O Eterno Conflito

The combination of Lana Turner and Spencer Tracy is an interesting one in "Cass Timberlane," a 1947 film based on a novel by Sinclair Lewis. I have a sneaking suspicion the emphasis in the book was a bit different, but maybe I'm wrong.

This story concerns a judge (Tracy) who falls for the beautiful witness (Turner) in an accident case and ends up marrying her. She's from the wrong part of town. The two are in love, but she doesn't like the town they're living in and wants something more exciting.

The judge seems wedded to his good old boys network; what he doesn't know is that his friendship is being used to help his friends cover up illegalities in wartime contracts their company received.

The story is fairly predictable. One of the reviewers here didn't understand the attraction Tracy had for Turner. Well, she says right up front that he reminds her of her father. I think he represented security and real love to her.

Turner and Tracy are likable, and the acting is uniformly good. Zachary Scott is on hand as a crooked lawyer who falls for Turner. Albert Dekker and Mary Astor have supporting roles.

This might have been a stronger film with the emphasis elsewhere, possibly on the subplot of the Wargate company. As it is, it's a little too formula.

Story opens on a court trial, with Spencer Tracy as the Judge, presiding. Some other big names in here... Zachary Scott (from Mildred Pierce), Lana Turner, and the (now blonde) Mary Astor. At one point, the judge umpires a game in which Virginia (Turner) pitches, but he's standing BEHIND the pitcher, which they actually did for many years. So the Judge and Virginia start dating, and get hitched. But.. .she gets bored. Kind of like in Postman Always Rings Twice. Blonde beauty is married to older man, and gets bored. by Sinclair Lewis. and she made this one just a year AFTER Postman. Also the recurring theme of the cat; they keep showing up in court and at the Judge's home, and he is determined to get rid of them.Mildly entertaining, but no big deal. Z. Scott had a pretty interesting story in his personal life... his first wife left him for Steinbeck. He later hit his head on a rock (rafting accident...), which may have led to the brain tumor, from which he croaked at age 51. and one of the earliest actors to wear an ear-ring in one ear. Directed by George Sidney, who had made so many big, giant, magnificent musical shows.

Cass Timberlane is one of the only movies in which I don't detest Spencer Tracy. In fact, I actually like him in this film. He's a respectable judge who falls in love with the beautiful yet low-class Lana Turner. In a particularly touching scene, Lana miscarries their child, and Spence is tasked with telling her. He holds her hand and speaks tenderly, an emotion he rarely showed in his performances.

As you might expect, since Spence is older, cultured, and moral, and his bride is not, they have marital problems. Spence is frequently embarrassed by Lana's ignorance and free-spiritedness, and Lana is often bored by his stodginess. Before long, a younger man, Zachary Scott, catches her eye. But, in order to find out how this well-done drama turns out, you'll have to rent it. And since it's one of the only Spencer Tracy movies I like, I recommend that you do.

To enjoy this film, you really have to suspend disbelief. I can often times do this, but if you just can't believe in the possibility of pairing an ordinary-looking middle-aged guy (Tracy) with an extremely sexy young woman (Turner), then you should probably just skip the film. In fact, the people around this strange pairing also have trouble accepting this marriage. My problem wasn't just the age differences, but the personality differences--I just couldn't understand why she was attracted to him (I have my suspicions why HE would be interested). The story itself apart from that is good and I like that Zachary Scott is there for support--he is great in his caddish roles. Not a bad but not an exceptional film--but sure to please fans of Tracy.

It's been many years since I read the Sinclair Lewis novel. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember some interesting observations about a middle-aged, upper-middle class man, confronting a woman of a younger generation and a different social and economic class, in the 1940's.

In that rapidly changing world, she's more liberated, more independent than the girls he grew up with. There's a generation gap between men of Cass's era and young women like Jinny, in the postwar world. It's a reflection of the way the country had changed, over the course of a few decades.

Obviously, if they had gotten any of this into the film, it would have been far more interesting than the soap opera that emerged. Jinny just seems to be bored and restless because she's immature and shallow, and Cass just seems to lack understanding of her predicament because he's older and set in his ways.

Still, Cass Timberlane, as one of MGM's superior factory products, can almost be enjoyed for the production values alone: gorgeous black and white cinematography, stunning women's costumes, detailed sets, nice use of locations, expert use of rear projection (lush, atmospheric shots of Scott and Turner on a NYC penthouse terrace), etc. As good a film as money can buy. And as good a cast.

Was Lana Turner a good actress? I don't know - but I like watching her. Not just because she's pretty (and here, she's very pretty) - she's also extremely charming - especially in the early scenes - and there really is a good deal of chemistry between her and Spencer Tracy. (Jennifer Jones, first choice for the part, turned it down).

Tracy is of course, excellent. And immensely likable. The romance between them is always believable, because he is such a charismatic, charming, somewhat devilish, interesting, intelligent, and apparently loving person, how could she not love him? And she is so beautiful, delightful, and seemingly sensible, how could he not fall head over heels for her? Both seem like down-to-earth people, so it's not hard to understand how they relate to one another. And also why they clash.

George Sidney - who usually directed fluff like "Holiday In Mexico", and "Anchors Aweigh", tries his hand at something serious, here, and while I don't know why he got this big project that probably should have gone to Clarence Brown, or Cukor, he does a pretty good job. Just scratches the dramatic surface, though, unfortunately. He does better in the first hour, which, as usual, is the lighter half.

Later on, it just reads like magazine fiction.