Editing King Vidor (section)

===Warner Brothers: 1949–1951===

Vidor's three films for Warner Brothers studios—''[[The Fountainhead]]'' (1949), ''[[Beyond the Forest]]'' (1949) and ''[[Lightning Strikes Twice (1951 film)|Lightning Strikes Twice]]'' (1951)—were crafted to reconcile the excessive and amoral violence displayed in his ''[[Duel in the Sun (film)|Duel in the Sun]]'' (1946) with a constructive presentation of American individualism that comported with his Christian Science precepts of morality.<ref>Higham, 1972: "The Fountainhead" and "Beyond the Forest" with "Ruby Gentry," in which Jennifer Jones played a ferocious "free woman," became a trilogy.</ref><ref>Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 255-256: Vidor wished to reclaim the "lost faith" that "America (and Hollywood) in the transcendent energy that had brought his heroes moral success..."The Fountainhead, Beyond the Forest and...Lightning Strikes Twice can each be seen as responses to Duel in the Sun...to show some constructive resolution...[and] despite some extremely violent sequences [Vidor] maintained his lifelong sympathy for Christian Science." And: "In general, Vidor's films are less concerned with right and wrong than with the harmony of soul and action...resilience is a better protection than strict justice, whose meticulous observance would destroy energy in everybody."</ref>

'''''[[The Fountainhead (film)|The Fountainhead]]''''' (1949): Unhappy with the screen adaptation offered by Warner Brothers for [[Ayn Rand]]'s 1938 novel ''[[The Fountainhead]]'', Vidor asked the author to write the script. Rand accepted but inserted a caveat into her contract requiring that she authorize any deviation from the book's story or dialogue. Vidor accepted the provision.<ref>Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 267: "Vidor was under contractual constraint to follow the book."</ref>

Rand's political philosophy of [[Objectivism]] is distilled through the character of architect Howard Roark (Gary Cooper), who adopts an uncompromising stance on the physical integrity of his proposed designs. When one of his architectural projects is compromised, he destroys the building with dynamite. At his trial, Roark offers a principled and forthright defense for his act of sabotage and is exonerated by the jury. Though Vidor was committed to developing his own populist notion of American individualism, Rand's didactic Objectivist scenario and script informs much of the film. The Roark character is loosely based on the architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], both in the novel and Vidor's film version.<ref>Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 262: The Fountainhead is a "uniquely right-wing contribution" to the films of this period.<br />Stafford, TMC: "The Fountainhead, despite its shortcomings as a film adaptation of the book, remains a fascinating curiosity in the history of American film. Its righteous view of capitalism and morality place it firmly in the pantheon of right-wing conservative cinema And: "Ayn Rand's best-selling novel, The Fountainhead, which espoused her philosophy of Objectivism, a belief in the integrity of the individual and a general contempt for the mediocre standards accepted by the masses. And "The film version, based on Ayn Rand's screenplay of her novel, preserves her didactic dialogue while placing the main characters, essentially symbolic stand-ins for opposing ideologies."<br />Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 259: "Rand's own screen adaption was not merely explicit, but quite didactic."<br />Shaw, 2013. "[M]ost mainstream Hollywood films that deal with politics have delivered a populist message. Not so with the film version of Ayn Rand's hit novel The Fountainhead, which is a paean to radical individualism. Few films have ever so explicitly expressed a political ideology."<br />Thomson, 2007: "A conventional script was written, but when it proved unsatisfactory, Rand took up the task for free – as long as no one messed with her dialogue."<br />Callahan, 2007: "It's filmed like a silent movie, and as Rand's ludicrous dialogue keeps coming at you at an unmodulated volume, you start to wish that it was...the whole thing is a silly stacked deck filled with crude, vague ideas, and it cannot be said that Vidor entirely overcomes the problems of the source material."<br />Shaw, 2013: "Rand ensured that this one would do so by negotiating an unprecedented clause in her screenplay contract that mirrored the demands of her protagonist, Howard Roark: she was guaranteed it would be filmed as she wrote it."<br />Higham, 1972: "Vidor's earlier movies had tended to emphasize the virtues of the common man. But gradually he came to believe that the individualist was the most important of beings, that a man must ignore received opinion and hold ruthlessly to what he believes."<br />Baxter, 1976 p. 72: Frank Lloyd Wright<br />Shaw, 2013: "Rand was convinced that the New Deal had undermined the unique nature of American democracy, and The Fountainhead was an attempt to restore it to its former glory."</ref><ref>Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 258: "...the novel's rage seems directed at the New Deal..."</ref>

Vidor's most outstanding cinematic innovation in ''The Fountainhead'' is his highly stylized images of the [[Manhattan]] high-rise interiors and skylines. The urban landscapes, created by Art Director [[Edward Carrere]] were strongly influenced by [[German Expressionism]] and contribute to the film's compelling ''film noir'' character. The eroticism inherent in the sets resonate with the on-screen sexual tension, augmented by the off-screen affair between Cooper and [[Patricia Neal]], who plays the architect's ally-adversary Dominique Francon.
<ref>Stafford, TMC: The Fountainhead's "large, artificial sets designed by [[Edward Carrere]] who was heavily influenced by [[German Expressionism]]."<br />Simmons, 1988: "Vidor pulled out all the stops for his stylized adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, the doggedly epic apotheosis of her theories of socially beneficial selfishness."<br />Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 259: "The Fountainhead forges a new language, borrowing ''film noir''{{'}}s angles and darkness, its paranoia, its focus on a beleaguered or tormented individual."<br />Baxter, 1976 p. 72: "In The Fountainhead...New York Skyscrapers are the real focus, rather than the character of Howard Roark (Gary Cooper), the uncompromising architect who destroys his work rather see its purity impaired." And p. 71: "...the central impression of The Fountainhead is one of stylization..." And p.73: "The Fountainhead's most remarkable quality is the stylization at which Vidor so accurately aimed."<br />Callahan, 2007: The Fountainhead's "enormous, arid set design, its obsession with an individual's rights and its erotic suggestiveness, The Fountainhead is a film that exemplifies Vidor's 'mind over matter'outlook perfectly."<br />Gustafsson 2016: "''The Fountainhead''", which is all décor and design and has a graphic look that sometimes makes it feel like a painting by [[Kazimir Malevich]]."<br />Thomson, 2007: "Vidor could see that she and Cooper were falling madly in love and was able to capture their chemistry on screen."<br />Callahan, 2007: "The two actors [Cooper and Neal] fell in love during the shooting, which comes across on screen."<br />Baxter, 1976 p. 72-73: On Cooper and Neal affair, influence on film.<br />Simmons, 1988: "What propels the film is Vidor's rapid staging and Robert Burks' noir cinematography...Visually at least, it's easy to glimpse expressionist echoes of the director of [[The Crowd (1928 film)|The Crowd]]. For all The Fountainhead's thoroughly deranged sexual politics, it refreshingly avoids Hollywood timidity. It's an oddball movie, no doubt, but with the strength of its convictions: the triumph of "the supreme egoist."</ref>

''The Fountainhead'' enjoyed profitable box-office returns but a poor critical reception. Satisfied with his experience at Warner's, Vidor signed a two-film contract with the studio. In his second picture he would direct Warner's most prestigious star [[Bette Davis]] in [[Beyond the Forest]] (1949).<ref>Thomson, 2007: "The movie was released in June 1949, and it was another hit for Vidor, but it was not reviewed kindly."</ref><ref>Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 236: "The relatively happy production experience led him to sign a two picture contract with Warners." And: Beyond the Forest "came with a star set..."</ref>

'''''Beyond the Forest (1949)''''': A lurid ''noir'' melodrama that tracks the descent of a petty-bourgeois [[Madame Bovary]]-like character, Rosa Moline (Bette Davis) into marital infidelity, murder and a sordid death, the picture has earned a reputation as a "[[Camp (style)|Camp]]" classic. The film is often cited for providing the phrase "What a dump!", appropriated by playwright [[Edward Albee]] in his 1962 ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]'' and its 1966 ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)|screen]]'' adaptation.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 271 And p. 308: Durgnat considers Beyond the Forest and Flaubert's Madame Bovary "approximate pairs" in theme.<br />Melville, 2013: "hailed by Bad Movie Aficionados as "arguably the definitive high camp" picture. And: "...mimicked to death by three generations of drag queens – has reduced a complex and fascinating film to the status of a camp joke." <br />Greven, 2011: "King Vidor's 1949 film Beyond the Forest is, for many, a film chiefly notable for having provided the inspiration for a famous moment in Edward Albee's 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. " And "...the film's aesthetic, feminist, and queer worth [contradict] conventional dismissals of it, dismissals that...are the core logic within its designation as a Camp classic."<br />Levy, 2005: "'What a dump' she exclaims...making this line immortal as high camp."<br />Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 269-270: Edward Albee use of "What a Dump! And p. 278: "...the film touches on film noir expressionism..."</ref>

Despising the role assigned her by producer [[Jack L. Warner|Jack Warner]] and feuding with director Vidor over her character's portrayal, Davis delivers a startling performance and one of the best of her mid-career. The role of Rosa Molina would be her last film with Warner Brothers after seventeen years with the studio.<ref>Thomson, 2007: "Vidor and the actress did not get on well, but the lyrical melodrama and mix of ugliness and passion in Davis' character, a Midwest Emma Bovary, is more impressive than the film's reputation suggests."<br />Callahan, 2007: "...certainly the best-directed Bette Davis movie and still in need of extensive retrospective rehabilitation." <br />Hampton, 2013: "She never gave a shriller, more unmodulated performance, though maybe that's the wrong word: hating the role with every fiber of her being, her performance feels more like an act of resistance than a piece of acting."<br />Melville, 2013: "Given the tensions between the star and her role, it makes sense that Vidor should focus the film on Rosa's own problematic self-image. Throughout his career, Vidor showed a fondness for "wild" women, who might give themselves sexually or emotionally – but would never submit to a male-dominated society, or play the game by male rules."<br />Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 236: "...the film was her last with the studio, for whom she had worked for seventeen years..."</ref>

Vidor's characterization of Davis as the unsophisticated [[Gorgon]]-like Rosa (the film was titled ''La Garce'', ''[The Bitch]'', in French releases) were widely rejected by her fans and contemporary film critics and reviews "were the worst of Vidor's career." 
<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 278: "worst" of his career.<br />Levy, 2005: "She is presented as an enigma, a mystery that needs to be resolved. Rosa not only acts callous, she also looks mean. Wearing a wig of long black hair, Bette Davis is heavily made up, looking like a grotesque caricature."<br />Callahan, 2007: "Beyond the Forest (1949) is certainly the most unheralded of Vidor's major films, mainly because everyone involved with it, especially its vitriolic star, Bette Davis, kept badmouthing it for years."<br />Greven, 2011: "A scandalous box-office and critical failure,"<br />Hampton, 2013: "In France, the film appeared under the title La Garce (The Bitch)."</ref>

Vidor and [[Max Steiner]] inserted a leitmotif into those sequences where Rosa obsessively longs for escape from the dull, rural Loyalton to the cosmopolitan and sophisticated Chicago. The "[[Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)|Chicago]]" theme surfaces (a tune made famous by [[Judy Garland]]) in an ironic style reminiscent of film composer [[Bernard Herrmann]]. Steiner earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Score.<ref>Levy 2005: "Beyond the Forest contrasts Loyalton with Chicago. Whenever Rosa goes to–or thinks of–Chicago, the soundtrack plays a nightmarish version of "Chicago, Chicago" (which Judy Garland made popular). ...Max Steiner's melodramatic score was nominated for an Oscar". And "...Rosa is obsessive about moving to Chicago."<br />Arroyo, 2016: " [Rosa] desperate to get out of that one-horse town and into the nearest big city – Chicago – for the sophistication and excitement she craves."<br />Durgnat and Simmons, 1988: p. 273: "...nightmarish [[Bernard Herrmann]] style..."<br />Levy, 2005: Film score nomination for Steiner.</ref>

'''''Lightning Strikes Twice (1951)''''': His final picture for Warner Brothers, Vidor attempted to create a ''film noir'' tale of a deadly love triangle starring [[Richard Todd]], [[Ruth Roman]] and [[Mercedes McCambridge]], a cast that did not suit Vidor.  A standard Warner's melodrama, Vidor declared that the picture "turned out terribly" and is largely unrepresentative of his work except in its western setting and its examination of sexual strife, the theme of the film.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 279: Vidor's "fullest attempt at ''film noir'' 'turned out terribly' owing in part to casting problems..." See notes on quote with Higham in a 1969 interview with Vidor And: Vidor's "common success in exploring sexual tension…" And p. 280: "...sexual tensions...turn into the film's theme…"<br />Baxter, 1976 p. 76-77: "...hardly recognizable as a Vidor film except in its desert setting and its bizarre central situation...[resembling] traditional Warner's melodramas…"</ref> Vidor's next project was proposed by producer Joseph Bernhard after pre-production and casting were nearly complete: ''[[Japanese War Bride]]'' (1952).<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 281</ref>

====''Japanese War Bride'' (1952): Twentieth Century Fox====

The topic of the film, white racial prejudice in post-WWII America, had been addressed in a number of Hollywood films of the period, including directors [[Joseph Losey]]'s ''[[The Lawless]]'' (1950) and [[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]]'s ''[[Home of the Brave (1949 film)|Home of the Brave]]'' (1949).<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 281: See other film titles offered here in that period.</ref>

The story by co-producer Anson Bond concerns wounded [[Korean War]] veteran Jim Sterling (Don Taylor), who returns with his bride, Japanese nurse Tae (Shirley Yamaguchi), to his parents' farm in California's [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]]. Conflicts arise when Jim's sister-in-law falsely accuses Tae of infidelity, sparking conflicts with the neighboring [[Nisei]]-owned farm. The picture locates acts of racism towards non-whites as personal neurosis rather than socially constructed prejudice.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 284-285</ref> Vidor's artistic commitments to the film were minimal in a production that was funded as a [[B Movie]], though he meticulously documents the experience of workers in field and factory.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 281: The film "hides any depth of commitment behind...B film setups…" And p. 284: "The visual style argues that Japanese War Bride remained an impersonal production for Vidor." And: "he establishes the documentary community...lettuce field-hands...packing plant…[[Cannery Row]]."</ref>

Before beginning direction of ''Japanese War Bride'', Vidor had already arranged with Bernhard to finance his next project and perhaps "the last great film" of his career: ''Ruby Gentry'' (1952).<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 281: Vidor's eye was on Ruby Gentry..."<br />Baxter, 1976 p. 78: "...the wild and remarkable Ruby Gentry, Vidor's last great film."</ref>

====''Ruby Gentry'' (1952): Twentieth Century Fox====

With ''Ruby Gentry'', Vidor revisits the themes and scenario of ''Duel in the Sun'' (1946), in which an impoverished young woman, Jennifer Jones (Ruby née Corey, later Gentry), is taken in by a well-to-do couple.  When the foster mother dies (Josephine Hutchinson) Ruby marries the widower  (Karl Malden) for security, but he too dies under circumstances that cast suspicions on Ruby. She is harried by her evangelical preacher-sibling (James Anderson) and her love affair with the son of a local land-owing scion ([[Charlton Heston]]) leads to a deadly shootout, a climax that recalls Vidor's violent 1946 Western.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 286: See here thumbnail sketch of the story compared to ''Duel in the Sun''.</ref>

Vidor deferred his own salary to make the low-budget work, filming the "[[North Carolina]]" landscapes on his California ranch. American critics generally disparaged the movie.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 294: "Disliked by most 'serious' critics in the United States, Ruby Gentry won some respect from English critics" And "Hollywoodwise [Ruby Gentry] was something of an anomaly, with major stars in such a low-budget, violently personal film.</ref>

Film historian [[Raymond Durgnat]] champions ''Ruby Gentry'' "as a truly great American film...''film noir'' imbued with new fervor" that combines a radical social understanding with a Hollywood veneer and an intensely personal artistic statement. Vidor ranks ''Ruby Gentry'' among his most artistically gratifying works: "I had complete freedom in shooting it, and Selznick, who could have had an influence on Jennifer Jones, didn't intervene. I think I succeeded in getting something out of Jennifer, something quite profound and subtle."<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 295: "...Vidor has called Ruby Gentry one of his favorite works…" And: "In its anguished lyricism, Ruby Gentry marks the end of the line for the phase that began back in Duel in the Sun. The reasons for this sudden finale...are no doubt a mix of personal and professional...[in] any case, he would never again have such control over a studio production."<br />Baxter, 1976 p. 78: "...the wild and remarkable Ruby Gentry, Vidor's last great film."</ref> The swamp sequence where Ruby and her lover Boake hunt one another is "perhaps the best sequence [Vidor] ever filmed."<ref>Baxter, 1976 p. 79</ref> ''Ruby Gentry'' showcases the essential elements of Vidor's oeuvre depicting the extremes of passion inherent in humanity and nature. Vidor commented on these elements as follows:

{{blockquote| "There's one scene I like a lot...because it corresponds to something vital. It's the scene where the girl [Jennifer Jones] has the [[Barrage (dam)|barrage]] demolished. At the moment when the earth is flooded, the man [Charlton Heston] is destroyed. All his ambitions crumble. I think there is a fine symbol there".<ref>Baxter, 1976 p. 4, p. 79-80</ref>}}

====Autobiography: ''A Tree is a Tree''====

In 1953, Vidor's autobiography entitled ''A Tree is a Tree'' was published and widely praised. Film critic Dan Callahan provides this excerpt the book:

{{blockquote| "I believe that every one of us knows that his major job on earth is to make some contribution, no matter how small, to this inexorable movement of human progress. The march of man, as I see it, is not from the cradle to the grave. It is instead, from the animal or physical to the spiritual. The airplane, the atom bomb, radio, radar, television are all evidences of the urge to overcome the limitations of the physical in favor of the freedom of the spirit. Man, whether he is conscious of it or not, knows deep inside that he has a definite upward mission to perform during the time of his life span. He knows that the purpose of his life cannot be stated in terms of ultimate oblivion."<ref>Whiteley, 2010: "...a well-received biography…"<br />Callahan, 2007: "In his autobiography, ''A Tree is a Tree'' (1953), he states his case in a nutshell..." See quote above.</ref>}}

====Light's Diamond Jubilee, General Electric, 1954====

As part of the 75th Anniversary of [[Thomas Edison]]'s invention of electric light, Vidor adapted two short stories for television produced by [[David O. Selznick]]. The production aired on all the major American TV networks on October 24, 1954.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p.235-36 And p 358: TV networks included CBS, NBC, ABC and DuMont.</ref>

Vidor's contributions included "A Kiss for the Lieutenant" by author Arthur Gordon starring [[Kim Novak]], an amusing romantic vignette, as well as an adaption of novelist [[John Steinbeck]]'s short story "Leader of the People" (1937) (from his novella ''[[The Red Pony]]'') in which a retired wagon-master, [[Walter Brennan]], rebuffed by his son [[Harry Morgan]], finds a sympathetic audience for his War Horse reminiscences about the Old West in his grandson [[Brandon deWilde]]. Screenwriter [[Ben Hecht]] wrote the scripts for both segments.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 254</ref>

In 1954 Vidor, in collaboration with longtime associate and screenwriter [[Laurence Stallings]], pursued a remake of the director's silent era ''[[The Turn in the Road]]'' (1919). Vidor's persistent efforts to revive this [[Christian Science]]-themed work spanning 15 years in the post-war period was never consummated, though a cast was proposed for an [[Monogram Pictures|Allied Artists]] production in 1960. Setting aside this endeavor, Vidor opted to film a Western with [[Universal-International]], ''Man Without a Star'' (1955).<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 30, p. 236-237, p. 315-316</ref>

====''Man Without a Star'', 1955====

Based on a story by Dee Linford of the same name and scripted by [[Borden Chase]], ''Man Without a Star'' is an iconographic Western tale of remorseless struggle between a wealthy rancher Reed Bowman (Jeanne Crain) and small homesteaders. Saddle-tramp and gunman Dempsey Rae (Kirk Douglas) is drawn into the vortex of violence, that Vidor symbolizes with ubiquitous barbed-wire. The cowboy ultimately prevails against the hired gunslinger Steve Miles (Richard Boone) who had years ago murdered Rae's younger brother.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 295-296: "Hollywood's collective iconography...and the barbed=wire theme…" And "barbed-wire was the symbolic center of freedom's restraints and [on the other hand] the ruthless plundering of nature."</ref><ref>Baxter, 1976 p. 80</ref>

Kirk Douglas acted as both the star and uncredited producer in a collaborative effort with director Vidor. Neither was entirely satisfied with the result.  Vidor failed to fully develop his thematic conception, the ideal of balancing personal freedoms with conservation of the land as a heritage.<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 298: "...Vidor strove to establish a wider theme of land as a heritage deserving conservation…" And p. 299: "...it anticipates the conservationist concerns of the next generation." And "...a reverent sense of property and ecology."</ref>
Vidor and Douglas succeeded in creating Douglas's splendid character, Dempsey Rae, who emerges as a vital force, especially in the saloon-banjo sequence that screenwriter Borden Chase termed "pure King Vidor".<ref>Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 297: "One must include the saloon sequence as one of the most dazzling" of both Douglas and Vidor. And Borden Chase quote. <br />Baxter, 1976 p. 80: "...Douglas' charmingly lecherous performance…"</ref>

''Man Without a Star'', rated as "a minor work" by biographer [[John Baxter (author)|John Baxter]], marks a philosophical transition in Vidor's outlook towards Hollywood: the Dempsey Rae figure, though retaining his personal integrity, "is a man without a star to follow; no ideal, no goal" reflecting a declining enthusiasm by the director for American topics. Vidor's final two movies, the epics ''War and Peace'' (an adaptation of the novel by Russian author [[Leo Tolstoy]]), and ''Solomon and Sheba'', a story from the [[Old Testament]], followed the director's realization that his self-conceived film proposals would not be welcomed by commercial movie enterprises. This pair of historical costume dramas were created outside Hollywood, both filmed and financed in Europe.<ref>Baxter, 1976 p. 80: "a minor work..."<br />Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 299: "The film indicates, without exploring, a transition between Vidor's critical [analysis] of contemporary America and his more affirmative pair of costume epics...Vidor's interests seemed to have moved on from America...American had become as constricted as the Old World had been." And p.320: "Vidor's last commercial films – ''Man Without a Star'', War and Peace and Solomon and Sheba – celebrate heroes who, though deeply tainted by their societies, achieve a private integrity." <br />Durgnat and Simmon, 1988 p. 8 And p. "One might surmise that Vidor's recent failures...to find producers for his more personal projects engendered a certain defeatism, rendering him not unopposed to costume epics..." And p. 260: Vidor: "War and Peace...came to me through an agent, and I did not set out to do [it] as a personal project..."</ref>