The Crucible

I saw this dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials on TV as a high school junior - just familiar with the Trials and McCarthy. A very good rendering of the play, a great treat at the time - i would love to see it again. By the way, I grew up in the north, there is something intriguing in the idea of these bored teenaged girls sitting around in the cabin while it is cold and snowy outside and cooking up a witch scare.

Saw this version of THE CRUCIBLE when it was first broadcast: it made a big impression on me. But haven't seen it since (so far as of 2013 not available on DVD), but the acting was astounding. I remember details of Coleen Dewhurst's performance, her rich, deep voice quivering with disbelief as the accusations mount. Most of all, Tuesday Weld gave the finest performance of Abigail i've ever seen. She was able to bring so much depth to the part, and such ferocity! I've seen several stage versions of the play, as well as the 1957 French film and the 1996 film version: no one has ever been better than Tuesday Weld. One thing: who played Tituba? I can't remember, and i can find no listing (anywhere) as to who played that part in this TV production. (I know that Jacqueline Andre played the part in the 1953 Broadway production, and Vinette Carroll went to France in 1957 to play the part in the film starring Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, but who played the part in 1967?) Of all the Abigails, Tuesday Weld is the only one to really bring out the sexual assertiveness, and how the thwarting of sexual expression can become "demonic". (Another thing i remember is how the married women were addressed as "Goody"; the sound of Melvyn Douglas's voice and Fritz Weaver's voice saying "Goody" to Coleen Dewhurst is a vivid memory.)

I saw this as a teenager and was deeply impressed by it; it was my first Arthur Miller play. It had a dream cast! It would be wonderful to see it again. This and the sixties Hallmark Hall of Fame version of Saint Joan starring Genevieve Bujold are two old TV broadcasts I would really like to find. I wonder if it still exists in archives somewhere? (I did find Saint Joan online -- but only the audio of the original broadcast!) I particularly remember the confrontation between Tuesday Weld (whom I remember as being quite good) as Abigail and George C. Scott as Proctor. Fritz Weaver was a terrific, tormented Hale! This production is what led me to research the Salem witchcraft trials (and ultimately the European witch craze) as well as to read the rest of Miller's plays! I do remember that it had a spoken "epilogue" as the credits were running that warned us that the cry of "witch" could still arise in times of conflict. (I think this may have been a line added to Miller"s "echoes down the corridor" notes at the end of the script in which he reveals what happened to his characters.)

Most everyone has either seen a version of The Crucible onstage, on the screen, or read the play. For all the screaming and hysterics, I've really had my fill of Arthur Miller's symbolism. I studied the play in school, and have seen both the 1967 and the 1996 movies. The live tv production is quite different than the Daniel Day Lewis Hollywood movie, so be prepared to cut it some slack if you rent it. Keep in mind it's all live, the sets are limited, and the wigs look pretty wig-y. But if you're a George C. Scott fan, you might appreciate it. He's certainly a different John Proctor than Lewis, with much more shouting and far less tears.

Colleen Dewurst plays Goody Proctor, and she's also different than Joan Allen. She has a lot more strength and emotion. However, the biggest contrast of all is Tuesday Weld and Winona Ryder. Where Winona is spiteful and evil, Tuesday plays up to the "innocent child" aspect of her character. In this version, you believe that George took advantage of the young girl working in his house. She believed their affair equated love, and when he ended things, she cooked up a revenge scheme against his wife. You truly believe she came up with the witch hunt because she was afraid after getting caught dancing in the woods. With Winona Ryder, she seems like the seductress against Lewis's innocent, faithful husbandry. She's calculating and enjoys inflicting pain. In the 1967 version, it's easy to interpret that a child's joke just got taken too far by the grown-ups. Melvyn Douglas, as the judge leading the witch hunt, feels like more of a villain than Tuesday. In 1996, the girls seem to know exactly what they're doing.

Brilliant production of Arthur Miller's play! Saw it when I was about 13, and it made me decide to go into the theater! Indelible performances by George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst ... a fabulous Tuesday Weld (as good as she is in Bus Stop!) and the almost always underrated Fritz Weaver (really, how many movies have been utterly transformed by his presence even in a "minor" role?). And the power of the actors merges with the amazing writing, rather than overwhelming it -- I'm sure I've read the play a thousand times since first seeing it, even played Elizabeth myself for a class, but the lines and scenes I hear in my head and see in my mind's eye still come from here!