just what needs to be said: this mother is a monster, and Lee’s criminality is no longer mysterious. (Spielberg would have launched a huge, weepy score; thank you, Leisen, for not doing so.)
4. Choosing Stanwyck as the Star
The soul of the story is Stanwyck’s. She has to sell the moral quandary: Will she give in to romance with John, knowing it will kill his career? We have to care about her, about her struggle. We have to root both for the couple’s happiness AND for morality winning the day. We have to sympathize as John’s occasional denseness hurts her feelings, and laugh at her quick bursts of anger when it does. We have to even let some realism in (how’s that for a rom-com shock?): acknowledge that love does not, in fact, conquer all; in fact, sometimes it’s very much in the way (at least temporarily). It’s quite a balancing act Stanwyck must play; if she gives him up, the movie could become soapy very easily. If she doesn’t, how could her performance come across as real; how could we continue to root for her? Other actresses might have missed the target, but not this one. Sentiment, comedy–the woman did it all, beautifully, and as naturally as any performer I’ve ever seen. Because of her, you will love the film, December 25th or July 2nd.
At the Golden Globes the other night, Tom Hanks mentioned Stanwyck’s name in his fantastic presentation of the Cecil B. DeMille Award. He explained that the winner, Denzel Washington, was one of an elite group of great actors who “demand” our attention, who can’t be duplicated. “The history of film,” he said, “includes a record of actors who accrue a grand status through a body of work where every role, every choice is worthy of our study. You cannot copy them. You can, at best, sort of emulate them….Now it’s odd how many of these immortals of the silver screen, of the firmament, need only one name to conjure the gestalt of their great artistry. In women, it’s names like Garbo, Hepburn, Stanwyck, Loren.”
The speech, of course, justified watching the rest of the show. I’m not always a fan of Hanks’ work (he’s far better in comedy than drama), but his wisdom is evident. So was Sturges’; in his third turn as a writer-director, his first with a female lead, he would cast Stanwyck as his Eve and make movie history. The Lady Eve so impressed us all that this quieter, earlier effort has been forgotten. It shouldn’t be.
This post is part of the Barbara Stanwyck blogathon, hosted by Crystal at In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood. Check out the fabulous entries on my favorite star at her site.
policomic
I love this movie. The Fred Toones character makes me cringe, too, but everything else about it is wonderful. And you’re right about MacMurray.
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? I hadn’t seen it for years, and was so glad I watched it again. MacMurray’s performance is impressive.
Cindy Bruchman
Great job, Leah. Thanks for reminding me I need this duo pairing again in this film. I agree about globe night. I loved that speech by Hanks and his respect for Barbara.
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
Thank you! Oh, they’re wonderful together. It’s so worth watching again:)
christinawehner
This is one of those movies that I seem to love the more I see…and to appreciate more. You make a great point about Fred MacMurray. He’s another actor I admire the more I see him!
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
You’re right. I didn’t appreciate some of the comedy of it the first time around. And now I really do:)
Lê
I made my mom watch this movie with me, but she only laughed harder at the cross-eyed grandpa. On the other hand, I really liked the yodeler servant – we don’t see many of them nowadays, do we?
And it is a beautiful story – one that teaches us that love means sacrifice, and a lot of surprises along the way.
Don’t forget to read my contribution to the blogathon! 🙂
Kisses!
Le
http://www.criticaretro.blogspot.com
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
Thanks, Le! I always look forward to yours:) That IS true. Perhaps we all could use more yodeling. It is a very joyful hobby:)
Michaela
Thank you for pointing out the terrible portrayals of Indiana. I watched June Bride with my mom once, a comedy with Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery visiting Indiana, and my mom was so annoyed at the amount of times they said “Hoosiers.” We’re not all backwards folk, and Remember the Night thankfully doesn’t give in to that idea. This is a movie I need to watch again — I enjoyed it the first time, but your post has pointed out things I missed or didn’t fully appreciate. Very, very nice job.
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
Michaela, Thank you! I knew I wasn’t alone in being annoyed! It’s not just movies either; TV’s offenses are often worse. Yes, definitely watch it again. Leah
girlsdofilm
This film has just the right amount of sentimentality, and I agree that was probably mostly due to Sturges. Obviously Stanwyck gives a wonderful performance, but it’s always MacMurray I look out for – he might not have been the obvious choice, but he was the right one!
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
I think you’re right. In some ways, the film asked for more of him–at least more subtlety. He’s so good in it.
Patricia Nolan-Hall (@CaftanWoman)
John’s family life is charmingly portrayed and appears idyllic to Lee especially when compared to what she has known. However, the characters of the mother and aunt don’t have it perfect and that’s okay – they live wonderful lives on their own terms and create something beautiful through their strength. At the end of the movie, Lee is about to do the same thing.
Or as I once said to someone years ago – same thing, every December, I have a glass of red wine, watch “Remember the Night” and have a good cry.
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
Beautifully put. It’s such a moving story. How to make the best of imperfect situations–unusual, for a romance, isn’t it? What a fitting tradition.
Judy
I really like this film – MacMurray took a while to grow on me, but has definitely done so now, and he makes a great combination with Stanwyck in this. Interesting comment about the portrayal of Indiana – as a Brit, I’ve never really noticed stereotyping of particular states in American films, but will watch out for this in future.
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
They are very good together. Yes, Hollywood likes to stereotype Southern and Midwestern states in particular, and when covering the former makes comic mistakes in terms of accents (my favorite Anthony Lane comment about Ben Affleck in Pearl Harbor: “his accent takes a patriotic tour of several states.”) I’m sure you’ve noticed the same kinds of ridiculous accent mistakes in Hollywood films about Brits:)
cottagecaretakersyahoocom
Dear Leah,
Greetings from the Pure Entertainment Preservation Society! This is a fine article about a truly wonderful movie. Mr. Sturges did indeed do a brilliant job in this film, as did everyone else involved with it, including the director, the actors, the editors, and the self-regulators!
I, Rebekah Brannan, have not participated much in the blog world in the past, but I intend to become more involved now.
I would like very much for you to participate in my upcoming blogathon, The Singing Sweethearts Blogathon, which will be my first real participation in PEPS. This blogathon, which will be hosted around Valentine’s Day, is celebrating the famous singing team Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
You can read the rules of the blogathon at: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/ring-the-assembly-bell-here-comes-the-singing-sweethearts-blogathon/. If you want to join, please comment and tell me your topic, if you have chosen one. I hope you’ll join me in honoring this brilliant team and the holiday of love!
Joyfully,
Rebekah Brannan
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
Thanks, Rebekah! That’s great you’re hosting such a fun blogathon. I’ll let you know soon if I can. Feb can be tough.
cottagecaretakersyahoocom
Dear Leah,
Thank you for your kind reply. If you’re too busy to participate, I understand completely. if you can’t join us this time, I hope you can share your talents with us in our next blogathon!
Thanks again!
Joyfully,
Rebekah Brannan
Principe Raphael
This surpasses CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT in every way and has become a holiday favorite of mine. Love Barbara in anything.
leah@carygrantwonteatyou.com
Absolutely agree. Better male lead. Funnier and more poignant. It does miss out on losing Cuddles though! She’s my favorite. She’s perfect in everything.