INTRODUCTION: FILM AS ART; FILM AS BUSINESS; FILM AS POLITICS

Reading: James Monaco, How to Read a Film, pp.142-191

PART I: IN OR OUT OF POLITICS?: POLITICS AND PERSONAL LIFE

Casablanca written by Julius Epstein, Philip Epstein and Howard Koch with additional material by Casey Robinson; directed by Michael Curtiz

Based on the play Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Allison.
Photography by Arthur Edeson
Music by Max Steiner; “As Time Goes By” by Herman Hupfield

Black and white
Released in 1942 by Warner Brothers
102 minutes

Humphrey Bogart.                                   Rick Blaine   
Ingrid Bergman                                        Ilsa Lazslo
Claude Rains.......................................... Captain Louis Renault
Paul Henried..........................................  Victor Lazslo         
Dooley Wilson........................................ Sam
Peter Lorre............................................   Ugarte
Conrad Veidt.......................................... Major Strasser
Sidney Greenstreet.................................Ferrari
Madeleine Le Beau................................Yvonne
S.Z. Sakall.............................................. Carl
Helmut Dantine...................................... Jan Brandel
Joy Page................................................ Annina Brandel
Leonard Kinsky.....................................  Sascha
John Qualen........................................... Berger
Emil the Croupier...................................Marcel Dalio

Reading:

The New Pictures,  Time, November 30, 1942
Manny Farber, "The Warner Boys in Africa," The New Republic, December 14, 1942
Sidney Rosenzweig, Casablanca and Other Major Films of Michael Curtiz, pp. 77-94, 186-188.
Roy Kinnard and R.J. Vitone, The American Films of Michael Curtiz, pp. 81-86
*William Donnely, "Love and Death in Casablanca" in Joseph McBride, ed. Persistence of Vision

PART II: THE DIFFICULTY OF ESTABLISHING JUSTICE

Rio Bravo written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett, directed by Howard Hawks

Based on a story by B.H. McCampbell
Photography by Russell Harlan
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Technicolor
Released in 1959 by Warner Brothers
141 minutes

John Wayne........................................... Sheriff John T. Chance
Dean Martin........................................... Dude
Ricky Nelson.......................................... Colorado Ryan
Angie Dickinson..................................... Feathers
Walter Brennan...................................... Stumpy
Ward Bond............................................. Pat Wheeler
John Russell........................................... Nathan Burdett
Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez.....................Carlos Remonte
Claude Akins.......................................... Joe Burdett
Estelita Rodriguez................................... Consuela

Reading:

"All the Answers," Newsweek, March 30, 1959
"The New Pictures," Time, April 6, 1959
Gerald Mast, Howard Hawks, Storyteller, pp. 358-364
Joseph McBridge, Hawks on Hawks, pp. 130-135
Leland A. Poague, Howard Hawks, pp. 148-159
*Robin Wood, Howard Hawks, chapter

Touch of Evil written and directed by Orson Welles

Based on an earlier script by Paul Monash, which was, in turn, based on  the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson
Photography by Russell Metty           
Music by Henry Mancini
Black and white                    
Released in 1958 by Universal International
Shot in 1957 in Universal Studios and at Venice California
93, 108 minutes

Charlton Heston.................................... Ramon Miguel (Mike) Vargas
Orson Welles ........................................ Hank Quinlan
Janet Leigh............................................ Susan Vargas
Marlene Dietrich.................................... Tanya
Akim Tamiroff........................................ Uncle Joe Grandi
Joseph Calleia...................................... Peter Menzies
Ray Collins............................................. District Attorney Adair
Dennis Weaver ..................................... Night Porter
Zsa Zsa Gabor....................................... Striptease girl
Mercedes McCambridge..................... Girl in motel

Reading:

Stanley Kauffman, "Whither Welles?", The New Republic, May 26, 1958
Gerald Weales, "Movies: The Twilight of an Aging Prodigy," The Reporter, June 26, 1958.
Terry Comito, "Welles's Labyrinths" in Terry Comito, ed. Touch of Evil, pp. 3-33.
"Interview with Orson Welles" in Terry Comito, ed. Touch of Evil, pp. 203-212
Francois Truffaut, The Films in My life, pp. 288-291
James Naremore, The Magic World of Orson Welles, pp. 175-206

PART III: POLITICIANS AND THE PEOPLE: WHO CAN BE TRUSTED?

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington written by Sidney Buchman; directed by Frank Capra

Based upon the story "The Gentleman from Montana" by Lewis R. Foster
Photographed by Joseph Walker
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Black and white
Released by Columbia Pictures in 1939
125 minutes

 James Stewart......................................Jefferson Smith
Jean Arthur............................................ Clarissa Saunders
Claude Rains.........................................Senator Joseph Paine
Edward Arnold.......................................Jim Taylor
Thomas Mitchell..................................... Dizz
Eugene Pallette..................................... Chick McGann
Guy Kibbee............................................ Governor Hopper
Beulah Bondi.......................................... Ma Smith
Porter Hall.............................................   Senator Monroe
H.B. Warner..........................................   Senate Majority Leader
William Demarest................................... Bill Griffith
H.V. Kaltenborn.....................................   himself

Reading:

"The New Pictures,"  Time Magazine, October 23, 1939
"Washington Whirligig: Corrupt Machine Meets Master in Boy-Ranger Senator,"  Newsweek, October 23, 1939
"Mr. Smith Riles Washington," Time Magazine, October 30, 1939
Raymond Carney, American Vision: The Films of Frank Capra, pp. 299-344
Charles J. Maland, American Visions, pp. 254-268
Charles J. Maland, Frank Capra, pp. 104-109

The Last Hurrah written by Frank Nugent; directed by John Ford

Based on the novel by Edwin O'Connor
Photographed by Charles Laughton, Jr.
Black and white
Released by Columbia in 1958
121 minutes

Spencer Tracy .......................................	Frank Skeffington
Jeffrey Hunter........................................	Adam Caulfield
Dianne Foster.........................................	Maeve Caulfield
Pat O'Brien............................................	John Gorman
Basil Rathbone.......................................	Norman Cass, Sr.
Donald Crisp..........................................	His Eminence, The Cardinal
James Gleason.......................................	Cuke Gillen
Edward Brophy......................................	Ditto Boland
John Carradine.......................................	Amos Force
Willis Bouchey........................................	Roger Sugrue
Basil Ruysdael........................................	Bishop Gardner
Charles FitzSimmons.............................	Kevin McCluskey
Arthur Walsh..........................................	Frank Skeffington, Jr.
O.Z. Whitehead......................................	Norman Cass, Jr.

 

Reading:

Stanley Kauffman, "Spencer Tracy's Hurrah," The New Republic, October 27, 1958
"Two with Tracy," Time, October 27, 1958
"Old Lovable," The New Yorker, November 1, 1958
"Review," The Nation, November 15, 1958
Tag Gallagher, John Ford: The Man and His Films, pp. 363-367, 338-343

All the Kings Men written and directed by Robert Rossen

Based upon the novel by Robert Penn Warren
Photography by Burnett Guffey
Music by Louis Guenberg & Morris Stoloff
Black and white
Released by Columbia Pictures in 1949
109 minutes

Reading:

"New Films," Newsweek, November 21, 1949

"All the King's Men," Life, November 28, 1949

"The New Pictures," Time, December 5, 1949

Alan Casty, The Films of Robert Rossen, pp. 18-27

The Candidate directed by Michael Ritchie

Reading:

Richard Schickel, Review, Life, July 7, 1972, p. 22 ISBN 0024-3019

“Would You Vote For This Mann” Life, July 28, 1972, pp. 45-58 ISBN 0024-3019

Philip Davis and Brian Neve, Cinema, Politics and Society in America (Manchester University Press, 1981) pp. 16-17, 132-133.

Andrew Sarris, “The Candidate” in Politics and Cinema (Columbia University Press, 1978) pp. 16-20.

MID-TERM EXAMINATION

Duck Soup directed by Leo McCarey

Story, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby

Additional dialogue by Arthur Sheekman and Nat Perrin

Photographed by Henry Sharp

Black and white

Released by Paramount Pictures in 1933

Groucho Marx............................           Rufus T. Firefly      
Chico Marx....................................       Chicollini
Harpo Marx..........................................Brownie
Zeppo Marx..........................................Bob Rolland
Raquel Torres......................................Vera Marcal
Louis Calhern......................................Ambassador Trentino
Margaret Dumont................................Mrs. Teasdale
Verna Hillie.......................................... Secretary
Leonid Kinsky..................................... Agitator
Edmund Breese.................................  Zander
Edwin Maxwell......................................Secretary of War

  Reading:

  "Duck Soup,"  Newsweek, December 2, 1933

Paramount Press Release

PART IV: RACE, THE AMERICAN DILEMMA

City of Hope written and directed by John Sayles

Photography by Robert Richardson
Music by Mason Daring
Color
Released by in 1991 by the Samuel Goldwyn Company
129 minutes

  Reading:

David Denby, “Ms. Woody,” New York, October 28, 1991, pp. 56-57
Stanley Kauffman, “Municipal Bonds,” The New Republic, October 14, 119, pp. 32-33
Richard Corliss, “Dead End on Sesame Street,” Time, October 21, 1991, p. 101
*Film Comment, XXVII, July, 1991, p. 79.

Boyz n the Hood written and directed by John Singleton

Photography by Charles Mills

Music by Stanley Clarke

Color

Released by Columbia Pictures in 1991

111 minutes

Cuba Gooding, Jr..................................Tre Styles
Morris Chestnut.....................................Ricky Baker
Ice Cube................................................ Doughboy
Larry Fishburne..................................... Furious Styles
Nia Long................................................ Brandi
Tyra Ferrell............................................ Mrs. Baker
Angela Bassett..................................... Reva Styles
 Meta King............................................. Brandi's mother
Whitman Mayo...................................... The old man
Desi Arnez Hines II............................... Tre (ten years old)
Baha Jackson........................................ Doughboy (ten years old)
Donovan McCrary................................. Ricky (ten years old)

  Reading:

John Simon, “Growing Pains, Growing Joys,” National Review, September 23, 1991. pp. 54-55.

Stanley Kauffmann, “Billionaires and Lesser Folk,” The New Republic, September 2, 1991, pp. 26-27

Edmond Grant, “Boyz n the Hood,” National Films in Review, February 1992.

"Not Just One of the Boys," Rolling Stone, September 5, 1991

*Film Review,  November, 1991, p. 35

PART V: VISIONS OF CLASS AND CLASSLESSNESS 

The Grapes of Wrath written by Nunnally Johnson; directed by John Ford

Based on the novel by John Steinbeck

Photographed by Gregg Toland

Music by Alfred Newman

Black and white

Released by 20th Century Fox in 1940

129 Minutes

Henry Fonda.......................................... Tom Joad

Jane Darwell.......................................... Ma Joad

John Carradine.......................................Casey

Charley Grapewin...................................Grampa Joad

Russell Simpson.....................................Pa Joad

John Qualen........................................... Muley

Zeffie Tilbury.........................................  Grandma Joad

Grant Mitchell......................................... Camp Director

Ward Bond............................................. Policeman

Reading:

Franz Hollering, The Nation, February 3, 1940

"The New Pictures,"  Time Magazine, February 12, 1990

Otis Ferguson, "Show for the People," The New Republic,  February 12, 1940

Tag Gallagher, John Ford: The Man and His Films, pp. 175-182

Charles J. Maland, American Visions, pp. 146-166

Peter Stowell, “The Myth of American Agrarianism,”  in John Ford, pp. 58-65

Norma Rae written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr.; directed by Martin Ritt

Photography by John A. Alonzo

Color

Released in 1979 by Twentieth Century-Fox

113 minutes

Sally Field...............................................Norma Rae

Ron Liebman..........................................Reuben Marshasky

Beau Bridges.........................................Sonny

Pat Hingle.............................................. Vernon, Norma Rae's Father

Barbara Baxley...................................... Leona

Gail Strickland........................................Bonnie Mae

John Calvin.............................................Ellis Harper

Booth Colman........................................ Dr. Watson

Bob Minor.............................................. Lucius White 

Mary Munday......................................... Mrs. Johnson

Morgan Paull.......................................... Wayne Billings 

Reading:

Robert Asahina, "Cinematic Delusions," The New Leader, April 9, 1979

Penelope Gilliat, "Review," The New Yorker, March 19, 1979

Robert Hatch, "Films," The Nation, March 24, 1979

Stanley Kauffman, "Well Organized Labor," The New Republic, March 17, 1979

Richard Schickel, "Strike Bustin," Time, March 12, 1979

Kenneth Turan, "Anchored to Reality," The Progressive, May 1979

The Philadelphia Story written by Donald Ogden Steward and Waldo Salt; directed by George Cukor

Based on the play by Philip Barry

Photographed by Joseph Ruttenberg

Music by Franz Waxman

Black and white

Released by MGM in 1940

115 minutes

Katharine Hepburn........................... Tracy Lord

Cary Grant........................................  C.K. Dexter Haven

James Stewart.................................. Macauley "Mike" Connor

Ruth Hussey......................................  Liz Imbrie

John Howard..................................... George Kittredge

Roland Young.................................... Uncle Willie

John Halliday..................................... Seth Lord

Henry Daniell....................................   Sidney Kidd

Reading:

The New Pictures, Time, January 20, 1941

Otis Ferguson, Philadelphia and Baghdad, The New Republic, December 23, 1940

Gene D. Phillips, George Cukor, pp. 72-75

Stanley Cavell, "The Importance of Importance," Pursuits of Happiness,  chapter 4

PART VI: WAR, THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE AND ITS IMPACT ON AMERICAN LIFE

North by Northwest written by Ernest Lehman, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Photographed by Robert Burks

Music by Bernard Herrmann

Technicolor

Released by MGM in 1959

136 Minutes

Cary Grant............................................. Roger O. Thornhill

Eva Marie Saint...................................... Eve Kendall

James Mason......................................... Philip Vandamm

Leo G. Carroll........................................ The Professor

Martin Landau........................................ Leonard

Jessie Royce Landis................................ Clara Thornhill

Adam Williams....................................... Valerian

Philip Ober............................................. Lester Townsend

Josephine Hutchinson.............................. Mrs. Townsend (actually Vandamm's sister)

Reading:

"Latest Murder Pitch from Hitch," Life, July 13, 1959

"Slick, Slick, Slick," Newsweek, July 27, 1959

"The New Pictures," Time, August 17, 1959

Whitney Balliet, "Hitchcock on Hitchcock," The New Yorker, August 15, 1989

Stanley Kauffman, Review,  The New Republic, August 10, 1959

Donald Spoto, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, chapter 30

Lesley Brill, The Hitchcock Romance: Love and Irony in Hitchcock's Films (Princeton University Press, 1988) chapter 1, pp. 3-22.

Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock, pp. 70,74, 99-101, 108, 190-195, 199, 202-203

#Raymond Durgnat, The Strange Career of Alfred Hitchcock, pp. 299-322

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb written by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern and Peter George; directed by Stanley Kubrick

Based on the novel Red Alert by Peter George

Photography by Gilbert Taylor

Music by Laurie Johnson

Black and white

Released by Columbia Pictures in 1965

94 minutes

 . 

Reading:

"Direct Hit," Newsweek, February 3, 1964

"To Die Laughing," The New Yorker, February 1, 1964

"Detonating Comedy," Time, January 31, 1964

Stanley Kauffman, "Dean Swift in the 20th Century," The New Republic, February 1, 1964

Stanley Kauffman, The New Republic, March 21, 1964

W.H. Von Dreele, "Satirist  with Astigmatism," National Review, March 10, 1964

Loudon Wainwright, "The Strange Case of Strangelove," Life, March 13, 1964

Moira Walsh, "Dr. Strangelove", American, March 28, 1964

Midge Decter, "The Strangely Polite 'Dr. Strangelove'," Commentary, May 1964

Thomas Allen Nelson, Kubrick: Inside a Film Artist's Maze, pp. 79-99

Alexander Walker, Stanley Kubrick Directs, pp. 156-221

Born on the Fourth of July written by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic; directed by Oliver Stone

Based on the book by Ron Kovic.

Photography by Robert Richardson

Color

Released by Universal in 1989

145 minutes

Tom Cruise ...................................... Ron Kovic

Willem Dafoe.................................... Charlie 

Raymond J. Berry..............................Mr. Kovic

Caroline Kava................................... Mrs. Kovic

Kyra Sedgwick.................................. Donna

Steve Boyar ..................................... Jerry Levine

Frank Whaley.................................... Timmy

Reading

Christian Appy, "Vietnam According to Oliver Stone," Commonweal, March 23, 1990

Pauline Kael, "Potency," The New Yorker, January 22, 1990

Stanley Kauffman, "The Battle After the War," The New Republic, January 29, 1990

Tom O'Brien, "At War With Ourselves," Commonweal, February 9, 1990

Robert Seidenberg, "To Hell," American Film, January 1990

John Simon, National Review, February 5, 1990

PART VII: MEDIATED REALITIES AND POLITICS

Nashville written by Joan Tewkesbury and directed by Robert Altman

Photographed by Paul Lohman

Lyrics and Music by many of the actors including

Panavision

Released by Paramount in 1975

161 Minutes

Reading:

Pauline Kael, Reeling (Boston, 1976) pp. 446-452.

*Connie Byrne and William O. Lopez, “Nashville—An "Interview Documentary"” Film Quarterly Winter 1975-1976

*Leonard Quart, “On Altman: Image as Essence” Marxist Perspectives I no.1 (Spring 1978) pp. 118-25.

Alan Karp, The Films of Robert Altman (The Scarecrow Press, 1981)  pp. 50-62.

Helene Keyssar, Robert Altman's America, (Oxford University Press, 1991) chapter 3, pp. 134-175

*#Judith M. Kass, Robert Altman, An American Innovator, (New York: Popular Library, 1978)

His Girl Friday  written by Charles Lederer; produced and directed by Howard Hawks

Based on the play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur

Photography by Joseph Walker

Black and White

Released in 1940 by Columbia

92 minutes

Reading:

Stanley Cavell, Pursuits of Happiness, chapter 5, pp. 161-188

*Gerald Mast, Howard Hawks, Storyteller, selection to be announced

*Joseph McBridge, Hawks on Hawks, selection to be announced 

*Leland A. Poague, Howard Hawks, selection to be announced 

*Robin Wood, Howard Hawks, selection to be announced 

Being There written by Jerzy Kosinski and Hal Ashby; directed by Hal Ashby

Based on the novel by Jerszy Kosinski

Color

Released in 1979 by United Artists

130 minutes

Reading:

"Going Nowhere," Commonweal, February 29, 1980

The Nation, January 26, 1980

Nora Sayre, "Films," The Nation, February 2, 1980

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "Growing Pains," Saturday Review, March 1, 1980

John Simon, "Stodgy Satire, Dodgy Satyr," National Review, February 22, 1980

"Dialogue on Film," American Film, May 1980