Le Tumulte

So many reviews here critical of the casting, harshly evaluating not only those chosen as starring cast members but their acting talent as well. Dean Martin, in particular, receiving a thumbs down in his presentation of the ne'er-do-well brother whose business ventures have inevitably failed. On the contrary, Martin gives quite an acceptable characterization and has the physical attributes to add credence to his image as a womanizer. As for Geraldine Page, her hysterical style well fits the devious, emotional woman she presents. Wendy Hiller, as her sister, gives a nuanced performance as the only one of the group connected to reality and attuned to the consequences brought about by the tragically misguided thinking and actions of those around her. Then there's the pathetic child-woman as played by Yvette Mimieux. Yvette's presentation of this naive, intellectually challenged, easily manipulated girl is effectively shown.

The movie was a box office failure. Understandable, as an incestuous desire of a sister for her brother would be unappetizing subject matter for a movie audience in 1963.

Despite its silly sounding title (which is never explained, by the way), Toys in the Attic is extremely heavy. It'll stick with you for years afterwards, and you probably won't ever want to watch it again. When the main character is so evil, and the actor or actress is so convincing, it makes your skin crawl. And when the performance is that good, chances are he or she will be honored at the Hot Toasty Rag awards. Geraldine Page had to wait until 1985 to receive an Academy Award, but she won a Rag award in 1963.

Geraldine plays a spinster living with her sister, Wendy Hiller. Geraldine takes up all the energy in the room, so much so that no one else can even breathe. Wendy just sits on the sidelines, observes, and tries to quietly prevent any damage from getting done. They both share a love of their baby brother, Dean Martin. Whenever he comes to visit, they're buoyed up for a brief time before his good intentions fall flat and leave them exactly as they were before. Expensive presents often turn out to be borrowed on bad credit. Promises are empty. He comes this time with a new wife in tow, Yvette Mimieux, and lots of money in his pocket. He buys them a refrigerator, fancy clothes, and tickets to a European cruise. Then why aren't they happy?

Lots of reasons, as you'll see if you rent this movie. As the older sister, Wendy has some great expressions as she observes and hopes for the best. Geraldine steals all the spotlight, though, with her frenetic energy and manic emotions. Jealous, cruel, possessive, demanding, and unhinged - it's Geraldine Page at her finest.

At the time of its release, Dean Martin was criticized for his performance; critics went so far as to say he had no business being in such a heavy drama. That was both unkind and not true. He was surprisingly good in this movie, and gallantly, both of his leading ladies came to his defense. Geraldine and Wendy said he was a pleasure to work with, and they were both proud of his performance.

Every performance in this haunting film is stellar, including Dean Martin's. Much has been said about him being miscast but I disagree. Despite his being a perennial loser, the character of Julian must be so attractive, charming and fun as a person that he can capture the hearts of fresh young things like Lily and older, more experienced women like his connected and moneyed benefactor alike. Part of Julian's problem is that his personal attractiveness has allowed him to skate through one catastrophic life choice after another while women, most often his older sisters, who also get all giggly at the very thought that he might come swinging through the door any minute, have always been there to bail him out and nurse him back to health.

His child-like and overly animated conversation with Lily's mother is a key indicator here. He is still very much a little boy at this point in the story, yet you can see his irresistible personal charm and attractiveness is also working on his own mother-in-law.

These are qualities that were intrinsic to Dean Martin's real life and his professional persona. And the film camera being as unforgiving as it is in revealing a certain "biology is destiny" truth about a person's look, manner and aura, I don't believe Jason Robards Jr., who created the role on stage and was a fine actor on both stage and screen, would have been able to pull it off in the movie. Yes, Paul Newman could have pulled it off. But so could Dean Martin. His performance is one of the things I enjoy most about watching this as I do every few years on my old TCM DVD-R copy of it (we really need an official DVD/Blu-ray release of this soon). His final scenes with Page and Hiller are standouts. It is thrilling to see Julian's growth into manhood for the first time in his life under these brutal circumstances as Dean Martin portrays him.

This is a dramatic performance that, IMO, surpasses his previous impressive dramatic performances in The Young Lions, Career, Some Came Running and Rio Bravo.

And on the issue of questions about the family resemblance (or lack there of) among the three siblings, I'm not sure that is such a critical oversight of the filmmakers considering the musical chairs heritage elements found elsewhere in the story. Questionable lineage/parentage is an openly discussed factor for at least two other characters. It wouldn't be a stretch to consider the possibility that the three siblings in this old New Orleans family might have been the product of two or more fathers. The two "old maid" sisters are overly conservative and averse to outsiders to an almost neurotic level. Was this the result of a mother who instilled this fear in her daughters in order to atone for her own wild youth? Possible. I just think the question of whether Dean Martin, Wendy Hiller and Geraldine Page look enough alike to be taken for siblings is not much of a distraction and, in its own way under the circumstances of this story, might even add something of value to consider.

Heavy dramatics and a suffocating atmosphere make this a challenge at times. What it has to balance out all the weighty goings on is acting of the highest order. Dean Martin, Yvette Mimieux and Gene Tierney all contribute excellent work but the real fireworks is between Geraldine Page and Wendy Hiller as Dean's sisters.

While Gerry Page has the showier role it's Wendy Hiller who gives the film's best performance. With subdued delivery and subtle looks she conveys a wealth of background into both who she is and the history of the entire family's dynamic. It's a wise choice, if she had fluttered and extrapolated as Page's Carrie does the viewer would never be able to make it past the first five minutes of the film.

One step removed from a Tennessee Williams chamber piece this will be enjoyed most by fans of his work as well as fans of great acting.

Lillian Hellman wrote some amazingly raw films about screwed up Southern families. She was, in many ways, like a female version of Tennessee Williams--with stories having many of the same themes and even some of the stories set in the same locales--such as Louisiana. Several of her plays went on to become movie classics--the most famous of which was Bette Davis' splendid "Little Foxes". Others, such as "Toys in the Attic" didn't exactly become classics--but they are worth seeing. My advice with this movie, however, is that you force yourself to keep watching. The first portion isn't particularly distinguished and the craziness all begins later in the movie.

The story begins with Julian (Dean Martin) working on some business deal. When he and his wife, Lily (Yvette Mimieux) arrive back to see their families in Louisiana, things sound great. Julian has announced that one of his deals went through and he is now rich. He lavishes gifts on his two spinster sisters (Geraldine Page and Wendy Hiller). During this phase of the film, Page's character is REALLY, REALLY annoying. She talks non-stop and the tone of her voice could incite murder!! My advice is to grit your teeth and stick with it--all sorts of nasty craziness is to follow! What? Well, see the film for yourself.

The film is NOT perfect--and it's obvious when you see an Italian-American (Martin) playing the brother. The casting just didn't make much sense, though his acting was just fine in the film. As I mentioned above, Page's acting also seemed to be a bit too much at times. But, the story is golden if you keep watching. Don't believe me--see it for yourself! It gets pretty icky!