Journey Into Light

This independent production could easily be taken for one of those semi-professional cinematic Sunday school sermons intended for church halls were it not for the menacing presence of Sterling Hayden in the lead and the contradictory visual stimuli of Elwood Bredell's crisp, unsparing documentary-style photography of skid row (Weegee, no less, was a technical consultant on the film), yet populated by an extraordinary collection of familiar Hollywood faces ranging from H.B.Warner to former Keystone Kop Hank Mann. (John Berkes, who is a standout as the piano-playing Racky, died shortly after the production wrapped.)

After feeling that both God and his congregation have forsaken him by abandoning his alcoholic wife to a miserable fate, the Reverend Hayden angrily rejects both, tears off his dog collar and spends a remarkable amount of the film's relatively short running time scraping ignominiously along the lower depths of Los Angeles while vehemently badmouthing God at every opportunity. This being Hollywood during the early fifties, surely he's eventually going to regain his faith and it will all end upliftingly? It sure takes him a long time, and comes suspiciously abruptly!

Journey Into Light - Leads into Interesting Territory 7-1-19 (REV final) This little independent movie belies its merge budget - if movie makers can almost convince you they had more funds available than they actually did, then this movie is a case in point - proving what can be achieved when everyone involved had a belief in their product and tirelessly worked for the good of a common outcome. Who is this fine writer, Anson Bond? (also co-producer) what gave him the insights to create such a compelling screen story - displaying a talent for better than average dialog and situations. He and producer Joseph Bernhard also managed to call together a fine professional cast - all who work hard at lifting this curious story well above its station. Director Stuart Heisler ('The Glass Key' '42) along with talented director of photography Elwood Bredell ("The Killers '46) develop a final look that makes for quite impressive viewing.

The always interesting stone-faced Sterling Hayden adds power to his painfully traumatised ex Minister's character - suddenly finding himself guilt ridden and vehemently challenging God for his wife's death. Spiralling downhill fast & eventually, tormentedly languishing on skid row - quite powerful stuff. Lovely and still quite new to America, Viveca Lindfors adds a touch of style to her supportive but physically restricted sympathiser's role. Always professional Thomas Mitchell sparks things up with his down-and-out but protective con-man antics. Other above-average support players complete the necessary professional back up. This is the kind of impressive effort that should be held up as an example of how to successfully bring in a low cost picture - rather than certain other examples we often see being touted by critics and Hollywood types.

If anything possibly holds this one back it might be the somewhat sudden ending - showing us the budget simply didn't allow for achieving any further development of characters or situations (of course the fact that the HOUAA were hounding Mr Hayden all the way through making the picture would have added heavily to this) It's a minor classic waiting to be discovered by all lovers of off-beat cinema gems. Looks even better the second time around. Would be good to see a quality DVD made available.

When Pastor Sterling Hayden's wife kills herself, he loses all faith in G*d, abandons his comfortable suburban parish and winds up on the Bowery. He's mentored by sly Thomas Mitchell, who collects commissions from every bum. He thinks he sees great possibilities in Hayden .... by his standards. But when kindly Ludwig Donath and his blind daughter, Viveca Lindfors, rescue him and give him a job as janitor at their mission, he drifts into an armed truce with G*d.

Hayden grumbles his way through the role, with most of the interest being provided by the bums, including H. B. Warner, Jane Darwell, Paul Guilfoyle, Billie Bird, and O. Z. Whitehead. For a trained cleric, Hayden keeps making theologically unsound arguments in a very unpleasant way. However we can be certain that under the direction of Stuart Heisler, things will turn out as ordained.

A shabby story from skid row about bums and fallen women and sanctimonious slum missions where Sterling Hayden repeatedly falls down into the gutter and stays there, turns out to be a universally interesting and overwhelmingly good story. There are moments in this film that you will remember forever.

He is not a fallen priest. It's not his fault that his wife after two stillborns turns alcoholic and ruins his life and position to crown it all with a bloody suicide, which turns him naturally enough not only away from God but against God, so that he associates with the bottom layer of society, with Thomas Mitchell in a perfect role for him as an honest con man, as the desperate man has nothing else to do.

The most touching and human scene of all, among the many in this deeply human film, is when the preacher can't lead the service as Viveca Lindfors, his daughter who saves the show, is in coma at the hospital, so Sterling has no choice but to stand up as leading preacher himself for the first time since his wife committed suicide. He does it reluctantly and with great hesitation, he almost stumbles up at the pulpet, but then something happens in the congregation. Dirty old men, beggars, loafers and what not are all touched by the moment of crisis at the critical condition of the girl they all love, so they all, in various ways, fall down to prayer, one bum leading the heart-rending reaction.

But there are many moments like this. Some moods in this film remind you of Chaplin's "City Lights" and other such extremely poetical films, for this is cinematic poetry caught and set in realism. Vittorio de Sica couldn't have done it better. You will never forget this film.

The Hollywood film industry has often been accused of ignoring the issue of religious faith. This is probably not because (as some people no doubt think) that the film industry is filled full of Godless Satanists. Rather, it is because filmmakers simply do not wish to offend.

Here is a rare film that has a clergyman as a protagonist. Sterling Hayden portrays the Pastor who has a very deep crisis of faith after his alcoholic wife commits suicide. He finds his way to and around skid row. His Journey is a path to a redemption that he has not actually been seeking.

Thomas Mitchell is great in this as well. Actually, he's doing his Doc Boone act from STAGECOACH all over again.