Babbitt

You know when a novel really hits the consciousness of the public when its very name becomes a noun. To be a Babbitt is to be your outstanding middle class citizen with avarice is your main trait and you must by all means maintain a veneer of respectability.

I'm sure that Guy Kibbee could have played the role had Warner Brothers written the film just as the novel was written by Sinclair Lewis. But seeing when it came out it was at the dawn of the Code. The Babbitt we see here is a typical Guy Kibbee part, a fatuous, but essentially good hearted soul. Kibbee is married to Aline McMahon and has two children (there were three in the Lewis novel)played by Glenn Boles and Maxine Doyle.

Kibbee gets himself in a pair of jackpots. First he gets involved with Claire Dodd who was in a typical Claire Dodd role as the other woman. It's all quite innocent, but she's going to make trouble. At the same time Kibbee who is a real estate salesman gets involved with a pair of schemers looking to benefit from some inside information one of them is a city commissioner (Russell Hicks) and the other a millionaire whose lifestyle Babbitt craves and is played by Walter Walker. The two potential scandals intertwine.

Since is a codified version of Babbitt the ending is a soft landing for Kibbee. How he does it you'll have to watch the film for, but let's say he's mighty glad he's married to Aline McMahon who gives the best performance in the film.

There is a silent version of Babbitt put out by Warner Brothers as well. It might be closer to what Sinclair Lewis was writing about. As entertainment this version isn't bad though.

A remake of the 1924 silent, this film started out as a book originally by Sinclair Lewis. "Babbit" has a cast of Warner Brothers regulars. Aline MacMahon and Guy Kibbee play the married couple Myra and George Babbit, with supporting cast Alan Hale (What movie WASN'T he in in the 1930s??) and Hattie McDaniels singing a song in her second year of making films. Of course, the very first thing we see as the film starts is the stamp of approval by the Film Production Board, so we know it will be scrubbed clean of any real naughtiness. George Babbitt, local businessman and real estate agent, is called out of town, and is working on a big "business deal", and brags about it to a female cohort... which lands him in trouble later. With the production code in force, apparently underhanded money dealings were just fine subject matter, as long as no beds were shown. There is dark, unhappy side to the first two-thirds of this movie, unlike some of the other films Kibbee and MacMahon had made together, which were fun and upbeat. There are some fun gags here, like the Brotherhood of Zebras, and people getting sent off the the nut-house. I think this one gets five stars for being "okay".

Considerably changed from the novel, Babbitt diverges most from it in the personae of its two leads. George F. Babbitt is a normal semi-educated, average-looking philistine businessman, someone who would have accurately been represented by another of the cast, Alan Hale. Instead, he is portrayed by Guy Kibbee, who has Fat Fool written all over him. Sinclair Lewis wanted his readers to identify Babbitt as a member of their own families, perhaps even themselves, but no one would identify with Kibbee, a blustering, hapless figure of fun.

At the other extreme, George's wife, Myra, is the beautiful and obviously intelligent Aline MacMahon. The wife ought to be a frumpy dimwit who idolises George, who is indeed her superior. But this Myra, as she herself says, regards George as a little boy, protects him, and saves him, most dramatically (in a way that makes no sense at all) from destroying his reputation and losing their money.

However, having said that, the film is full of funny lines and tart observations on the childishness of men and the maturity of women, and there is plenty of social texture to enjoy, as well as the inimitable Hattie McDaniel, as the Babbitts' maid, who sees it as her duty to pep up their dinnertime with colourful bulletins from the other side of the tracks.

Sinclair Lewis's lengthy best seller get's a trimming in this under 80 minute film adaptation parodying the American Dream post World War 1. While it is a less than justifying translation it does allow two of the more dependable supporting players in 30 's movies Guy Kibee and Aline Mc Mahon to shine as leads.

Zenith realtor and booster George Babbitt is bullish on the land of opportunity he lives in. A bit of a braggart and blow hard he is nevertheless a popular figure in the community and among fellow lodge members. In moments of brief introspection he has his doubts about his pursuit of all things material attempting to get away from it all by going camping with a long time friend and dallying with a young client. His social climbing and chase for the almighty buck however get him involved in a corrupt land deal and he faces ruin.

Kibee's George Babbitt is an abrasively generous and sympathetic character whose ego is exploited by more devious and cynical types. His defense of his pal who shoots his nagging wife is noble but wrongheaded, the unsavory land deal more than just acceptable business practice. Kibee's non-threatening flustered stage demeanor negates any an all villainy though, his greatest guilt being pride and a touch of arrogance.

With it's slim running time Babbitt spends little time on the book's satiric and metaphorical possibilities with great swaths excised, leaving it up to George's flustered optimism and gullibility to carry the film and Kibee does not disappoint even if the choppy storyline does.

First, thanks to TCM for programming this. As big a fan of Lewis's work as I am, I'd never seen it.

It's a pretty decent adaptation. Not great, but solid and well done. Modern audiences will be puzzled about the dominance of white males in the society of 1974 and the political correctness crowd will shudder to see minorities in a subservient role and characters smoking in almost every scene.

For those unfamiliar with BABBITT, it's about a small town businessman who has totally bought into the boosterism of the business world. George Babbitt is a Realtor and a valued member of the Zebra lodge. In sharp contrast his best friend from college, Paul, has not done as well materially and is content with his lot in life and his two main pursuits besides his job are playing his violin and trying to ignore the constant nagging of his shrewish wife.

One night at dinner the subject turns to what the various characters want out of life. Paul comments that George doesn't seem interested in anything he can't touch. The aftermath of a shooting that sets tongues wagging and a shady real estate deal cause George to reexamine his goals and his lot in life.

The novel is a classic, and after 74 years ripe for a remake. Bill Murray would be a tremendous George, and maybe Steve Martin as Paul.

It will take a writer/director with real guts not to update the characters' attitudes and values. Come on, Hollywood. Everything else is getting remade, including ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES. Give BABBITT a shot, too.