NFR Project: 'Motion Painting No. 1' (1947)

 

NFR Project: “Motion Painting No. 1”

Created by Oskar Fischinger

Premiere: 1947

This is a difficult film to tackle, as no copy exists of it to watch and analyze – at least, not online.

Fischinger was a pioneering German animator, who began to create a series of color-filled abstract pictures synchronized to classical music excerpts. He was summoned to Hollywood in 1936, and continued to create his unique offerings . . . but eventually found little support for these activities. (He worked on Disney’s Fantasia [1940], but quit due to artistic differences.) Eventually, he turned to oil painting, giving up on filmmaking except for commercial projects.

Motion Painting No. 1 was his last great independent project. He created the film by applying oil paint to Plexiglass, carefully shooting frame by frame to create a breathtakingly beautiful concoction of swirling, darting images that pulsed with the musical soundtrack, here Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Fischinger’s obscure efforts would survive, and wound up influencing future generations of animators.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Out of the Past.

NFR Project: 'Miracle on 34th Street' (1947)

 

NFR Project: “Miracle on 34^th Street”

Dir: George Seaton

Scr: George Seaton, Valentine Davies

Pho: Lloyd Ahern Sr., Charles G. Clarke

Ed: Robert L. Simpson

Premiere: June 11, 1947

96 min.

It’s an enduring little fantasy picture, penned by one of Hollywood’s better screenwriters and lovingly crafted by one of its most dependable directors. It imagines what would happen if there really was a Satna Claus.

Valentine Davies was just starting out when he wrote this story, and it’s a winner. It’s Thanksgiving Day in New York City, and the Macy’s parade is about to start. The man playing Santa for the end of the parade is drunk. Macy’s employee Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) desperately needs someone to replace him. A jolly old stranger (Edmund Gwenn) shows up and fits the bill perfectly. Doris hires him to be Macy’s Santa in the mammoth department store.

Unfortunately this “Kris Kringle” asserts that is he really is Santa Claus. This perturbs Doris, as well as her child Susan (Natalie Wood), who has been brought up not to indulge in make-believe. Kris wins them over, even as he gets Macy’s to refer customers to other stores for presents if they don’t have what they’re looking for. It is only when Kris assaults a very un-Christmasy store psychologist that he is committed as a loony.

Lawyer Fred Gailey (John Payne) is sweet on Doris and Susan, and he decides to let Kris go to trial to prove that he is Santa Claus and that therefore he cannot be committed. Despite lots of testimony, the judge demands that an authority certify that he is the real thing.

That night, the post office sends all the letters to Santa to the courthouse. The next day, Fred has mailmen deliver sacks and sacks of mail to the judge’s desk. The judge interprets that this means that the federal government recognizes Kris as Santa Claus and sets him free. Doris and Fred get together; with Susan they find a house for sale that’s curiously close to Susan’s seemingly impossible wish for Christmas. The find Kris’ case tucked behind the front door.

The perfect little story chugs along, playing out all its premises with cheerful efficiency. Kris convinces Susan to take up make-believe and have a more childlike attitude toward life. Fred falls in love with Doris, and saves Kris. Doris finally breaks down and believe es in Kris as well. By film’s end, it’s obvious that Doris, Fred, and Susan will be creating a new family together.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Motion Painting No. 1.

NFR Project: 'Gentleman's Agreement' (1947)

 

NFR Project: “Gentleman’s Agreement”

Dir: Elia Kazan

Scr: Moss Hart, Elia Kazan

Pho: Arthur C. Miller

Ed: Harmon Jones

Premiere: Nov. 11, 1947

118 min.

In the wake of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism was suddenly in the spotlight. Western civilization was appalled by the destruction of millions of Jewish lives in World War II – but it turns out that prejudice against Jews was still broad and pervasive, even in highly educated and affluent parts of society.

Such is the premise of Gentleman’s Agreement, a message film that wound up unexpectedly popular, and won the Oscar for Best Picture to boot. In it, Gregory Peck plays Phil Green, a writer for a New York magazine who comes up with an angle for a series of articles about anti-Semitism. He is to claim that he is Jewish – and he records the reactions of those around him to this news.

Green is a widower with a young son (Dean Stockwell), who lives with him and his mother (Anne Revere). He falls for a teacher, Kathy (Dorothy McGuire), but their upcoming wedding is derailed by the revelation that she is prejudiced as well. It turns out that even in high society, Jews are not welcome. Neighbors shun him, clubs ignore him, hotels refuse to serve him. His son is bullied by other kids, called a “kike.” Phil’s friend, returning veteran Dave Goldman (John Garfield), long accustomed to such treatment, commiserates with him over the state of affairs – and fights his own battle to find a house and get a job despite his Jewishness.

Moss Hart’s dialogue is pungent and to the point, and the film is studded with excellent performances, under the command of director Elia Kazan. Kazan won Best Director for his work here; Celeste Holm won Best Supporting Actress for her sensitive portrayal of Green’s supportive fellow worker.

The movie ends happily for all the characters involved, but it created terrible problems for some of its participants. After this film, Kazan, Revere, and Garfield were summoned to testify by the House Un-American Activities Committee, accused of being Communists. Kazan testified against his fellow filmmakers, earning the scorn of many for decades. Revere and Garfield refused to name names, and were blacklisted. The prejudice was still strong.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: Miracle on 34^th Street.