Another Part of the Forest

Another Part of the Forest tells the story of a patriarch of a very wealthy southern family & the constant powers struggles he endures within his own family.

There are some very interesting elements of this story that keeps one guessing. For starters, how did the family make their money is one. Two: why does the matriarch of the family keep herself locked away not only from the rest of the world but her family, too.

Another interesting plot is the relationship between the father & his only daughter. There are some incestuous overtones there.

I love this film. Screen writer Lillian Hellman was very good at dealing with human emotion, interaction & confrontation. For those of you that enjoyed "Little Foxes", you will enjoy this film because its the prequel to it.

This film has a very strong cast which is headed by Fredric March. All the cast members hold their own very well. Even though this film is play, it translates to the screen very well.

Now for the bummer:This film never made it to video for some odd reason. I only have it because I recorded it on cable one night. For those of you that have cable, I would check with your local listings.

If you love good drama, you won't regret it.

Watching Another Part Of The Forest tonight I was struck at how well Vladimir Pozner captured the characters of the young Hubbards. the subject of Lillian Hellman's classic The Little Foxes. If I didn't know better and maybe I don't Pozner might have had Hellman looking over his shoulder during the writing of the script.

It all begins with old Marcus Hubbard played by Fredric March, patriarch of the Hubbard clan who made his fortune running the Yankee blockade during the Civil War and then charging exorbitant prices for the goods he brought in. He's not a beloved man by his neighbors in 1880 Alabama, but March has a terrible secret that if the good people knew he'd be lynched on the spot.

The Hubbards are rich and despised and March's children take right after the old man. Dan Duryea who played idiot nephew Leo in The Little Foxes plays Oscar Hubbard and Edmond O'Brien plays Ben who is a real chip off the old block. It's March and O'Brien and their conflict which drives the whole film.

Scheming herself is young Regina Hubbard played by Ann Blyth a few years older than when she played the spoiled Veta in Mildred Pierce. She's as spoiled as Veta, but a lot craftier. She plays on daddy's affections which border on incest to the hilt. O'Brien keeps trying to match her up with young Horace Giddens who is never seen here, but was played by Herbert Marshall in The Little Foxes. We know that eventually happens, but right now Blyth is looking to trade up in respectability and marry young John Bagtry, scion of an old plantation family and Confederate veteran.

Bagtry is played by John Dall and he maybe respectable, but he's totally living in the past. As is sister Birdie played with a flair by Betsy Blair. We see the genesis of the character that Patricia Collinge plays in The Little Foxes who marries Oscar Hubbard and then just pines for the good old days of gracious living and people being kind to each other.

March however dominates things, in some ways he's admirable because he wants class and respectability. He's taught himself Latin and Greek and is disappointed his kids have no pretensions to culture though Blyth plays on him with pretending. But all that culture and all that money can't get him into the best homes and the second generation doesn't even care to try.

Another Part Of The Forest is a real classic with great performances all around by a fabulous cast. The spirit of Lillian Hellman's earlier work is only enhanced by this film.

I wasn't aware that this prequel had even been made. It helps to be familiar with the later story (filmed 7 years earlier-so Hollywood) and I'm glad I came across it. It has the same general feel as 'Little Foxes', so if you want to see how the older Regina and her slithery brothers got to be the way they were, see this very well acted and written flick.

'Another Part of the Forest' has been compared often inevitably and for good reason to 1941's 'The Little Foxes', a great film with one of legendary Bette Davis' best performances. The reason for the comparison is that this is a prequel to that film despite being made seven years later. It sees a fascinatingly evil and ruthless family and the source material was shocking at the time and with the portrayal of such ruthlessness in just one household still has the ability to shock.

Have actually seen mixed reviews for 'Another Part of the Forest'. It is very positively received here and a number of classic/Golden Age film fans like/love it too. At the same time, there have been criticisms from some critics, mostly trusted ones from personal view but they're not without dubious opinions every now and again, of 'Another Part of the Forest' being static and that the stage origins are obvious. Actually lean more towards the former and it is great to see people here fond of it. To me, it was very good even if there is a preference for 'The Little Foxes'.

The direction could have been sharper in places, parts of it tend to be on the limp side and lacks William Wyler's imaginative use of camera and atmosphere a little.

Did think too that Ann Blyth's acting, though she does absolutely have great moments, didn't quite gel with that of the rest of the cast. She didn't quite seem monstrous enough and could have gone for it more, Davis was so toweringly monstrous in 'The Little Foxes' and there didn't quite seem to be enough here of how the character came to be the way she became.

However, the cast on the most part are wonderful. Fredric March is perfectly cast and he was never more chilling than here. Dan Duryea does calculating in a way that is very sinister and Florence Eldridge is effectively dotty. Edward O'Brien is a great and more sympathetic contrast to March, their conflict is not just ruthless but also very interesting. The father-daughter chemistry also unsettles and although the characters are with few redeeming qualities and very unsympathetic they are interesting and didn't come over as too over-written, motivations take a lot of unpredictable turns but they were at least buyable.

It, 'Another Part of the Forest' that is, moreover looks great. Very sumptuous and atmospheric, with eerie shadowy lighting and elegant costuming and settings. The music is haunting without over-shadowing or being over-bearing orchestrally. The script thought provokes and bites and doesn't feel too overly talky in the way a lot of other stage to film adaptations do, found it quite vicious too. Personally didn't think it was static or stagy at all, the character interactions were very believable, there were tension and chills in the atmosphere, it was darkly dull and it didn't feel that much of a filmed play or get too melodramatic again like some stage to film adaptations do and also considering the subject. If there was an improvement over 'The Little Foxes' it was the ending, it was the one weak spot in that film whereas it was unpredictable and didn't come over as abrupt.

On the whole, very good. 8/10

"Another Part of the Forest" is a prequel to "The Little Foxes" but made seven years later and it feels like an attempt to do a reprise of Wyler's classic with Ann Blyth, Edmond O'Brien and Dan Duryea trying to fill the shoes of Miss Davis, Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid. Actually O'Brien is very good and Duryea, who played the son of the character he's playing here in Wylers film, isn't bad. Only Blyth lets the side down. Their parents are a gruff Fredric March and a dotty (and excellent) Florence Eldridge.

The movie purports to show how the nasty Hubbards got to be so nasty but there really isn't anything here we haven't seen before. This is more like a remake than a prequel and under Michael Gordon's limp direction it's hard to tell if this would have been any good on the stage. What's fairly clear is that this is second-rate Hellman and Gordon does nothing to make it cinematic. Still, in its fevered bad movie kind of way it's actually quite entertaining. No family ever had so many skeletons rattling around in the cupboard and letting skeletons loose can be good fun. Of course, perhaps Hellman intented it all as a joke or maybe the humour was simply unintentional.