The Proud and Profane

William Holden and Deborah Kerr demonstrate strong acting here about how war changes lives. And, how perhaps we make different decisions in war, then we would in normal life, such as risks to take (we take more in war), relationships (Holden: I don't know what's going to happen next so life is day to day.). Emotional hurt, widowhood, also play into vulnerability from these characters as well as the emotional hurt from lower society status.

The acting from Holden and Kerr was intense and realistic. I think perhaps some people might not like seeing them as imperfect people. Both make mistakes. They aren't always likelable, warm, and you'll only see Holden's radiant smile once. I admire them both for going against type, and they did it very successfully. Very flawed people, going through life -- like us all.

It was fascinating and i would see it again. It became more about the human condition than the romance, which I highly respected. There is no cute bowtie to tie it all up at the end, and it leaves you with life will continue, and how will each character continue on, communicate, make decisions when tough things happen in life.

I recommend this movie and I'll see it again. Different character acting by Kerr and Holden; their fine acting independently and together; make this extraordinarily watchful. Additionally, the key thing is not the romance, but the transformation of each character to a greater self honesty and honesty with the world.

The Proud and Profane (1956)

Yes, this movie features William Holden and Deborah Kerr, who do their characteristic best in a lower budget echo of the 1953 blockbuster "From Here to Eternity," also featuring Kerr (but with Lancaster and, for good measure, Montgomery Clift). The comparison is fair, because the similarities are too blatant, and so it's fair to also say that, as ordinary as this movie is, it had potential. There are qualities to the story line that are too moving (wounded soldiers in the Pacific, a widow tracing the last days of her Marine husband's life, a love affair against the rules) and the actors are too fine (add Thelma Ritter as an important third) to just dismiss the whole thing as a mess.

The director, George Seaton, is really a screenwriter, and though he directed a dozen features, none of them are especially memorable. His real fame rests on assisting with several great movies (like "The Wizard of Oz") and with a single brilliant coup--the screenplay for the original 1947 as well as the later TV version of "Miracle on 34th St." And it is no surprise that Seaton's own screen writing in "The Proud and Profane," though prosaic, is very good.

Ah, but filmmaking is about timing, flow, surprise, drama, light, shadow, and sounds of all kinds. This is the director's blank canvas and Seaton doesn't go anywhere in any of these areas. The light is bright and flat. The camera-work is functional and bland (cameraman John Warren being a newcomer, moving quickly to television, including many Hitchcock episodes). The score is strong (thanks to veteran master Victor Young) but there is no attempt to insert diegetic music or more interesting internal sounds. Even the supporting cast is pigeonholed into clichés (and there is no critical secondary male role, as Clift played in the 1953 movie). Thelma Ritter is at her best, more normalized than in other roles, but believable and superb.

I write all this for a routine movie because of Holden, who is an understated and sometimes brilliant actor, and Kerr, who I never warm up to but who is almost designed to be too cold to like. Kerr in particular is up and down here, at times so perfectly cast and so convincing you start to really watch closely, but other times she has to stretch her role a little (when she is dancing, for example, or in the cheesy beach scene early on) and it's awkward. Holden is made to be an enigma, and when he warms up (out of uniform) he's likable, and when he's cold, he's cold, but never admirable, which is what a commander needs to be at least.

I enjoyed this movie because I enjoy movies, but also because it has aspects that are terrific. If you really like war films that aren't about battle (as I do), this is a must see. And if you want perspective on "From Here to Eternity" you really will appreciate both films more. For just a fresh, well-made movie, terrific you will need to keep looking.

Considering the cast this oddly obscure WWII war drama is nothing special but is ultimately an entertaining drama.

The basic story is a standard one of a clash of values between two people with very different life experiences.

The best performance as usual comes from Thelma Ritter as a no nonsense nurse, whenever she's on screen she cuts right through the somewhat sugary dramatics with astringent fortitude.

Deborah Kerr and William Holden perform their assigned roles well but their characters are both pretty selfish and unsympathetic to involve you in their story.

It was strange, but interesting watching this movie. Deborah Kerr plays an American Red Cross volunteer who pulls strings to get assigned to the South Pacific to find out the circumstances of her husband's death on Guadalcanal. Thelma Ritter (excellent as always) plays her supervisor who becomes close to Kerr and is not liking what is going on. William Holden (who is unrecognizable, except for the voice) plays sadistic Colonel Black, who is attracted in to the upper middle class Deborah Kerr. It is an unusual role for Holden since his roles typically are suave, sophisticated and the handsome leading man type of parts. Compared to movies from current adolescent-minded writers, directors and producers, it is palatable.

The combined credits of William Holden and Deborah Kerr will contain the titles of the best films of the Fifties. But The Proud And Profane will never go down in the top 10 list of either of these stars.

Kerr is a Red Cross volunteer sent to New Caledonia which was a major US base in the Pacific War in the Forties. She's a recent widow of a Marine Lieutenant killed at Guadalcanal. Now she's in her grief trying to make some kind of atonement. What we don't need here is women on some kind of pilgrimage as her new supervisor at the Red Cross played by Thelma Ritter points out. In fact Ritter tries many times during the film to give Kerr a reality check.

Holden was her husband's brigade commander and one tougher than usually tough Marine. Apparently her husband was a sensitive sort and Holden is unlike him in just about every way. In fact Holden is brutally frank about wanting to get to know her intimately and does.

After which he undergoes a complete change of heart. And it turns out he's married most unhappily to a woman back in the states.

These two stars had all the chemistry of vinegar and peppermint lifesavers. Funny because very soon Kerr was to be cast with Robert Mitchum in Heaven Knows Mr. Allison where he plays a tough Marine and she a nun. Those two were wonderful on screen together. But no movie magic emanated from the silver screen with Holden and Kerr.

William Redfield plays a chaplain and some of those scenes with Holden were like Spock and McCoy going back and forth. Redfield was way too self righteous in a way DeForest Kelley never was.

Best in the film is Thelma Ritter who many times is just that. And Adam Williams has a small, but key role as a gravedigger and tender in the new cemetery on Guadalcanal. He's the one who finally gives Kerr the ultimate of reality checks.

Definitely a film for fans of the two stars and Thelma Ritter.