Le vandale

When Frances Farmer was a drama student at the University of Washington she won a scholarship to visit Russia and watch the Moscow Art Theater headed by the great actor and director, Konstantin Stanislavski. When that Russian company first came to tour the United States in the 1920s, the truthfulness and expressivity of the acting so impressed many of America's best young actors that they eventually formed The Group Theater (1931-1940),modeling their ensemble work on it. In 1937 The Group Theater invited Frances Farmer, a non-member of the company, to play the female lead in Clifford Odets' new play "Golden Boy." At the time it was thought by many that the sole reason for the invitation was because Farmer was a beautiful movie star whose presence would boost box office. Today anyone who sees her remarkable work in the dual roles of Lotta in "Come and Get It" (1936) will recognize that not only was she dazzling beautiful, she was also dazzling real and painfully truthful --a true actress in the Stanislavski tradition. No wonder Howard Hawks said she was the best actress he had ever worked with in his long career.

COME AND GET IT has a very strange cast. Having the reliable and talented supporting actor, Edward Arnold, in the lead is strange--especially since this rotund and rather doughy guy is cast as, believe it or not, a lumberjack when the film begins! Seeing him supposedly fight and beat up tough guys seemed pretty funny--especially since Arnold looked as if he'd have had a hard time beating up Frances Farmer--let alone burly lumbermen!! Additionally, having him play a very flawed hero who has a penchant for a very young lady (Frances Farmer) make it an unusual film.

The film begins with Arnold being made the foreman of a logging company. However, his ambition is huge and he immediately has his sights set on running the entire company. So, to do so he agrees to marry the boss' daughter even though he could care less about her. Additionally, he'd just fallen in love with a spunky saloon singer (Frances Farmer--in a dual role). Regardless, his ambition is primary and he dumps farmer on his pal, played by Walter Brennan (who received an Oscar for his performance as a nice Swedish guy).

Years pass. You see that Arnold's wife is a bit of a cold fish, though they did have some kids and they now own the company. Arnold just happens to visit his old pal Brennan and finds that through the magic of Hollywood clichés, Brennan's daughter (played by Farmer again) is the spitting image of her deceased mother. Arnold is an old lecher and takes her under his wing--with the intention of recreating the relationship he'd had with her mother. When his oldest son (Joel McCrea) finds out, he goes to confront the lady but falls for her instead. Naturally, this sets the son and hard-driven father against each other.

Considering that this is based on an Edna Ferber novel, it isn't surprising that the film is about a man building an empire as well as infidelity--recurring themes I've noticed in several of her other films that were filmed during the era (such as CIMARRON, GIANT, SHOWBOAT and SO BIG). As a result, the film has a big and rather sweeping quality about it but is also a study of a hard-driven man who is deeply flawed.

Overall, the movie is exactly what you'd expect from such a film--good acting, big scope and a lot of romantic tension. Nothing extraordinary here, but it's enjoyable and competently made. I can't, however, understand how Brennan got an Oscar, as this was far from one of his best performances. Perhaps it was a slow year.

No need to repeat the plot. Fortunately Arnold delivers a rousing performance. His big personality as the lumber tycoon helps distract from certain paunchy shortcomings as a screen lover. Seeing him in passion clinches with a nubile young Farmer takes some getting used to. Happily, Farmer also shines, especially in the saloon girl part, before giving way to a more routine turn as the daughter.

According to film historian David Thomson, Farmer's performance was affected by Hawks' replacement by Wyler as director. Apparently, she and Hawks were more than sympatico off the set. So, Thomson's account goes, Hawks brought on writer Furthman to slant the film towards his beauteous blonde, thus causing novelist Ferber to complain to head honcho Goldwyn, resulting in Hawks' departure and a feud between Farmer and Wyler. I mention these behind-the-scenes shenanigans to maybe account for some of the plot's half-digested elements and Farmer's noticeable downturn.

Nonetheless, it's still a compelling movie, thanks mainly to Arnold's dominating presence that holds the various threads together. I also like the logging footage, which lends a dramatically realistic air to Glasgow's empire. Then there's Lotta's haunting rendition of "Aura Lee", which evidently Farmer herself crooned. However, I'm still trying to figure out the title that appears to have little resemblance to the storyline. But however you cut that or the purported intrigues, it's still a dynamic movie.

Come And Get It is a wonderful piece of filmwork. The psychological aspects that go on in this film are way ahead of 1936 thinking. And who can ignore Frances Farmer's star turn as both mother and daughter. One cannot dismiss the obvious talent that Frances Farmer possessed. Edward Arnold is equally adept at playing Barney Glasgow. However, actor Joel Mccrea clearly lacks the acting chops to keep upwith his co-stars. Obvious in the scene with FF when she is cooking the candy. A brighter, more aware and gifted actor would have proved an asset...but nevertheless..the film holds up after the years. And proves that Hollywood's much ballyhooed "golden era" is justified!

Behind every film there is usually a story and this one is certainly no exception. Howard Hawks departed the production two-thirds of the way through(whether he quit or was fired is debatable) and a reluctant William Wyler was instructed by Samuel Goldwyn to complete it. As the Director's Guild was as yet not recognised by the studio, both directors were given credit. If two directors were not enough, the tree-felling sequences were handled by Richard Rosson. These scenes are spectacular but guaranteed to have conservationists rolling on the floor and foaming at the mouth.

It would seem that the film was shot in script order and the rumbustious early scenes have Mr. Hawks written all over them whereas Mr Wyler's more subdued tone is evident later on. Both directors disowned the finished product and despite some telling scenes the film represents neither of them at their very best. Gregg Toland is behind the camera(Rudoph Maté for the tree-felling) and the soundtrack to the characters' lives is supplied by the Civil War ballad 'Aura Lea', later reincarnated as 'Love me Tender.'

It is the splendidly spirited performances that carry it through notably those of Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, here making filmic history as the first actor to win a Best Supporting Oscar and the ill-fated Mady Christians whilst Howard Hawks' 'discovery' Frances Farmer is utterly luminous. Of all the stars that fell from the Hollywood firmament, the tragic Miss Farmer was surely one of the most dazzling.