"TOM JONES" (1963) Review
Recently, I searched my memories for any movies produced outside of the United States that not only won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but I would also consider a personal favorite of mine. Only one came to mind - the 1963 movie, "TOM JONES".
"TOM JONES" turned out to be the second non-Hollywood film that won the coveted Oscar prize. Directed by Tony Richardson, the movie is an adaptation of Henry Fielding's 1749 novel, "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling", about the coming-of-age and misadventures of an illegitimate young man, raised by a landowner in mid-18th century England. I might as well start from the beginning. Sometime during the 1720s, one Squire Allworthy returned home to his Somerset estate and found an abandoned infant in his bedroom. Demanding to learn the identity of the infant's parents, the Squire learned from his housekeeper and other servants that the child's parents were a local schoolmaster named Partridge and a servant girl named Jenny Jones. Squire Allworthy banished both from the immediate neighborhood and became the baby's new guardian.
Named Tom Jones, the infant grew up to become a charming, handsome and slightly roguish young. He also became friendly with most of the locals, especially his guardian's neighbor, Squire Western. Tom's good looks and charm not only captured the eyes of Squire Western's only child, Sophie, but also Molly Seagrim, the promiscuous daughter of a local poacher named Black George Seagrim. But malignant forces in the form of Squire Allworthy's venomous nephew, Mr. Blifil, the tutors for both young men - Mr. Thwackum and Mr. Square, and Tom's own personal vices; eventually lead Squire Allworthy to order the young hero's departure from the Allworthy estate. Tom sets out for London, where more acquaintances and adventures await.
I first saw the Best Picture Oscar winner, "TOM JONES", on television, when I was in my early teens. And I immediately fell in love. Mind you, my love for the movie has not blinded me from its flaws that are featured in the last ten minutes. It felt so rushed. And it seemed as if director Tony Richardson had retold Henry Fielding's tale with a great deal of detail and atmosphere, before he lost his impatience and rushed the last few minutes of the movie's narrative. Richardson and screenwriter John Osbourne never allowed the audiences to witness Lawyer Dowling's revelation to Squire Allworthy of the details in the letter written by the Squire's late sister, Mrs. Bridget Allworthy Blifil. Instead, they allowed the Mrs. Waters character to break the fourth wall and inform the audiences of the letter's contents. I found this very frustrating, especially since the audience was denied the Squire's immediate reaction. I also found the appearance of Lieutenant Norton, the Army officer whom Tom prevented from harming Mrs. Waters on the journey to London. By some bad coincidence, Norton managed to rejoin the Army and ended up leading the detail that escorted Tom to a public execution. For me, this is coincidence of the cheap kind. But as I had stated earlier, my complaints are few.
Overall, "TOM JONES" strikes me as a beautiful and lively film to watch. I have the feeling that it ushered in a new style for period movies on both sides of the Atlantic. One, the movie lacked the gloss that marred the realism of most costume dramas before 1963. Richardson approached the story's earthiness, sexuality and violence with a great deal of realism without any overindulgence. Prime examples of the director's approach could be found in famous scenes like Tom and Mrs. Waters' lusty supper at the Upton Inn, Tom and Mr. Partridge's colorful entry into mid-18th century London, and the fox hunt sequence that still delivers quite a cinematic punch after fifty years. Richardson also utilized a filming style used in comedies from the silent era with great effect in scenes that included Squire Allworthy's discovery of the infant Tom and the romantic chaos that ensued following Mr. Fitzgerald's erroneous interruption of Tom and Mrs. Waters' nocturnal activities at Upton.
I have to express my admiration for John McCorry's costumes. I believe they perfectly reflected the fashions for all classes in Britain of the 1740s, without any pesky 20th century influences. Both Ralph W. Brinton's production designs and Josie MacAvin's set decorations conveyed Richardson's earthy and realistic view of mid-18th century Britain. Brinton and MacAvin earned Oscar nominations, along with Ted Marshall for his art direction. "TOM JONES" was filmed mainly in the rural areas of Somerset and Dorset. And Walter Lassally's photography captured the beauty of the English countryside with a natural elegance and zest that I found very appealing. It seemed a pity that he was not recognized with an Oscar nomination. I feel he deserved it . . . especially for his work on the fox hunt and London arrival sequences. On the other hand, John Addison won the Best Score Oscar for his work on the film. I cannot deny that I found his music for the film truly outstanding. It beautifully captured the spirit and atmosphere of the movie's setting. Despite my pure satisfaction of Addison's score, a part of me still wishes that Elmer Bernstein had won that Oscar for the "HOW THE WEST WAS WON" score.
I read somewhere that Albert Finney found the character of Tom Jones something of a bore. If he did find the character boring, it is a credit to his acting skills and perseverance that his boredom never appeared in his performance. In fact, I believe he gave a sparkling, charismatic and star-making portrayal of one of the most charming and roguish characters in English literature . . . and earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination for his work. I have no idea how Susannah York felt about the character of Sophie Western. For me, it does not matter. She was a delight, as far as I am concerned. More importantly, she infused a great deal of fire into her performance, reminding viewers that despite the well-mannered and elegant appearance, she is her father's daughter. Speaking of Squire Western, Hugh Griffith seemed to be having a ball, portraying the lively and somewhat coarse landowner, Squire Western. It was not surprising to learn that he had earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance. Three other cast members earned Oscar nominations - Edith Evans, who gave an energetic performance as Squire Western's caustic and snobbish sister; Diane Cilento, whose portrayal of Molly Seagrim seemed to be an interesting mixture of sexiness and desperation; and Joyce Readman, who radiated a more mature sexiness in her portrayal of Mrs. Waters, Tom's famous companion at the Upton Inn.
I do wish the Academy had considered Joan Greenwood for a nomination. I was very impressed by her subtle, yet malevolent portrayal of the lustful, yet insidious Lady Bellaston. The movie also featured some solid performances from the likes of George Devine, who gave a solid and heart-warming performance as Squire Allworthy; David Tomlinson as the sexually aggresive Lord Fellamar; Jack MacGowran as Tom's faithful companion, Partridge; and George A. Cooper as Sophie's hot-headed cousin-in-law, Mr. Fitzpatrick. Four other performances struck me as noteworthy. One came from Rachel Kempson, who not only gave a brief, yet solid performance as Bridget Allworthy Blifil, but also happened to be Richardson's mother-in-law. The second one belonged to well-known character actor David Warner. "TOM JONES" not only featured his film debut, but also featured the first of many villainous roles he would portray over the years. Also in the movie was Julian Glover, who also made an impressive film debut in "TOM JONES" as a villain, namely Lieutenant Northerton. And Richardson's sister-in-law, Lynn Redgrave, made her film debut in a brief scene as a maid at Upton Inn.
I read somewhere that Tony Richardson was never satisfied with his work on "TOM JONES". According to cinematographer Walter Lassally, an unsatisfied Richardson tinkered a bit too much with the movie's editing during the post-production period. Perhaps that is why the movie is not particularly perfect. But neither Richardson's unsatisfied tinkering or Albert Finney's boredom with the main character could mar what became one of my favorite Oscar winning movies of all time . . . or cause Richardson to lose his Best Director Oscar. After half a century, "TOM JONES" has lost none of its magic.
Below is my review of the 1974 adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels - "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS": "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" (1974) ReviewWhenever the topic of Agatha Christie novels pop up, many critics and fans seem to rate her 1934 novel, "Murder on the Orient Express" as among her best work. This stellar opinion seemed to have extended to the 1974 movie adaptation. After all, the film did receive six Academy Award nominations and won one. Is "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" the best adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Is it my favorite? Hmmm . . . I will get to that later. But I cannot deny that the movie, produced by John Bradbourne and directed by Sidney Lumet, is a first-class production. One could easily see that Bradbourne and Paramount Pictures had invested a great deal of money into the production. They hired the very talented and award winning director, Sidney Lumet; along with an all-star cast led by Albert Finney; cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth; production and costume designer Tony Walton; and Paul Dehn to write the screenplay.One of the most unique aspects of this particular movie is that it started with a haunting montage featuring newspaper clippings and newsreel footage of a tragic kidnapping of a three year-old girl from a wealthy Anglo-American family named Daisy Armstrong in 1930. The kidnapping of young Daisy would end up playing a major role in the true identities of the murder victim and the suspects. The movie soon jumped to Istanbul, five years later, where famed Belgian-born detective, Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney), is about to journey back to England via the Simplon Orient Express. Despite the unusually heaving booking in the train’s Calais coach, Poirot manages to secure a berth thanks to an old friend, Signor Bianchi (Martin Balsam), who happens to be a director for the Orient Express' owner – the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Several hours after the train departs Istanbul, a mysterious American art collector named Samuel Ratchett (Richard Widmark) informs Poirot that someone has been sending him threatening notes and asks for the Belgian’s protection. Due to Poirot’s instinctual dislike of Rachett, the detective refuses to help. And after the train finds itself snowbound in Yugoslavia during its second night, Rachett is stabbed to death in the middle of the night. Signor Bianchi asks Poirot to unearth the murderer. "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" turned out to be the first screen adaptation of a Christie novel to feature an all-star cast. The cast included screen stars such as Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael York and Jean-Pierre Cassel. The cast also included stage luminaries such as John Gielgud (who was a bigger star on the stage), Wendy Hiller, Denis Quilley, Rachel Roberts and Colin Blakely. And all of them gave solid performances, although I do have a few quibbles about a few members of the cast. Critics had been especially impressed by Finney's interpretation of the Belgian detective and Ingrid Bergman's role as a shy and nervous Swedish missionary. Both received Academy Award nominations and Bergman won. Personally, I am not certain if both actors deserved their nominations. I agree that they gave first-rate performances. But I found nothing extraordinary about Bergman’s Swedish missionary. It was a very skillful performance, but not worthy of an Oscar nomination, let alone an Oscar. And although he gave a superb performance, there were times when Finney seemed to drift into some kind of parody of the Continental European. This is why I believe that actors with strong continental European backgrounds like Peter Ustinov and David Suchet should portray Poirot. But . . . I cannot deny that Finney gave a very good performance. And he also conveyed certain aspects of Poirot's personality that I have never seen in Ustinov or Suchet's portryals - one of them being a talent for manipulating others into revealing themselves during an interrogation. I also enjoyed his brief scene with Jeremy Lloyd, who portrayed an obsequious British Army officer that served as Poirot's escort during the crossing of the Bosphorus Strait.There were times when some members of the rest of the cast seemed to be in danger of drifting into hammy acting. Sean Connery sometimes came off as heavy-handed in his British Army officer routine On the other hand, he seemed very effective in those moments when his character, Colonel Abuthnot, is very protective of the Mary Debenham character. And Anthony Perkins' parody of his famous Norman Bates role irritated me to no end . . . especially since the literary version of his character – Hector McQueen – came off as a completely different personality. However, Perkins had one superb scene that featured no dialogue on his part. But the four performances that strongly impress me – came from Jean-Pierre Cassel as the rail car attendant, Pierre Michel; Rachel Roberts as a German lady’s maid named Hildegarde Schmidt; Jaqueline Bisset as Helena Andrenyi, the young wife of a Hungarian diplomat; and Colin Blakely as Cyrus Hardman, an American detective masquerading as a talent scout. Unlike some members of the cast, these four managed to give very subtle, yet convincing performances without sometimes careening into parody. And Blakely provided one of the most poignant moments in the film when Poirot revealed his character’s (Hardman) personal connection to the Daisy Armstrong kidnapping case.As for the movie's screenplay, I must admit that Paul Dehn and an uncredited Anthony Shaffer did an excellent job in adapting Christie’s novel for the screen. They managed to stay true to the novel’s original story with very few changes that frankly improved the plot. Their only misstep was in making the Hector MacQueen’s character into a parody of the Norman Bates role from "PSYCHO" (1960), due to Perkins being cast into the role. Or perhaps the fault lay with Lumet. Who knows? However, I cannot but express admiration over the brilliant move to include the montage that featured Daisy Armstrong’s kidnapping and murder at the beginning of the film. It gave the story an extra poignancy to an already semi-tragic tale. Despite these changes, Dehn and Shaffer basically remained faithful to the novel. They even maintained the original solution to the mystery. Granted, it was the solution made "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" one of the most unusual murder mysteries in the history of Hollywood, let alone the literary world. And although the revelation of the murderer(s) came off as somewhat inconceivable, it made the movie memorable . . . aside from the flashback that revealed Rachett's actual murder. That seemed to last longer than necessary. I also have a different opinion regarding the fate of the murderer(s). When I was younger, it did not bother me. Now . . . it makes me slightly uneasy. Anyone who has read the novel or seen the movie, would know what I am talking about.Richard Rodney Bennett had received a great deal of praise and an Oscar nomination for his score. I thought it meshed beautifully with the scenes featuring the Orient Express' departure from Istanbul . . . and its continuing journey at the end of the film. However, there were times when I found it a bit over-dramatic and slightly out of place for a murder mystery. I really admired Tony Walton’s production designs for the movie. I thought it truly invoked the glamour and magic of traveling aboard the Orient Express in the 1930s. And it also conveyed the claustrophobic conditions of traveling by train, beautifully. Surprisingly, he also designed the movie’s costumes. I can only assume he was trying to adhere to Sidney Lumet’s desire to recapture the old Hollywood glamour from the 1930s. Unfortunately, I felt that Walton’s costumes for some of the characters (namely Lauren Bacall and Jacqueline Bisset's characters) seemed a bit over-the-top. But I must admit that I admired his other costumes, especially for Albert Finney, Rachel Roberts, Ingrid Bergman and Vanessa Redgrave's characters.In the end, one has to give Sidney Lumet high marks for putting all of this together to create a classy adaptation of an unusual novel. Granted, I have a few qualms with some of the performances, characterizations and the plot’s resolution. And there were times in the middle of the movie when Lumet's pacing threatened to drag the film. In the end, Lumet’s direction managed to maintain my interest in the story. And "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" remains a favorite movie of mine after 41 years.
