O Solar de Dragonwyck

A cross between "Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca", "Dragonwyck" was the kind of Gothic Romance that was very popular at the time and which stays just on the right side of camp, though coming when it did it might be difficult to keep a straight face at times; it's almost like a parody of the books that influenced it. It marked the directorial debut of Joseph L. Mankiewicz who handles the fairly daft material as well as can be expected. Gene Tierney is the Connecticut farm girl brought to the great house of the title by her distant cousin Vincent Price as a kind of governess to his young daughter. He's got a slightly dotty wife, (that fine and underused actress Vivienne Osborne), and, of course, a housekeeper verging on the sinister, (Spring Byington), not to mention scores of tenant farmers, all of whom hate his guts.

I always had trouble accepting Tierney as poor farm girls. Once she puts on a ballgown she becomes more like herself while Price, in the best of his early roles, is excellent as the rich patroon, (that's basically a landowner to you and me), and there's good work, too, from Walter Huston and Anne Revere, (everybody's mother in the movies), as Tierney's parents. Only the dreadfully wooden Glenn Langan, (he grew up to be "The Amazing Colossal Man"), hampers proceedings as the local doctor in love with Tierney.

It's certainly a handsome looking picture. beautifully designed and photographed in black and white by the great Arthur Miller, and there's oodles of plot to be getting on with. In the Mankiewicz canon, it's been somewhat overlooked but it's very enjoyable; 'a women's picture' to be sure but one with a very sturdy backbone.

In 1844, the Wells family lives in a small farm of their own in Greenwich, Connecticut and the sons and daughters have a rigid discipline and religious education from the patriarch Ephraim Wells (Walter Huston). When his wife Abigail Wells (Anne Revere) receives a letter from her wealthy distant cousin Nicholas "Nick" Van Ryn (Vincent Price) inviting one of her daughters to live with his wife Johanna Van Ryn (Vivienne Osborne) and him nursing their daughter Katrine Van Ryn (Connie Marshall), the naive Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney) gets excited with the perspective of traveling. Her mother convinces Ephraim to let her go and Miranda travels with her father to New York. They meet Nick and they learn that he is a patroon of farmers at the Hudson Valley. Then Miranda travels to the Dragonwyck mansion where she is introduced to the voracious Johanna and the sweet Katrine and to the housekeeper Magda (Spring Byington). Miranda also meets Dr. Jeff Turner (Glenn Langan), who is a sort of leader of the farmers that work for Nicholas, in a party and befriends him. Soon she notes that Katrine is neglected by her parents. When Johanna gets mysteriously ill and dies, Miranda returns home. But the atheistic Nick visits her family to propose to marry her. Now Miranda's dream comes true and she gets married with him and moves to Dragonwyck. Will they live happily ever after?

"Dragonwyck" is the debut of Joseph L. Mankiewicz as director. The screenplay also by Mankiewicz is based on a successful novel by Anya Seton with modification in the ending. The cinematography By Arthur C. Miller and the music score by Alfred Newman call the attention of the viewer since the very beginning. The Gothic romance with supernatural touches shows the confrontation between an atheistic arrogant man and his naive religious wife. The performance of Vincent Price is top-notch and the gorgeous Gene Tierney performs a naive character but with strong principles. Walter Huston, despite a secondary role, is also amazing. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Solar de Dragonwyck" ("The Manor of Dragonwyck")

Dragonwyck (1946)

A high drama, historical drama, and drama drama. And the drama part works, so that's most of the movie. It's a fairly stiff arrangement, however, including the purposely stiff Vincent Price, who plays a noble Dutch American (a patroon) with a fabulous estate on the Hudson. Director Mankiewicz is great at nuanced characterizations, including a zealous father played by Walter Huston. This may not be his best product, but it's rich with details and lush textures both visually and in the narrative, and it gets more intense as the small events come to conflict by the end.

What sometimes hobbles the whole thing is the simplified tenant farmer revolt, whatever its roots. (I live near to where this is fictionally set, and there is no trace of this kind of culture at all here, just some place names, and I have a suspicion it was never this exaggerated, not in the 1800s, though perhaps in the 1600s, when the Dutch really ruled the area, then called New Netherland.) The pageantry, the great house, the storms, and the big dances, all of this is romantic Bronte territory, well done, and great atmosphere. The music by Alfred Newman and the photography by Arthur C. Miller, both great talents at their professional best, do their usual best, as well.

So what works best, beyond the overall mood, is the presence of the two women: the visiting niece of course, the star, Gene Tierney, and equally, in a subtle way, Connie Marshall, the suffering wife of the patroon. Tierney has a kind of cool reserve that works here, letting the light work on her pretty head. Eventually, the handsome doctor's role takes on more complex importance (played by Glenn Langan), and Price has a fine end, which Price fans will greatly admire.

I really liked this movie, even if it owed a lot to "Rebecca." In some ways it is an odd mix of Gothic horror, Americana and "women's picture." However, it held together, thanks to the performances of Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, and (especially) Vincent Price. Price practically turns the film into a Poe movie before the fact. He can be both romantically charming and sinister, which is a combination that is hard to beat.

I loved the scenes with Price's first wife, who is obsessed with food. In fact, I found the movie curiously disjointed. In the first half of the film, Spring Byngton plays a rather daft "Mrs. Danvers" type, and then she vanishes from the movie without any mention made of it (Not even "We had to fire that old bid d y.") Likewise the haunted daughter from the patroon's first marriage. She had a couple of powerful scenes, and then she was gone without a word. (Not even "Gee, too bad she died of scarlet fever.")

I never would have guessed that Mankiewicz was the director of this film. (Well, perhaps in the scene in which the aristocratic women were making sport of Tierney's commonness.) Very powerful Gothic atmosphere in the key scenes. A very enjoyable film, especially for Vincent Price fans.

Gene Tierney, Vincent Price and Walter Huston and Joseph L Mankiewicz were reasons enough to maintain interest in seeing Dragonwyck. While I had no problem with any of them, I did have a fair lot of issues with the film. The film is overlong and is rather ponderously paced. It further suffers from some clumsy scripting, a consequence of trying to cram too many different genres, and a story that has some suspense but suffers from the fact that it doesn't go anywhere for a bit of the time and the ending underwhelmed also. However, the production values are simply gorgeous, and the score is resolutely haunting. Mankiewicz's direction is solid. Gene Tierney looks beautiful and is adorable and touching. Walter Huston, Anne Revere and Jessica Tandy give terrific support. The best asset is the performance of Vincent Price, one that is devilishly handsome, sometimes frightening and always commanding. All in all, Price makes a deeply flawed movie worth watching. 6/10 Bethany Cox