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Why is this the first posting on this board?

posted 17 years ago by hobnob53
11 replies | jump to latest

TRIAL was called MGM's prestige picture of 1955 because of its subject matter. Great story and performances, though it suffers from a little too much MGM gloss. I'm surprised no one has ever posted anything about this film until now. Never released on home video, though it's hoped the rumored Glenn Ford box set (due in 2007 or 2008?), or perhaps Warner's next Controversial Classics set, will contain this undeservedly overlooked movie that still has something to say about justice in the United States. Other postings solicited! (4/13/07.)

[–] gary_overman 17 years ago

I did not even know about this film. It sounds like an interesting theme, though.

[–] hobnob53 17 years ago

How the hell did you ever find me here!? I just answered you on OTB!

TRIAL turns up on TCM every few months -- they usually celebrate Glenn Ford's birthday by showing it among the pile of Ford films they run, and that's next Tuesday, May 1 -- unfortunately I haven't received my monthly TCM guide yet so don't know if it's scheduled. I'll try and keep you posted whenever it's scheduled next.

Arthur Kennedy plays a Communist using the trial of this Mexican kid accused of murder to further the Red cause. Although filmed in '55, it takes place "safely" in the past -- 1947, the last great wave of CP activity (so contemporary audiences didn't have to worry about such things going on under Ike). It's Kennedy who steals the movie, with the best role -- one which brought him the third of his five (all unsuccessful) Oscar nominations. Ford is a little annoyingly weak and hesitant, Dorothy McGuire is okay, but the rest of the cast is very good indeed. The next-to-last picture of John Hodiak (from Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT, etc.), before his death of a heart attack later that year, at 41.

Thanks for adding to the post, g.!

4/30/07 UPDATE! Sorry, but TCM has not scheduled TRIAL to mark Glenn Ford's birthday (the first since his death last year) tomorrow, May 1. We'll keep looking!

[–] Attillio 17 years ago

"Trial" is also sometimes broadcast by Turner Classic Movies on the great Dorothy McGuire's birthday on June 14.

Incidentally, Arthur Kennedy and Dorothy McGuire were reunited in the 1959 romance film, "A Summer Place."

[–] hobnob53 17 years ago

Quite right. TRIAL was the last film where Dorothy McGuire was the lone love interest, at age 39. By the following year she had fallen, a bit too early, into mother roles, in this case in the superb FRIENDLY PERSUASION -- her playing mother to two grown children (20+-year-olds) was stretching things just a bit too much.

Same thing in A SUMMER PLACE -- although there she at least showed there could be love past 40, if you consider Richard Egan a suitable catch! (She and Arthur Kennedy were more of a love/hate couple in that one.) But again she was at best just barely the minimum age to comfortably play mom to the annoyingly uptight, prudish Troy Donahue. (Which parent did HE take after?!) Odd that in real life Donahue died just two weeks before Miss McGuire in 2001.

[–] Attillio 17 years ago

Yes, Troy Donahue was SO stolid, that he would have made even the late President Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge seem like former President "Wild Bill" Clinton by comparison! Although, I enjoyed Troy Donahue's performance as Connie Corleone's self-absorbed boyfriend in "Godfather II." (I wonder if hit-man Al Neri, in following his boss' direct orders, took Troy Donahue's character on a one-way fishing trip on that lake like Neri did with the doomed Fredo Corleone?)

You know, it's interesting that the superb Arthur Kennedy played so many heels during his distinguished film and stage career, and that the great Dorothy McGuire portrayed so many, almost, saintly women during her equally distinguished film and stage career. Both Mr. Kennedy and Miss McGuire are greatly missed by their many fans and admirers. We should all be grateful to Ireland, that those specific branches of the Kennedy and McGuire families did decide to emigrate from the Emerald Isle to these United States of America. We will never see their wonderful likes again.

[–] hobnob53 17 years ago

Completely agree with you on all counts. Speaking of THE GODFATHER, did you recall that the name of Donahue's character in that film, Merle Johnson, was Troy's real name? A little inside joke by Coppola, I guess. But he certainly was an intrusive klutz in that one -- even if Michael had liked him Al Neri should have taken him out onto Tahoe for a permanent fishing expedition anyway. (I checked after my last post and to refine my dates: Troy died Sept. 2, 2001, and Dorothy Sept. 13, just 11 days apart -- although there was of course an intervening event that caused Miss McGuire's death to receive rather less attention than it might otherwise have done.)

Arthur Kennedy had five Oscar nominations and amazingly never won. TRIAL was I believe his first film after a three-year stint on Broadway. Interesting fact is that for four of the five films he was nominated for, he had the same director -- Mark Robson (CHAMPION 1949, BRIGHT VICTORY 1951, TRIAL 1955, PEYTON PLACE 1957). The only exception was SOME CAME RUNNING, 1958, directed by Vincente Minnelli. His nomination for BRIGHT VICTORY was his only lead nomination (as opposed to supporting), and one of his very few leading roles ever, and he was so good that at least the NY Film Critics gave him their Best Actor award, beating out Brando in STREETCAR and Bogart in AFRICAN QUEEN, among other heavyweights -- further proof of his talent. I never understood why he wasn't nominated for ELMER GANTRY in 1960 (but then neither was its star, Jean Simmons).

Kennnedy always thought he lost the Oscars in part because he wasn't part of the Hollywood social scene and never campaigned for a win. Whatever, he certainly had his ups and downs. It was always astonishing to me that his film career throughout the 1970s consisted exclusively of bottom-barrel Italian- or other Continental-made exploitative junk, although he continued to be busy on American TV. When he sank so low as to accept a role in EMMANUELLE ON TABOO ISLAND things must have been bad. He quit the business in 1980 and disappeared so thoroughly that when they came looking for him to loop over some of his dialogue for the restoration of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA late in the decade even his agent had no idea where he was living. They finally found him in Savannah, GA, and after he did his looping work Kennedy found himself in demand again, though unfortunately he made only two small independent films before his death from cancer at the beginning of 1990. What a terrific actor, you are very right, and what a waste of his talent those last 20 years. Lots of people in Hollywood should be ashamed.

Great talking with someone who appreciates fine actors such as Kennedy and McGuire. I hope it isn't long beore TRIAL may at last find its way to home video.

[–] Attillio 16 years ago

You know, when Al Neri dumped Fredo Corleone's body into the lake, it's too bad that director Francis Ford Coppola did NOT also have Neri dump the script for "Godfather III" into the drink along with poor Fredo! F.F.C. would have then spared many Godfather fans (in around two-and-a-half hours of seemingly unending drivel) the unremitting misery of having had to watch Andy Garcia attempt to emulate James Caan's great performance from "Godfather I," imho.

I did not know that Arthur Kennedy had won the New York Film Critics' award for Best Actor over such other renowned actors as Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart. That is a great tribute to Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy was superb as the philandering husband in "Some Came Running." Although, I found it somewhat difficult to believe that the burly Mr. Kennedy and the pencil-thin Frank Sinatra were brothers in the film! Dean Martin was a hoot in the film. Didn't he refer to Shirley MacLaine's character as a w-h-o-r-e at one point? At least, Dino finally took off his cowboy hat in tribute to Shirley's character during the funeral scene at the end of the film.

I had the great pleasure of once seeing Arthur Kennedy on stage in a play entitled "Veronica's Room." I believe that the author of the play was Ira Levin, author of both "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Boys From Brazil." As a result, there was great excitement about this upcoming project. Unfortunately, the play was a dud. When Mr. Kennedy and Eileen Heckardt (sp?), his co-star, came out to accept the applause of the audience at the end of the play, you could tell that the actors sensed that the play (but, certainly, not as a result of their own fine performances) was going to a flop. The play did last only a couple of weeks on Broadway.

Dorothy McGuire once appeared in a revival of "Night of the Iguana." Sadly, I missed the opportunity to see this great actress onstage.

[–] hobnob53 16 years ago

Very funny, re "G III". I don't think I found that movie quite as objectionable as you did, though it was made about 15 years too late. There were certainly some casting mistakes -- i.e., Sophia Coppola; how do you suppose she landed that role? -- but to my mind the one person whose absence harmed the film was Robert Duvall. I recall that he demanded $5 million to reprise his role as Tom, Coppola wouldn't go over $4m, so he declined. With the cost of movies these days, what kind of difference would a measly million make? Tom's absence deprived the film of some much needed continuity and stability, and a critical link to the old films. I also found the cordial relationship between Michael and Kay unrealistic.

But Sophia's participation in the film at least gave her the distinction of being the only person to appear in two different roles in two different "Godfather" films...the first, of course, her cameo as the infant son (!) of Carlo and Connie being baptized at the climax of the original "Godfather".

You also know the real-life fate of actor Richard Bright, who played Al Neri? Struck and killed by a tour bus on the west side of Manhattan in February, 2006. It was big news here in NY. A very Al-Neri-ish ending for one of his victims, I thought, though Mr. Bright's death was of course tragic. You never know how you'll end up.

But back to Arthur Kennedy.... I agree, he and Sinatra were a tough sell as brothers, but he was convincing as a small-town Babbitt with his hidden secrets in SOME CAME RUNNING. He also had a far less colorful role than the pre-Rat Pack duo, so his managing an Oscar nod for his performance was all the more remarkable. But I repeat an earlier mention, of Kennedy's perfomance in ELMER GANTRY (1960), and having recently seen the film again I just cannot understand why he wasn't at least nominated for his role as cynical reporter Jim Lefforts. (Especially as Shirley Jones won an AA for her supporting role as the prostitute, a performance which definitely does NOT stand the test of time -- very mannered and affected, in my view. But people were so shocked by the notion of sweet Shirley as a whore that they went overboard and gave her an Oscar she did not deserve - it should've gone to Janet Leigh for PSYCHO.)

Which reminds me -- I don't recall Dino referring to Shirley MacLaine's character as a "whore" in SCR -- it seems a bit too harsh for a '58 film; mainstream Hollywood was still a few years away from such frank language, I think. But I'll have to re-watch and check it out. When Otto Preminger had the word "bitch" in his superlative ANATOMY OF A MURDER in 1959, it jolted everyone -- I was too young to see it back then, but to this day when I hear the word in that film it's like a slap across the face, so powerful and unexpected for its era.

You're very lucky to have seen Arthur Kennedy live, on stage. What a great, great actor. By the way, one of his cheesy Euro-trash flicks, 1973's RICCO THE MEAN MACHINE (also known by about 7 other titles!) is coming out on DVD in late January, I believe. I saw this about 25 years ago and remember it as a pretty sexy and abysmally stupid movie, with Kennedy an Italian crime lord, complete with slicked-down, dyed-black hair and mustache, and a really knockout mistress who (I warn you, a spoiler's ahead, if it matters!) Kennedy has lowered into a vat of acid when she's unfaithful to him. Even Al Neri never got that creative! But somehow this performance of Arthur Kennedy's also escaped Academy notice.

So glad to be exchanging info and views with someone who appreciates such fine performers and films. Your posts are excellent and interesting!

[–] Attillio 16 years ago

hobnob53,

Yes, "The Godfather III" would have been infinitely better if Robert Duvall had appeared in it as Tom Hagen. Incidentally, I recently happened to watch a dvd of "Combat," the 1960s World War II television series. Robert Duvall appeared in two of the episodes. Mr. Duvall was superb portraying both a German officer and a German medic on the show. In the dvd commentary from the series, actor Conlan Carter, who portrayed the American medic, "Doc" on "Combat," remarked what a consummate professional Robert Duvall was on the program. As Conlan Carter pointed out, Robert Duball is completely believable in any character he portrays.

I happened to catch Arthur Kennedy as reporter Jim Lefforts in "Elmer Gantry" on TCM last night. You are so correct about Mr. Kennedy in this film; Mr. Kennedy was absolutely terrific as the cynical reporer, who also turns out to have a heart.

[–] fbm72751 8 years ago

Well for one, the film seemed to have disappeared from circulation for many years so many either forgot about it or new fans never heard of it. This used to be shown a lot on the TV late movies in the 1970s and I'd seen it several times but after that I never saw it again until AMC aired it around 1987-88, fortunately uncut and commercial free, when their format was good.

[–] hobnob53 8 years ago

I don't recall its being on AMC in the late 80s (not disputing you, just don't remember), but once TCM came into being in 1995 they showed it fairly regularly. Even so, you'd think someone would've known the film and posted something, even if only to ask the usual question of why it wasn't on DVD. (Which, it should be noted, it has been since July 2014, from Warner Archives.)

But thanks for the first post on this first thread in nine years!