The Many Faces of Anthony Mann or Watching 32 films over 21 days, directed by a true American ‘auteur’

Here are 17 ticket stubs saved from the Anthony Mann Film Festival at the Film Forum. Theatre policy is to print only the name of the first film of double or triple features. Only the very first double feature is missing (Naked Spur/Winchester 73) but pictures of that initial visit have already been displayed at the site.

 by Sam Juliano

     For the longest time, Anthony Mann was pigeon-holed as a genre director by the elitists, who saw him as little more than a reliably hard-working studio slave.  ‘Nothing original in style to impart’ was the general regard at a time when critics took film craftsmanship for granted, and preferred to study the emerging pantheon of film ‘visionaries’ who in the 50’s  played by their own rules.  These newcomers hoped to forge their own aesthetic, thereby challenging the traditional underpinnings of narrative cinema and studio intrusion, and they included the likes of Nicholas Ray, Samuel Fuller, Douglas Sirk and Otto Preminger.  Critics of the time, therefore chose to focus on the directors they saw as authentic auteurs, leaving Mann as respected but uninspiring.  Yet, Mann’s prolific output was was more versatile than any other director in the American cinema with the exception of Hawks. (William Wellman arguably rivals Mann in this department with his widely varied pre-Code work)  Mann produced top-drawer films in four genres: the western, film noir, war, and the epic, while in three others, the musical, the costume drama and the literary adaptation, he produced flawed but largely impressive works.  And during his three-decade career, Mann directed no less than a half dozen masterpieces, with about the same number pushing close.

     Manhattan’s film classic mecca, the Film Forum, recently staged a comprehensive 32 film Anthony Mann retrospective over three weeks, which included nearly every significant film in the auteur’s catalogue, except  Railroaded, Serenade, and Strangers in the Night, three competently made but minor works, two of which haven’t yet made it to DVD.  The Film Forum line-up included a single “triple feature” offered on the fourth day, and a bevy of double features, for a single admission price, while the longer epics, El Cid and The Fall of the Roman Empire and the Korean War opus, Men in War were screened by themselves.  Beautiful 35 millimeter prints were used for all the films, and only an extremely scratchy print for The Fall of the Roman Empire seemed remotely sub-par. 

     In the films of Anthony Mann, meaning is conveyed mainly through the frame through composition, and this meaning is in a state of emotional as well as visual flux.  The concept of the total image – one which contained story content and presentation of story through unifying cinematic elements  was brought to fruition by the director, who achieved a marked measure of purity and simplification with that parameter.  From 1942 to 1947 Mann honed his craft, learning essentials, in a series of well-made B films for RKO, Paramount, Universal and Republic.  His very first directorial assignment, Dr. Broadway, which featured his friend MacDonald Carey in the lead role, is an atmospheric thriller which clearly shows evidence of the development of an auteur director’s formal thematic concerns.  The stylish ‘Runyonesque’ film contains some later-to-be Mann trademarks: provocative backgrounds, swish pans, benign objects used in violent sequences and rich compositions.  The swish pan in particular, was to become a favorite Mann device, as it’s blurred imagery left an unsettling effect, and a sense of mystery.  The most celebrated aspect of Mann’s filmmaking is one that first made its appearance in this first film, and that is the use of backgrounds to reflect the internal emotional state of the character, even if the audience could remain detached from this emotion.  The audience is always involved however, through Mann’s compelling control of lighting and composition.  As was discernible in the coming years, Mann also developed a unique skill for pacing in instances of poor scripting, and of even enhancing mediocre acting by deepening shadows.

     A series of exceptional film noirs followed, and one of these, Raw Deal is arguably one of the genre’s finest by any director.  It was the beginning of one of the cinema’s most fruitful collaborations between Mann and cinematographer John Alton.  Alton, who developed into one of noir’s greatest cameramen ever, possessed the uncanny skill to negotiate the effects that Mann desired, while still creating his own.  Of course Mann’s previous cinematographer, the talented George Diskant, worked on the superior noir, Desperate (also shown at this festival) and went on to further success in his collaboration with Ray.  It is to be noted that a number of film historians have credited the stature of the early noirs with Alton’s complicity, though the more persuasive argument has always asserted that it was the similar style and vision of both men that forged such a high quality product.  Alton also worked with Mann on T Men, The Reign of Terror, Border Incident and the director’s very first western Devil’s Doorway.

     It is in the western where Mann achieved what is arguably his most celebrated and artistically mature work, and his five collaborations with James Stewart and one with Gary Cooper are now considered among the top films of a genre once thought to be the exclusive domain of John Ford and Raoul Walsh.  Mann produced ten major westerns during the 50’s, and taken as a whole this was the most critically and commercially successful period of his career.  This new genre afforded him some wide ranging possibilities for which to express the character complexity that was limited wth some of the earlier work.  And with the expansive settings Mann was able to achieve universality in theme.  Jean-Luc Godard once wrote to this focus: “Mann’s westerns presented both beautiful landscapes and the explanation of this beauty, both mystery of firearms and the secret of this mystery, both art and the theory of art.”  Mann’s westerns are generally seen to exist on three levels: the literal, the internal (or psychological) and the emotional, the latter of which is achieved by the shift in landscape, story and character development.  The psychological state of the characters are of course exclusive to Mann in this genre, and for the audience the most fascinating aspect.  The change in the landscapes reflect the state  of mind for the characters.  For example, in the festival’s very first film, shown on the opening Friday as part of a double-feature, The Naked Spur, uses landscape to define the increasing psychosis of Jimmy Stewart’s character by darkening some backgrounds, increasing the denseness of rocky terrain, and having the rapids become more treacherous.   basically, it can be rightly asserted that it is the way the character is placed within the landscape that gives the scene it’s interpretation or meaning.  Of course with the movement away from the baroque stylistics of the earlier noirs, Mann was able to settle into a more formal rhythm.  One aspect of the noirs that set them alone was that Mann was able to experiment,  and shift away from the conventions that defined his western and epic period.  This was basically the trade off.  The noirs were more visually intricate, while the westerns had for the most part more interesting characters, and the opportunity to bring landscape into the thematic equation.  With less to work with, Mann was forced to employ his considerable directorial prowess at a time he was seen to be at the peak of his powers.  An assortment of writers contributed some spare but powerful scripts that provided Mann with the groundwork for his striking western parables, distinguished by their lucid narrative arc.  Among these were Borden Chase, Phillip Yordan, Dudley Nichols and the noted playwright Reginald Rose. (author of Twelve Angry Men)  Again, it was Godard who put things in proper perspective when he opined: “The art of Anthony Mann seems to be evolving toward a purely theoretical schematism of mise en scene.”  Mann’s rather conventional editing style, his rich sense of composition and his provocative use of space are also consistent through his work, even the naturalistic lighting.  A number of cinematographers including the famed William Daniels, William Mellor and Ernest Haller worked with Mann on the westerns, the big screen epics, and two important films that don’t fall into the main categories, the only pure literary adaptation Mann ever directed, God’s Little Acre, an his superlative war opus, Men in War.

      The best of Mann’s four ‘epic’ films is unquestionably El Cid (1962), which incorporates the ‘human story’ into the widescreen tapestry.  It’s arguably the most intimate epic ever made, at least on the same level as Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) and it signals the high watermark of Mann’s late-career foray into what was then becoming a popular kind of film with audiences.  The later The Fall of the Roman Empire was largely an enthralling work, but it suffered from some trite dialogue an the presence of a visually bizarre Stephen Boyd.  The World War II resistence drama was a bit too episodic and slow to start, but Robert Krasker’s work in the snow was extraordinary, and the film sustained tension after the half-way point.  The weakest of the four easily is Cimarron, the re-make of the 1930’s western, which Mann transformed into more of a historical epic drama, but quit mid-way through after the producer insisted on shooting most of the film in the studios,  Ever the purest at heart, Mann favored the big expanses and the opportunity to frame his character and landscapes without marked artificiality.  Still, looking resplendent on the Film Forum screen, the widescreen epic wasn’t all that bad as an episodic entertainment, and time has been kind to this second adaptation of Edna Ferber’s celebrated novel, easily the best of the two.  The final scene was one of the most moving in Mann’s filmography, even with the relative inconsistencies that preceded it.

     When Mann ventured outside the parameters of his home bases, he achieved far more than marginal success.  His war film, the aforementioned  Men in War (1957), which Mann has identified in interviews as his personal favorite of all his films. (He further elaborated in one response, saying Winchester 73, El Cid, and God’s Little Acre are his four special favorites.)  Men in War,  which concerns men in danger in claustrophobic environs, who are guarded by enemy fire, is the finest film about the Korean war ever made, as it paints a compelling and eerie picture of two soldiers on the same side who battle each other because of philosophical incompatibility.  Close-ups were never used as arrestingly in all of Mann as they were here.  The film is signature Mann, as it’s shattering conclusion, allows the “landscape” to be the final winner.  This film was the one film I had originally seen on video tape years ago, that was altered drastically by this big screen viewing.  In fact I now consider it as one of the director’s very best, absolutely among the top four.  The literary adaptation God’s Little Acre recalls the depth-of-field and complex compositions Mann displayed in his earlier noir years, even with the outdoor sunshine.  There’s visual poetry in the film, and several notably arresting sequences.  Oddly enough, my opinion of this film has risen over the past two weeks since the festival ended, as I’ve thought and pondered on its various thematic underpinnings, and pictorial beauty.  At the time of its release the film was misunderstood and underappreciated by audiences, who expected a more straightforward adaptation, instead of the more expressionistic film they received.  Mann stuck by his guns, and with screenwriter Yordan brought in some distinct tone poem elements, and much like Men in War the nocturnal ending here in the closed mill is electrifying.

     Not every one of the 32 films in this festival were unforgettable.  The worst of them all is Strategic Air Command, a Jimmy Stewart starrer that wasn’t saved by William Daniels’s widescreen Technicolor, nor by some striking documentary-like aerial footage.  The script was a clunker, the subject (Air Force employment and the stress on domestic life) a complete bore, and the acting bland, even by Stewart, who did a great job for Mann in another non-generic effort, The Glenn Miller Story.  Interestingly, June Allyson was Stewart’s co-star in both films, though again her portrayal as Mrs. Glenn Miller is far more engaging.  As The Glenn Miller Story was based on a beloved band leader whose plane had disappeared over the English Channel during World War II, there was a built-in audience interest in the project, and the box-office was among the best ever in Mann’s career.  A film about an oil rig explosion (purportedly a favor Mann extended to Stewart), Thunder Bay, exhibits some of the typical Mann characteristics of men in danger and a pronounced macho exterior, and some cracker-jack action sequences  mitigate a sometimes laughably preachy script.  It’s fun to watch and a kind of guilty pleasure, much as Cimmaron was.  Mann had not yet found his own style with the early Moonlight over Havana, a cornball musical comedy, and The Bamboo Blonde was rather subdued even for it’s extravagent show business subject, but both were still watchable in a minor key.

     Perhaps the biggest ‘finds’ in this festival, at least in regards to film-to-DVD comparison were the gorgeous black and white prints displayed for The Reign of Terror (a.k.a. The Black Book) and The Tall Target, two historical costume dramas that sometimes are incorrectly categorized as film noirs.  Neither film has managed a legitimate DVD release, even if the former has a reasonably respectable transfer on a VCI DVD, but there is reportedly a scene missing from the print.  Still, while it’s perfectly watchable, it’s rather soft, and can’t match the rich grey scale an ominous blacks on the pristine Film Forum print, and in this sense, I’ve never enjoyed this horrific yarn set after the French Revolution more.  The Tall Target, almost entirely set on a train, and dealing with the prospect of Lincoln’s assassination, is a splendid period piece, and one of Mann’s more curious entries, and with the dearth of any print out there, this screening was a special treat.  Similarly, it was also a pleasure to look at such an exquisite print for The Great Flamarion, a riveting 1945 noir, that stars the great Erich Von Stroheim as the title character.

     The experience of coming face to face with a director who passed away well before his time at age 60 (in 1968) of a heart attack in the hallowed viewing halls of Manhattan’s Film Forum, solely through his work in a torrid viewing schedule, made for one of the most rewarding periods of movie going I’ve ever experienced.  The generally beautiful prints, the big screen presentations, the premium audio, and the discipline that always informs public events like this made for an incomparable venue for which to study he director’s work and artistic significance.  After the last minutes of The Fall of the Roman Empire had expired, and I realized I had managed the entire schedule through persistence and some luck, I walked out in the humid night time air in downtown Manhattan and wondered if, like Mann’s western protagonists, I was truly a hero or a lunatic.  I may well need to give that some further study.

The following is a listing with brief comments of the 32 films screened at the festival beginning on June 15 and running for 21 days.  I have included star ratings for each film, and list the films in the order they were shown at the Film Forum:

 
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Here Goes a link to the 32 trailers

The Naked Spur   *****  Psychologically potent study of tensions between a small band of men in mountainous terrain.  It’s tightly composed, intelligent and gripping film that uses water as an agent of purification, while the landscape is as hostile as in any Mann film.

Winchester 73  *****  Nearly every single Western conceit is included in one of the most entertaining westerns ever made, and for many Mann’s best film.  And every stock western character is aboard in a film where not a single frame or gesture is wasted.  It’s the only black and white feature of the Mann-Stewart collaborations.

Raw Deal  ***** Sin and salvation come into play in this great noir masterwork, certainly Mann’s finest in this genre.   Dennis O’Keefe is exceptional in this chase drama featuring a bevy of noir conventions and all of its suspense and spine-tingling moments.  The Film Forum print here was first-rate.

T Men  ****  A steam bath murder in this one was unforgettable, and the film is partially ‘semi’ documentary in style and voice-over, but it’s a complex work that shows Mann near the very top of his game.  O’Keefe again stars.

Dr. Broadway  *** 1/2  Mann’s very first film is a deliciously clever and stylish little noir that gives more than a hint of what’s to come after a few subsequent studio potboilers, two of which were not included in this otherwise definitive festival lineup.

Moonlight on Havana  ** 1/2  A guilty pleasure musical yarn about a baseball player who just happens to be a great singer to boot and the various domestic and romantic machinations that following involving the girl, the baseball coach and the singing scout.  It’s a cheapie, but still fun, though it’s hard to find much of Mann’s style here.

Bamboo Blonde ***  This early film is alternately dull and lively, smart and tupid, professional and amateur.  And it has energy to spare.  It’s recent release on DVD on the Warner Archives label has resurrected a bit of interest, but again it’s a film that’s competently directed, but missing the personal touch.  Basically it’s a ‘Pin-Up Girl’ with Frances Langford replacing Betty Grable.

The Heroes of Telemark  **** This is the epic film that will increase in stature as the years go by, as the ‘big’ film was in abundance during the 60’s.  There are some terrific individual sequences, and Robert Krasker’s widescreen lensing in the snow is striking.  It’s true that the individual stories are not as compelling as the events they are framed in, but there is tension and bravery, and a subject that’s always mesmerizing.

Border Incident  ****  Brilliantly photographed by John Alton, this noir’s underpinnings have modern-day relevance for the obvious reasons; the film contains one of the most terrifying murder scenes (on an open field) in all of noir.

Devil’s Doorway  ****  Mann’s first western contains (visually) a striking noir overlap, and it’s visually and thematically one of Mann’s darkest films, pitting an outsider at odds with society, and featuring discrimination.  Just a week ago a DVD was released of the film for the first time in the Warner Archives Collection.

The Last Frontier  *** 1/2  Admittedly not in the first-rank of Mann’s western features, but still unique in the fact that it shows civilization as a ‘restrictive force’ that can undo the hero and his sense of self, an assertion that can be seen in a few scenes that display the beauty of the environment and the spoiled intrusions of man.  It’s a beautifully lensed film with fair enough acting, but it contains some dull patches (unusual for Mann)

God’s Little Acre ****  As mentioned above, this is an odd entry in the Mann filmography, but at times it is pure on screen poetry.  This literary adaptation based on a sexually charged 50’s literary potboiler is provocatively filmed and performed, and it bears some of the director’s most atypical visual elements.

Man of the West ***** One of Mann’s greatest westerns, and one of the genre’s most celebrated masterworks.  Gary Cooper replaced Stewart, but the final gun fight almost recalls High Noon, if not for the lack of help from anyone.  It’s often referred to as a ‘reinvention’ of the genre, and Cooper’s mysterious character is as fascinating as The Searchers’ Ethan Edwards.

The Man from Laramie  ***** This is Mann’s absolute masterpiece, his greatest film, and a contender for the greatest western feature of all-time.  It’s a complicated tale of familial strife played out with the veracity of Shakespearean drama with the tragic underpinnings of Greek theatre.  It a prime example of the use of the hostile landscape to mirror the mental state of the characters, and it’s use of space is enhanced by the fact it’s the only one of the five Stewart-Mann western collaborations to be filmed in Cinemascope.  The Film Forum print for this was lovely.

Bend of the River **** 1/2 Another gem, a near-masterpiece, is about changing directions, as implied by the title.  It’s about walking down another path, and it’s another study of the danger that lurks behind every corner.  It’s also one of Mann’s most entertaining films, making it’s artistry that much more appreciable.

Thunder Bay  ***  As mentioned earlier, it’s fun in a compromised way, yet it was a popular film with audiences.

Cimarron ***   Similarly, it’s a film with narrative issues, but it’s a sweeping western panorama with some emotional resonance and a number of effective sequences.  But it’s also somewhat overblown.

The Furies **** 1/2  The only Mann film on a Criterion DVD (and it’s a great package too) this moody study of familial degeneration and greed features a real crossover from Mann’s noir, the femme fatale, deliciously played by the great Barbara Stanwyck.  But even more dazzling in this brooding film is Walter Huston as the hypocritical patriarch.

The Tin Star ****  It’s obvious this is patterned after High Noon, put it provides some great sparks, and good performances.  It’s beautifully photographed too, and the print at the Film Forum was particularly pristine.

Strategic Air Command  ** 1/2  The weakest film of the 32 for sure, as it appears Mann was just working for the studio here.  Even Stewart is listless in this air force potboiler.

The Glenn Miller Story  *** 1/2  A pleasing, if conventional musical biopic that demonstrated Mann could cross leave the box and achieve modest artistic success.  It’s a can’t miss topic and the players were in prime form.

El Cid  *****  As stated above this is one of the greatest of all screen epics, and one of Mann’s finest films in any genre.  There are seven five-star Mann masterworks (El Cid, The Man from Laramie, Men in War, Raw Deal, Winchester 73, The Nakes Spur and Man of the West) and I couldn’t blame anyone for putting this most ‘intimate’ of epics in the top spot.

The Far Country **** It’s often asserted that this is the least of the five Mann-Stewart films, but if so, only narrowly, as it’s a further purveyor of the helmer’s styles, themes and use of landscape, and it’s showcases a reasonably engrossing story.  A really nice print here too!

The Tall Target **** This one was a special treat, as it’s unavailable on DVD anywhere, and this was my first viewing of the film, period.  This is a tense historical “noirish” drama played out on a train, and involving the intended assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  The black and white here is rapturous, and a magnificent print was offered.

Desperate  **** Raymond Burr was featured in this superior noir that featured a brutal beating in a basement lit by a single swinging bulb.  By this time Mann had really established his mastery in this genre, and this one is exceedingly entertaining to boot.

He Walked by Night  *** 1/2  Mann directed most of this, but the screen credit is given to someone else.  No matter, as this gritty work yields some stunning exterior lensing and a gripping premise. 

The Great Flamarion **** As mentioned above this is a unique film for Von Stroheim’s appearance alone, but there’s more in this brooding noirish story of a vaudeville murder told in long flashback.

Strange Impersonation *** 1/2  Much of this stylish film is hard to believe, but that’s partially why it’s so much fun.  The central deceit is really a hoot, and it features -as usual for Mann- some excellent camerawork.

The Reign of Terror (a.k.a. ‘The Black Book’)  As discussed above this was for a few reasons one of the ‘joys’ of this festival.

Side Street  ***  A rather surprisingly effective noir with Farley Granger, fueled by a solid narrative and some great chase sequences.

The Fall of the Roman Empire  **** This could have been a masterpiece, but some of elements are uneven.  Still, in a number of ways it’s a remarkable effort with a subject that will always fascinate viewers, even if it’s never been done to perfection.  Then again, what is?  The print for this was somewhat scratchy with vertical lines throughout, but the scope and the colors were negotiated beautifully.

Men in War  *****  As previously noted, this Korean War film is one of Mann’s greatest achievements.

Note:  Allan has decided to join in this retrospective by posting five or six reviews from his book on some of Mann’s greatest films over the upcoming days.  Happily, this will keep attention on this great genius of the American cinema.  Nice.

“Men in War”

‘Winchester 73’

‘Bend of the River’

‘The Tall Target’

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