johnaquino

Some have pointed out that Warners controlled the rights to the film To Have and To Have Not. That may or may not be true--it depends on the contracts/agreements of the various parties, including Hemingway and Faulkner. But if Warners did control the rights, that means that its use of the material is not copyright infringement. By definition, plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and presenting them as one's own. There is one writer credited for this episode of Cheyenne, and neither of them is Jules Furthman or William Faulkner, who wrote the screenplay for To Have and to Have Not. The teleplay takes the basic situation of the movie, which was created by Ernest Hemingway and reworked by Furthman and Faulkner, only transferred from WWII Martinque, where the movie is set, to 1860s Mexico. The teleplay even borrows dialogue from the movie--He couldn't sign checks any faster than he could duck--without crediting the movie's writers. That is plagiarism.

This is a live performance production of Macbeth that sometimes makes you forget there's an audience. With inventive camera work from all angles that makes it look like characters are exiting up stairways or through hallways. I wasn't made aware of the audience except for an occasional laugh and towards the end when the cast started coming down the stairs from the back. The performances, especially Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff, were excellent, with Macbeth becoming almost bestial and Lady Macbeth portrayed as younger and sexier than usual. The scene when Macduff hears about his wife and children's murder was prolonged and very affecting. The banquet scene with the ghost of Banquo was exceptionally well staged. Fiennes has a powerful voice, but his complex performance, goes beyond that. It made me remember a production of the play with Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson. Plummer later admitted that the only reasons for the production were to pair him and Jackson and to have him recite Shakespeare's verse with his beautiful voice. (I remember when Jackson came out for the curtain call she looked angry that we were applauding.) This production is about more than voices and offers a unique interpretation.

This is a worthwhile addition to Saroyan's work. Known for "The Human Comedy" (film and book), short stories, and the play "The Time of Your Life," he was also considered someone who never fulfilled his initial promise. Rodgers and Hart's song "Zip from "Pal Joey" includes the stripper's questions and observations while she is stripping, which include, "Will Saroyan ever write a great play?" This is a slight, whimsical story that has charm. If television had been invented earlier, it would have been Saroyan's medium. It's fun to see him introducing the show. Hunter, Wynn, and Hammer are all good.