Something to Live For

Sophisticated tale of a married alcoholic who strays in order to rekindle his own inner fire, SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR (1952) has an almost un-American delicacy. A mere advertising man wasting creative talents on shoe campaigns, Ray Milland comes to the rescue of a fellow alcoholic who happens to be a talented actress recovering from an abusive relationship with a narcissistic director. Joan Fontaine gives arguably her best performance as a sensitive soul saved by her love for a married man who's fighting similar demons. Their impossible love nonetheless strengthnes both of them.

Director George Stevens paints an intimate portrait of Manhattan work life and night life, including a beautiful evocation of what Broadway theater used to be. He makes space for Fontaine's vulnerability without going maudlin, and gets Milland to let down his guard as the most skewered of lovers. There's so much to love in the framing and lighting, above all a spontaneity thrillingly incarnated by Fontaine.

The script by Dwight. Taylor is stunning - Romantic but not unrealistic, capturing aspects of the artistic temperament and the human need for love that will inspire artists of all ages.

This movie is not your standard run of the mill drama. For its time, it's played very naturalistically. Both Milland and Fontaine give solid performances that are restrained and grounded in reality. Unfortunately, Teresa Wright (one of my favorites from the 40s) doesn't get much screen time and when she does it always involves rather stilted conversations with husband Milland.

The movie is an odd conversation piece because there are in fact a lot of real life endings going on.

Take Fontaine for instance, this movie is, arguably her last major leading lady role. Sure her next picture after this was IVANHOE (a big money maker in color) but I'd hardly call that movie a vehicle for Fontaine. For better or worse, this really is her swan song as a leading lady when she was still a major star that audiences were interested in seeing. Sure she had some other leading roles (not many though), THE WITCHES from 1966 though a leading role could hardly be compared to a major studio production with a leading director of Stevens' caliber co-starring a major motion picture star like Milland. She was 35 in this movie.

Milland's career too as a leading man was about to close. After this movie he basically had one BIG picture as a lead in a major motion picture and that would be Alfred Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER. He was 45 in this movie.

Wright's career never did gel completely and consequently it's a rare movie that featured her as the lead...especially with her role being the driving force. But in a handful of movies in the 1940s she made her mark that remains to this day. If nothing else, she was Marlon Brando's co-star in his first movie THE MEN. Hard to believe but she was only 34 in this movie.

One thing I'm surprised no one has commented on is the cinematography. From the very beginning I noticed special attention was being paid to the filming of this movie and there are quite a few dissolve shots where you see two images laid over each other as the scene shifts from one scene to the next. I looked the cinematographer up and discovered it was the legendary GEORGE BARNES. Not too remembered now but in his day one of the best..and one of the earliest. He was nominated five times for an Oscar, winning for 1940s Alfred Hitchcock production of REBECCA. He only made a couple of movies after this then passed away.

Director GEORGE STEVENS was near the end of his career as a director as well, though he still had five films left in him, almost all hits, especially SHANE and GIANT.

I liked the the tone and subject matter of the movie and the manner in which it was handled. Unfortunately, the biggest liability is the writing. There just wasn't enough development to the story. As one other reviewer here suggested, it might have been salvaged if they shortened it and presented it as one of the live dramatic pieces on TV. Or, and I would have gone with this option, and had a script doctor brought in who could have added a bit more conflict. Certainly the interplay between husband Milland and wife Wright should have been beefed up. If nothing else, Wright should have been given at least one scene that she could've sunk her teeth into. And Fontaine too was robbed of a meatier role.

Milland gets the most screen time and thankfully he played it well.

Buy the movie lacked a central theme of URGENCY.

So it plays, perhaps, almost TOO realistically without the needed and wanted dramatic punch.

Still, it was great to see Fontaine not all lacquered up for a change and playing a real woman. And she still looked great.

I'd give the movie a chance. Especially on a winter rainy afternoon.

Despite the fact that you have a good cast, this fails to be a good film, merely because of the script and direction. It is dull from start to finish, and apart from a scene where Ray Milland and Joan Fontaine are reading a script together and then kiss, there is nothing to commend it. I'm not particularly a fan of Theresa Wright, and although her performance may be commendable, she doesn't grow or develop in the part. It is one- dimensional from beginning to end. Having said that, it doesn't harm any of their careers. Fontaine would go on to do 'Ivanhoe' in the same year, and Milland would go on to do 'Dial M For Murder' with Hitchcock. This suggests that as an actor you should do as many films as possible so that the good ones can cancel out the bad ones.

I wonder if Ray Milland was roped into Something to Live For due to a contractual obligation, but I don't have to wonder if he was insulted - of course he was! Did Hollywood see him as anything other than a chronic alcoholic? His role in this "romance" is practically a sequel to The Lost Weekend, but somehow his character manages to be even more unlikable. There are some movies you can watch him in that show him as a great actor; in this one, he's just Ray Mi-bland.

Joan Fontaine is also just Joan Fontaine. Her hunched posture, inability to voice the ends of her sentences, and her ill-fitting smile are all present in this role, not distinguishing it from countless others she played. She's meek and mousey, going on a bender every time she has to perform onstage. If she feels that way about an audition, reading, or opening night, she has no business seeking a career in the theater. Instead of calling AA whenever she collapses, the well-intentioned bellhop Harry Bellaver should have called an employment agency. Joan is a joke.

At the start of the movie, Harry calls Ray to come over for an emergency drunk resuscitation. Ray is unnerved because AA segregates them by gender, and Joan should have had a woman come. Nevertheless, he spends the evening with her and helps her back on her feet. When he returns to his own home, his wife Teresa Wright isn't happy that he's still involved with alcoholism even though he's kicked the habit himself. There are so many flaws with this plot, it's not even a pleasure to watch and criticize it. Ray would never have been allowed to be a sponsor if he was only one year sober and still holding on by a thread. He would have had his own sponsor, to whom he would have told he's mentoring a single (supposedly attractive) woman; and his sponsor would have put a stop to the dangerous behavior immediately.

The "romance" of the story is also a problem. It's extremely obvious that Ray is only attracted to Joan's weakness. She makes him feel strong by comparison, and his wife reminds him of his past mistakes (through his own conscience; she never actually does this). Is the audience supposed to think theirs is actually a deep love? Joan is unhinged and would cling to anyone. Through their clandestine relationship, doesn't the audience recognize the signs of addiction? Ray starts lying again, he experiences highs and lows, he makes excuses to see Joan when he knows it's unhealthy, and he enjoys his alternative persona during his secret life. How are we supposed to root for these people? How can we think their affair gives them "something to live for"? I was very mad at Harry's character, encouraging an adulterous relationship when he had no stake in Joan's future. If he was Joan's brother and truly believed Ray was the only man who could help her live another day, he might rationalize his aiding and abetting. He holds no investment and should therefore stay out of their lives.

This Paramount 1952 release came on unexpectedly since it is not often seen. The main interest was the three principals, under the direction of George Stevens, whose body of work speak by itself. Even with a screenplay that is somewhat dated, the film kept out attention from the start.

Jenny Carey, an actress whose stage fright contributes to her alcoholism, meets and falls for Alan Miller, himself a recovering alcoholic. The problem is that Alan is married; he is a decent man who realizes the danger of falling too deep for Jenny. Even if they feel deeply about one another, the stigma of their love for the bottle keeps them grounded. Alan is married to Edna, a decent lady who understands the struggle her husband faces on a daily basis, but never suspects him of seeing another woman. That is, until Edna meets Jenny at a party. Edna, who is expecting a third child, senses something is wrong, but she has no basis for doubting Alan.

The pairing of Joan Fontaine and Ray Milland pays off in unexpected ways. Ms. Fontaine and Mr. Milland were at interesting points of their careers. Both are perfect with their take on the two doomed lovers who understood their would be relation was doomed from the start. Although the characters are not strongly written, the two stars do wonders with their roles which speak volumes about the strong handling of the situation by Mr. Stevens. Teresa Wright who plays Edna, shows why she was always an asset in anything she appeared on the screen. Also, in a supporting role, Harry Bellaver, a veteran actor who went to star in the television series "Naked City", one of the best things of that early period of that medium.

"Something to Live For" is worth a look if it ever shown on cable.