CAROUSEL: ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CLASSIC

May 25, 2014 christian esquevin 29 Comments

In the happy world of 1950s movie musicals came one where the protagonist dies after a failed mugging, leaving his pregnant wife behind. This was Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. The movie was based on the Broadway musical from 1945, itself based on an older play Liliom, by Ferenc Molnar, and made into several films prior to Carousel. Molnar’s basic theme was kept but a few changes were made to the story, and notably setting it to music, which Molnar was only convinced to allow after Rogers and Hammerstein took him to see Oklahoma! The story’s setting was shifted to 1870s sea-coastal New England. The 1956 movie of Carousel, like its Broadway predecessor, is considered one of Rogers and Hammerstein’s most seriously themed musicals, and well it should. Like Sunset Blvd, its protagonist leads off the movie dead, having been killed attempting a robbery.

This blog post will feature original costume design sketches by Academy Award winner Mary Wills, who designed the costumes for Carousel.

img094 copy — Costume sketch by Mary Wills of Shirley Jones as Julie

Costume sketch by Mary Wills of Barbara Ruick as Carrie

Costume sketch for Gene Lockheart as the Starkeeper

Yes, Billy Bigelow played by Gordon MacRae is dead. But he inhabits the lowest rung of Heaven, where he has lingered for years. He is told that things are not going well for the family he left behind. The Starkeeper tells him everyone in his station can have one day on earth to redeem their wrongs, which prompts the re-telling/flashback of Billy’s life. The scene opens to the cheerful music of The Carousel Waltz. He was a carousel barker, a braggart and ne’er-do-well, but handsome, and a magnet for the young ladies wherever the travelling show would take him. One day he flirts too seriously with the pretty Julie Jordan, played by Shirley Jones. His lady boss gets jealous and she sends Julie and her girlfriend Carrie packing. He gets lippy with his boss and gets fired. Billy and Julie end up spending the evening together, even after she is questioned by her own boss, a Mill owner, and then by a police officer, for hanging around with a good-for-nothing like Billy, and missing her curfew for which she’ll be fired. Even Billy asks her why. In musicals, the strongest emotions can only be expressed in song, and so she sings one of the musical’s most moving songs, the heart rending “If I Loved You,” which leads a few minutes later into his own singing of the same song.

If I Loved You

But somehow I can see
Just exactly how I’d be-

If I loved you,
Time and again I would try to say
All I’d want you to know.
If I loved you,
Words wouldn’t come in an easy way
Round in circles I’d go!
Longin’ to tell you,
But afraid and shy,
I’d let my golden chances pass me by!
Soon you’d leave me,
Off you would go in the mist of day,
Never, never to know how I loved you
If I loved you.

The song’s lyrics foretell the problem that Billy and Julie have throughout most of the film, and they never do tell each other “I love you.” during his lifetime.

But Billy and Julie marry, and Julie takes a job waiting tables at her cousin’s restaurant. Billy has no job, however, and he’s too much a smart-mouth to take the one that’s offered to him by Carrie’s fiance on his fishing boat. Instead his considers taking an offer by his old boss, Mrs. Mullins, to rejoin the Carousel. But he learns that Julie’s pregnant, and in a moment of joy, he decides he has to to stay and provide for her. On the beach he reflects about becoming a father, singing his “Soliloquy.” His vision is of a boy, but then he comes the ponder the thoughts of a girl. Either way he must provide for them, and he then decides to take up the offer of a sailor acquaintance, Jigger to rob the mill owner Mr. Bascombe.

Costume sketch by Mary Wills for Cameron Mitchell as Jigger

img080 copy — Costume sketch of Barbara Ruick as Carrie

All the town-folk and the local sailors are excited about preparations for the annual “clambake” at the nearby island, cause for celebratory singing and dancing to “June is Bustin’ Out All Over.” After the merriment everybody sets sail for the clambake.

After everybody is sated from eating, Jigger makes advances on the now engaged Carrie, and then he and Billy row back to the mainland unseen, while everone else has a treasure hunt. The two lay in wait for Brancombe, Billy with a knife that Jigger persuaded him to carry. When they finally confront Bascombe, he pulls a gun and fires. Jigger runs away. Policemen show up and Billy runs up some crates rather than get arrested. He falls back down and lands on his knife, which mortally wounds him. Then everybody comes parading back still in a festive mood, only to discover that it’s Billy lying on the ground dying. Julie runs over to him and cradles him, finally telling him that she loves him, only now its too late. Seeing this scene back with the Starkeeper, Billy is still unrepentant, until the Starkeeper shows him the next scene of his daughter, now 15, a loner that the other students tease because of her late father’s reputation as a thief.

He next sees his daughter Louise, played by Susan Luckey, as the Starlight Carnival comes to town, and a handsome dancer, played by Jacques d’Damboise, takes her in hand for for a dance. She is flattered by his attention, but Billy from above quickly recognizes his type (he should know), and the dancer leaves her just as quickly as he picked her up.

Jacques d’Damboise center. Photo courtesy Photofest

All this makes her again the butt of laughter from the other school girls and she runs home in tears. Billy makes himself visible to Louise and offers her a star to console her. Thinking him a stranger and frightened she turns away, Billy in frustration slaps her hand. Louise runs to her mother, who senses Billy’s presense, but all Louise can say is that the slap felt like a kiss. Billy now invisible again, sings to Julie, and she picks up the star.

The next scene is the high school graduation ceremony, where Louise and the other girls and boys are gathered. The school principal is played by Gene Lockheart, who played the Starkeeper. His speech to the graduating class is that they need to become their own persons, and not let the faults and failures of their parents haunt them. At this time Billy, invisible, stands beside Louise and whispers for her to listen to the principal. He then goes over to where Julie is seated. As Dr. Selden, the School Principal, leads them into the song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” Louise puts her arm around a school mate, who does the same, and Billy tells Julie he loves her. Julie and the chorus all sing as Billy is seen walking to the horizon.

When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
At he end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown.Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone,
You’ll never walk alone.

PRODUCTION: The title of of the film is Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, which was produced by Henry Ephron and directed by Henry King. It was made at 20th Century-Fox and thus had excellent production values including art direction by Lyle Wheeler, Charles Clarke as cinematographer, and the wonderful costumes of Mary Wills. She had designed Hans Christian Andersen, The Virgin Queen, The Diary of Anne Frank, Cape Fear, and the Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, for which she won a costume design Oscar, among many other films she designed.

Carousel was filmed in CinemaScope55, a 55mm film stock. which gave high definition and relief to the screen image. Since this was the first use of this process, each scene was filmed twice, in both 35 mm and the 55mm film as a precaution. Frank Sinatra was first cast as Billy but he walked off the set saying he wasn’t being paid for making two movies. As it turned out, the double filming was soon abandoned. The filming was done on location in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine.

CRITIQUE: As a musical, Carousel is one of the masterpieces of the American theater. The film stays very close to the stage musical, although with one critical differance, in the stage version Billy kills himself rather than be arrested for robbery. The film has gotten less high critical praise, but it is still one of the great movie musicals, and certainly one of the fabulous films of the 1950s. With the singing duo of Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae, it could only be a winner. It was released only a few months after Oklahoma! and it suffered in critical esteem in its wake. And yet Carousel sags in the middle – during the clambake scene the actions seem forced and somewhat ponderous. Yet unlike, Oklahoma! its theme of redemption gives it an uplifting kick at the film’s end that was totally in keeping with the story, and must no doubt have pleased Mr. Molnar, the song and lyrics to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” helped propel that wonderful finale.

I first saw Carousel as a child, in the company of my parents, one of my early film-going experiences. My recollections of the movie were one of utter boredom. It was thus a revelation when I saw the movie as an adult, not so many years ago, at a TCM Classic Film Festival. Its music and scenes are now unforgetable to me. Perhaps others will discover or rediscover this classic film, this fabulous film of the 50s.

THE RED SHOES: POWELL & PRESSBURGER’S MASTERPIECE

May 15, 2014 christian esquevin 10 Comments

Few movies grab you heart and soul as does The Red Shoes –Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpiece. Indeed it seems like a hallucinatory vision, come from a magic potion distilled out of a simple but tragic tale conjured by Hans Christian Andersen. That such a masterwork could come from a simple fairy tale is a testament to the art of motion pictures, and to the creative genius of Powell and Pressberger, known as The Archers, along with their incredible production team.

This post was written by Christian Esquevin and previously issued as part of the Powell & Pressburger Movie Blogathon hosted by the Classic Film and TV Cafe in March of 2012.

The Red Shoes was created in 1948, a blazing work of Technicolor in the black and white world of post World War II England. The film was written by Emeric Pressburger and directed by Michael Powell, but its artistic punch was the work of cinematographer Jack Cardiff, and especially that of art director Hein Heckroth. And as a film largely about ballet, it comes to life through the dancing of star Moira Shearer and of Leonide Massine. Director Michael Powell’s vision nonetheless permeates the film. He had grown up in the French Riviera town of Cap Ferrat, close to Monte Carlo where he had seen the work of the Ballets Russe. It was there that Powell had heard the story of how the great Vaslav Nijinsky and ballerina Romola de Pulszky married , only to be fired afterwards by Diaghilev.

Red Shoes Powell Pressburger — Michael Powell, left, with Emeric Pressburger

Thus emerged a screenplay about a single-minded ballet impresario who launches the career of a young composer, while also molding the career of a beautiful young ballerina. Anton Walbrook plays to perfection the powerful impresario Boris Lermontov, a puppet-master whose marionettes take on a life of their own. Marius Goring plays composer Julian Craster, with the young ballerina Victoria Page played by Moira Shearer. Both characters are trying to make it big in ballet and the orchestra, and to replace existing leads. Lermontov recognizes their talent and believes he can harness their ambition. To Lermontov, ballet is a religion. To aspiring ballerina Victoria Page, she must dance in order to live.

Red Shoes 3 — Anton Walbrook as Lermontov

Miss Page will soon have her chance to become prima ballerina. Lermontov is angered when his star ballerina, played by Ludmilla Tcherina, becomes engaged to marry. His view is simple, “You can not have it both ways”, he says. “The dancer that relies on the comfort of human love will never be a great dancer.” Lermontov knows what he wants – it is ART, and everybody working for him must be single-minded in its pursuit – and the pursuit of his vision. Lermontov thinks he has a replacement for her, Victoria Page is as dedicated to the ballet as he is.

Red Shoes 4 — A scene shot inside the Opera in Paris

Art permeates The Red Shoes from its first title card to its last. While the film is not primarily concerned with filming backstage scenes and ballet production, it nonetheless captures the excitement at the peak of this activity at Covent Garden, as the dancers rehearse, the set dressers move props, musicians practice, sweepers clean, costumed characters parade on stage, and all appears chaotic. In an earlier scene, excited young aficionados rush in to get the best of the cheap seats.

Lermontov himself is always impeccably dressed, often in dark double-breasted suits with crisp white shirts and pale ties. The non-ballet costumes for Moira Shearer were designed by the noted Parisian couturier Jacques Fath along with Malli of London, while Miss Tcherina’s costumes were designed by another Parisian couturier, Carven. When they move the production to Monte Carlo, Miss Page wears a beautiful dress of horizontal stripes in pink, yellow and purple on white. She also wears an elegant full gown of blue over magenta, with a pleated blue silk opera coat.

It is refreshing to see the men dressed in a variety of elegant and casual clothes with great flair. No men’s costume credit is given, but Michael Powell must have provided the direction for the French Riviera style that was needed. At a meeting where they plan a new ballet, Lermontov wears cream-colored slacks with a turquoise-blue short-sleeved silk shirt over a dark blue t-shirt and red scarf. He wears sandals over socks, as was the European fashion. Massine wears cream-colored slacks, a dark blue blazer over a white shirt, with a red scarf and white shoes. When Miss Page enters she wears a loose jacket in light violet-magenta tones over a striped blouse.

A new ballet is being planned, the Red Shoes. Julian Craster will be the composer, and Victoria Page will be the prima ballerina. Red now appears as an accent color in many of the scenes.

Hein Heckroth designed the wonderful sets for the ballet, painting the backdrops himself. He spent six months painting some 120 scenes. Cinematographer Jack Cardiff sent for powerful new spotlights to be shipped to England from the U.S. These he used to light the dancers – brighter spots were needed amidst a general flood of lighting required for the Technicolor film. The incredible painted backdrops were not enough for the fantastical scenes filmed during the ballet – matte paintings were also used. For the Red Shoes Ballet, a magnificent red curtain rises over the scene of a shoemaker, danced by Massine, in front of a beautiful gold and brown set-painting of shelves full of shoes. He holds a special pair of red ballet slippers.

The ballet sequence itself becomes a parable of the ballerina’s life. Massine as the cobbler is a stand-in for Lermontov, enticing Miss Page to dance in the red shoes. Choreographer and dancer Robert Helpmann plays the Lover, representing Craster. She dances happily with the Lover, but still the shoemaker pursues her. At a carnival scene other men forcibly separate the Lover from her, and they dance with her in turns. Soon she out-dances them all, as they drop to the floor and are represented by sheets of colored cellophane falling through the air like leaves from a tree.

The ballet scene leaps dimensions – it is no longer filmed from the point of view of an audience watching a ballet – it becomes the existential reality of Miss Page herself, its sets reflecting her emotions and her predicament. Since Miss Page, as in the original tale, can not stop dancing as long long as she wears the red shoes, she dances her way through a series of magnificently designed but symbolically charged set designs reflecting her inner turmoil.

Miss Page dances through the night. In the early morning twilight, she dances with a floating newspaper, which metamorphoses into the Lover. Still the shoemaker pursues her, and soon demons do too.

She dances back onto the stage, with only Lermontov in his box watching, and Craster conducting. The audience has become a raging sea, and Lermontov and Craster are now huge rocks.

She dances and dances, unable to stop. She dances to a church in a town square, where memorial services are being held. She is not let in – her Lover has now now morphed into a priest. “Take off my shoes”, she gestures. She is offered a knife to cut them off, only it morphs into some flowers. She dies of exhaustion on the steps of the church, where the Lover finally takes off her shoes – and the shoemaker retrieves them for another use. An audience re-emerges to give Miss Page and the ballet wild applause.

And now the film-story mirrors the ballet story. Victoria Page and Craster become lovers, Lermontov fires Craster and she quits. Much later, Lermontov takes on the role of the shoemaker, enticing her to put the red shoes back on. He has gotten over his artistic jealousy for the sake of creating better art. Craster has not, and roils her planned return to the stage. But she has put on the red shoes, and her fate now becomes one with the tale.

As was the case with several great films, the production of The Red Shoes was steeped in problems and animosities. Moira Shearer did not get along with Michael Powell, suffering through injuries and, like the other dancers, discomforted from dancing on concrete studio floors. The initial art director walked off the production when he found out Powell had hired Heckroth to do the ballet sets. The 80 year-old German actor Albert Basserman, who played Ratov the costume and set designer, was publicly dressed down by Powell, and this offended Anton Walbrook who had venerated the veteran actor. And finally, Rank Studios who financed the film was unhappy with the final production, not to mention the significant cost over-run.

Regardless, the film is now considered a masterpiece. Its 17 minute long ballet sequence became a big influence on Vicente Minnelli and Gene Kelly in the production of An American in Paris. And it was Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger that created this masterwork, mixing all the ingredients into the intoxicating stew that is The Red Shoes.

Silver Screen Modes by Christian Esquevin

Monthly Archives: May 2014

CAROUSEL: ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CLASSIC

THE RED SHOES: POWELL & PRESSBURGER’S MASTERPIECE

A blog about classic movie costume design and fashion