MovieChat Forums > The Member of the Wedding (1953) Discussion > great movie but not aging well

great movie but not aging well

posted 16 years ago by artistathome
6 replies | jump to latest

In this world of high tech, and special effects a black and white movie like this about small town life does not go over well with current audiences.
I remember watching it on tv as a girl and thinking it was a strange movie back then. And frankly, Julie Harris is strange in the role.

But I think Frankie had to be played that way, because Frankie IS strange. Getting in the car and screaming when her father drags her out? I remember thinking how weird and sad she was to want to go on a honeymoon when I saw it many many years ago. I never really wanted to see it again because it made me sad.

I am not surprised at some of yall's reactions. But it is what it is.

It is not a happy movie, nor is it completely sad. It is a picture of real life in the late 40s, about a lonely young girl who wants to leave her small town existence and experience life. The reason she seems so changed by the end is because she is finally getting to move away and change her life for the better.

Carson McCullers was not writing for audiences of today, she wrote for audiences of her time.

The one thing I always hated about the movie was its darkness. I am sure that was contrived to give it a melancholy feel., but they could have done the black and white cinematography so much better. it hurt my eyes to try and distinguish furniture in a room and leaves on trees!

We are supposed to feel undone and dissatisfied and slightly mopey while watching it. If you feel this way, the director and story did its job.
Nina

[–] novastar_6 16 years ago

My only problem was the movie was that Frankie changed at the end, she changed into the sort of girls she hated, what more she became a very girly girl, and I always despise when they do that to tomboys.

But to be honest, I much rather prefer this version of Frankie getting thrown out of the car, than in the God-awful Hallmark remake.

[–] HillieBoliday 16 years ago

Why would you despise a caterpillar starting to evolve into a butterfly?

Granted, my example maybe a little extreme, but I am sure you will get my point.

Portraying a 12 year old girl, her hormones are raging, she is on the brink
of turning into a swan from an ugly duckling; her emotions are all confused,
and she hates those girls because they don't accept her. They think she is
peculiar and doesn't measure up nor is she good enough to hang with them.

She is the complete opposite of those other young ladies; and it is driving
her crazy, because she really wants to be like them.

She goes through this complete turmoil in her life during that time frame,
(days, weeks, months??)and finally comes out a bit calm and resolved at the
end of the movie.

This movie has always represented such sadness to me. John Henry dying,
Berniece's failed attempts to keep Honey out of trouble; and her exhaustive
determination to reason with this hormone raging teenager to finally get a clue!
Great film and great performance by all of the actors!!

"OOO...I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

[–] wenarskys 14 years ago

If you think Frankie turned into a "butterfly" at the end, I have to seriously wonder if we watched the same movie.
I found her transformation appalling. Frankly, I found her to be self centered through the entire thing and the ending was just a different manifestation of that. I found the ending depressing because it shifted the focus onto on Bernice, which made me REALLY sad. Here's this African American woman who's tried her best all through life and she's been crapped on by everything including Frankie, who is remarkably not sad that they are going to be parted. Frankie's happy -now she has a friend, now she's popular and obviously belongs to some kind of club (Scouts or something, by her uniform) and she's on her merry little white girl way. She doesn't seem to care AT ALL about Bernice's feelings; this woman who's cared for and all but raised her and all. No, I don't see that she's grown up or "grown" at all as a person.

Poor Bernice. She's lost her only family (Honey); she's lost Candy and her job and family she works for, along with her precious husband that she still mourns. Anyone who found this film uplifting definitely wasn't looking at Bernice's side of things!

[–] MStephenmir 14 years ago

I too can see how this film might not reach a great many people but it reached me when I first saw it back in the fifties when I was a bit younger than Frankie. I thought Julie Harris seemed odd and she was and I think that was the intent. I've seen productions since in which actresses closer in age to Frankie were cast and it didn't work. Part of the problem is that the language is very poetic and sounds too adult coming from a twelve year old..."They are the we of me" "Winter Hill..doesn't that remind you of ice and snow?" ...Frankie rhapsodizes endlessly and sounds more like Carson McCullers speaking through the character of "her" younger self. It is a tale told as memory and not to be taken literally. The darkness of the cinematography helps to support this. It's as if the characters are living in a dream..a sleepy, emotional half lit dream....

Waters performance is also a marvel and I don't recall another film of this era that showed a relationship between an African American and Caucasian that broke through so many of the familiar stereotypes. Her character, Bernice, is more than a servant but a friend, a mother an adversary...she listens and she tries to inform, to reason with Frankie but with no success. As one reviewer noted , she is left in the end with very little and her parting with Frankie is sad but she is the older, wiser character and her perceptions are mature. Note that the final shot of the film belongs to Waters which shifts the focus away from the children of the story and she too relishes all the verbal gems McCullers' script provides. Just to hear her say: "Things accumulate around your name." is worth watching this film...

No, this film is not for everyone and I can see why but I do wish it would be released in a deluxe edition on DVD with all the trimmings it deserves.

[–] novastar_6 14 years ago

Besides, if people want to talk about movies that don't age well, let's try Gone with the Wind...who today is going to be able to relate to THAT one?

[–] IceboxMovies 10 years ago

It's a little dated, but I still think it taps into the confused emotions we all experience at a junior high age.