A TRUE SOUTHERN GOTHIC CLASSIC
MIRIAM HOPKINS PERFORMED THE STARRING ROLE ON LIVE STAGE, IN WHAT WAS THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF THIS MOVIE, BATTLE OF ANGELS IN 1941. THIS WAS THE FIRST PUBLICLY PRODUCED PLAY (IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS) BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS. THIS FIRST STAGE PRODUCTION DID NOT MEET WITH ANY SUCCESS, AND WAS PLAGUED WITH PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY THE FIRE SCENE AT THE END, THE THEATER ACTUALLY CAUGHT FIRE, AND THE AUDIENCE HAD TO FLEE FROM THE THEATER. LUCKILY, SUCH IS NOT THE CASE WITH MOVIES, AS THE SCENE CAN BE RESHOT IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS! THAT FIRST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE IN BOSTON MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE A SPECTACLE! THE PLAY WAS LATER RETITLED ORPHEUS DESCENDING FOR THE 1950'S REVIVAL OF THE PLAY, AND FINALLY GIVEN THE TITLE, THE FUGITIVE KIND, FOR COMMERCIAL REASONS WHEN THE FILM VERSION WAS RELEASED IN 1960.
MIRIAM HOPKINS WAS CONSIDERED BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS ONE OF THE FINEST ACTRESSES AMERICA EVER PRODUCED. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS WROTE THIS IN THE OFFICIAL OBITUARY THAT WAS RELEASED AT THE TIME OF MIRIAM HOPKINS DEATH IN THE EARLY 1970'S. SHE WAS A GOOD FRIEND OF MR. WILLIAMS, AND WELCOMED THE CHANCE TO STAR IN HIS FIRST PRODUCED PLAY. THIS EARLY WORK OF MR. WILLIAMS, LED TO HIS LATER FAME WITH THE GLASS MENAGERIE AND A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE TO ONLY NAME A FEW. LATER, IN 1959 WHEN THE PLAY WAS MADE INTO A MOVIE AND RELEASED IN 1960, ANNA MAGNANI MET THE CHALLANGE EQUALLY WELL, AS HAD BEEN THE CASE WITH MIRIAM HOPKINS IN THE ORIGINAL STAGE VERSION 19 YEARS EARLIER.
THE STORY IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING EVER WRITTEN BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, BUT UNFORTUNATELY ONE OF THE LEAST KNOWN TO THE MOVIE GOING PUBLIC. THE STORY DEALS WITH LONELINESS AND FEELING SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD AROUND US. ODDLY, THIS IS THE ONLY PLAY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS ACTUALLY DEALS WITH GOTHIC SOUTHERN RACISM IN ANY OF HIS WORKS. IF YOU LIKE THE WORKS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, WHO WAS REFERRED TO AS THE POET OF THE EMOTIONS, AND HAVE NOT SEEN THIS FILM, YOU WILL INDEED EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF HIS GENRE AND THE GOTHIC SOUTHERN STYLE OF WRITING.
REVIEWERS OF THIS FILM ALWAYS MENTION THE MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCES OF BRANDO, MAGNANI, JOANNE WOODWARD AND MAUREEN STAPLETON, AND ARE CORRECT IN DOING SO, BUT THE ROLE PLAYED BY VICTOR JORY AS THE AILING HUSBAND OF MAGNANI WILL LONG REMAIN IN YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS, POSSIBLY MORE SO THAN THE PRINCIPLE PLAYERS. THE NATURE OF EVIL THAT CAN DWELL IN THE HUMAN PSYCHE, HAS RARELY BEEN PERFORMED SO CONVINCINGLY AS VICTOR JORY'S PERFORMANCE IN THIS FILM.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED VIEWING FOR THOSE WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE THE HARSHER REALITIES OF LIFE. THIS DVD IS A VERY CLEAR PRINT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY LACKS ANY COMMENTARY, TRAILERS OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. A SHAME, AS MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED ON THIS FILM WERE ALIVE PRIOR TO THE DVD RELEASE, INCLUDING DIRECTOR SIDNEY LUMET, WHO DIED JUST RECENTLY. HOPEFULLY SOME FOOTAGE EXISTS FROM ANY NUMBER OF PEOPLE REGARDING THE MAKING OF THIS FILM, AND CAN BE ATTACHED TO POSSIBLE FUTURE RELEASES OF THIS MOVIE IN A MORE COMPREHENSIVE DVD RELEASE. A TRUE SOUTHERN GOTHIC CLASSIC THAT CAN ONLY COME FROM THE PEN OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS.Read full review
