Ce monde à part

The Young Philadelphians had all the ingredients to become the most horrid American melodrama, in the worst 1950's style. Instead, it was cooked up to be one of the fine 1950's movies.

William Lawrence III (Adam West) was not, indeed could not be, the father of young Tony (Paul Newman). After William kills himself in a horrible car crash (suicide?), his Mother wants Kate (Diane Brewster) to give up the family name for her and her baby boy. Because she could reveal the reason for this horrid condition (Gasp! Is it possible that the marriage was not consummated because William the third could only "do it" with boys?), Kate secures the Lawrence name, if not the Lawrence money, to give Anthony a chance in Philadelphia society. Can you see the most awful melodrama developing?

Well, it turns out that further developments provide us with a balanced mix of humor, cynicism, drama, real emotions. This movie shows first rate acting and directing, and superb black and white photography. It gives us a glimpse of what appeared to be a pretty gruesome society scene. Apart from the unlikely happy end (I'm not giving too much away by saying this about an American movie of the 1950's), this is an interesting incursion in the period, with a healthy dose of social realism. As a bonus, we get to see Paul Newman out of his shirt in a steamy scene with a frustrated woman married with Newman's much older boss, a delightful Billy Burke in one of her last screen appearances, a tortured Adam West trying to deal with... (Oh! no, I can't say it), and a whole cast of believable, if not overly subtle, characters. We even get a bit of courtroom drama, à la Perry Mason.

This is an excellent way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon...

Set in Philadelphia society in the 1940s/1950s. The two leads- Newman and Rush are excellent, but it is Vaughan as Newman's alcoholic buddy who gives the best performance- he was nominated for an Oscar. Billie Burke as the rich, eccentric little old lady is a delight. Alexis Smith as the attractive frustrated wife married to Newman's elderly boss gives a great performance. Several of the other supporting players- Keith, Picerni, John Williams as Rush's father, and Krueger as Newman's boss are excellent. I own the video and have watched the movie numerous times.

The Young Philadelpians which was made in 1959 is tame by today's standards; out-dated for sure. Yet, when it was made it was not only controversial, but very daring for it's time; dealing with homosexuality, child-birth out of wed-lock, mental illness, adultery, suicide and alcohol abuse.

Paul Newman was out-standing in the role of Anthony Judson Lawrence, a career driven lawyer, whose mother is hiding a deep dark secret. Newman is at his physical prime; handsome and lean. Everyone in this classic black and white soap opera was great. Just a really entertaining rainy night movie.

The Young Philadelphians is a curious mixture of Ross Hunter like soap opera together with a Tennessee Williams like hero and surprisingly enough it works most of the time.

Paul Newman is the hero whose very existence on the planet is a source of scandal. His mother Diane Brewster was disinherited by her husband's family when he killed himself on their wedding night. Newman's had to scrap for what's his in the world and isn't above using the bedroom to advance himself.

He's got a friend in Robert Vaughn who's also a black sheep in his Philadelphia Main Line family who gets himself in a jackpot when he's arrested for murdering his uncle. Newman, who's a tax lawyer, gets some on the job training in a criminal case, in defending Vaughn.

Like Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly Last Summer, characters like John Williams, Robert Douglas, and Frank Conroy seem above all to want to protect the family name. Hepburn was willing enough to have a lobotomy performed on Elizabeth Taylor and this crew seems ready willing and eager to send Vaughn to prison or the electric chair for the same reasons. Straight out of Tennessee Williams.

Newman shows some of the flash in his courtroom scenes, especially in his examination of Richard Deacon that he later showed in his Oscar nominated The Verdict which is my personal Paul Newman favorite. He trips Deacon the witness up with a piece of legal wizardry worthy of Perry Mason.

In the prologue of the film when the death of Adam West is shown on his wedding night to Diane Brewster the film is very discreet as to his reasons for doing what he did. It's explained this was a marriage arranged by his mother for the purpose of carrying on the family name even if it meant wedding a girl not from their crowd. He explains he has no interest in his wife and promptly goes out and dies in a speeding car crash. Today it would be far more explicit to say that maybe Adam West's character was gay. But we had the code in place back then and gay was invisible.

Robert Vaughn got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and his harrowing scenes with Newman in the drunk tank got him that. He lost to Hugh Griffith for Ben-Hur, but it was the first real notice he got and the start of a long career. Look for good performances by Alexis Smith as the older woman Newman woos, Billie Burke as the daffy dowager, and Barbara Rush whose on and off relationship with Newman guides most of the film.

The Young Philadelphians is kind of old fashioned today, somewhat dated, but still is good entertainment and recommended here.

... by not marrying his father in the first place. Let me explain.

Kate Judson (Diane Brewster) marries socialite Bill Lawrence (Adam West... yes THAT Adam West). Kate marries him because her mother wants the marriage into high society. But apparently, Bill is gay. The film comes as close to saying that as you could in 1959. He runs out of the honeymoon suite. Kate runs to the man she really loves, construction company owner Mike Flanagan (Brian Keith). When she returns home later that night she learns Bill has died in an accident. Nine months later a son is born. But the mother in law has PIs all over the place and tells Kate she knows this is not her grandson and offers to pay her off as long as she and the baby relinquish the Lawrence name. Kate refuses, because the Lawrence name will open doors for her son some day. She also refuses to marry the father whom she loves, because "people will talk" and possibly figure out his real parentage.

So the son grows up to be Paul Newman, Mike Flanagan overpays him to work at his flourishing construction business, and as he grows into manhood he is now rubbing elbows with some of the most insufferable snobs ever committed to celluloid. They lie. They cheat. They steal. They mess with him professionally and romantically. He tries to keep his honor, but they don't make it easy for him.

If Kate had married Mike in the beginning she would have had all of the money she ever needed because Mike was very successful, avoided both her and her son's suffering, and yes, those snobs would have had nothing to do with her family, but after watching this film that seems like a plus.

Billie Burke as a widow worth a billion dollars in today's money is hilarious. She ventures out on Christmas just to make sure her dog is mentioned in her will. Robert Vaughn is a standout as a blue blood friend of Newman's character who drinks heavily to deal with the hypocrisy of his relatives.