“Film as Art” – Script 1
This course is designed to enable you to move along at your own pace. You
will read from this booklet, listen to a self-directed cassette and view slides of
American films. You will be learning about American values as they are mirrored
in the films and literary works transformed into films of specific time periods.
The presentations have been set up in two parts. The first section deals
with American values, and the second section deals with the translation of litera-
ture into films.
Ask your instructor for “Film: a Reflection of American Values,” Part I.
Part I reflects American values, as depicted in American films, up to World
War II. Following is an outline of the shift in society’s values as America
progressed as a nation:
A.Pre World War I Westerns
1.Themes of good triumphing over evil
2.Reflected a tradition of man against nature
3.Cowboy heroes symbolic of American’s naiveté about
good vs. evil
B.Post World War I Westerns
1.Killing no longer condoned
2.Cowboy heroes romanticized as the good guy
C.Escapist Films
1.Comedies
2.Spectaculars
3.Romances
4.Adventure
D.Charlie Chaplin Comedies
1.Metaphors for the “Depression”
2.The character of the Little Tramp as a symbol for
“Everyman” reflected many American values
E.Gangster Films
1.Gangster hero represented conflicting traditional values of
the 1930’s
2.Questioned the American success system and basic business
ethics
F.“Citizen Kane”
1.Major shift in American film-making
2.Openly criticized the American value of seeking success at
any cost.
As you follow each slide, the accompanying script will give you additional
information about the values being depicted and how these values shifted as time
went on.
View the slide presentation which coincides with the attached script.
Take Test 1.
PART ONE
OUTLINE FOR THE BLACKBOARD
American Films To World War II Reflected a Profound Shift in American Values.
A.Pre-World War I Westerns
1.Themes of good triumphing over evil (good-guy/bad-guy ethic)
2.Reflected a tradition of man against nature
3.Cowboy heroes symbols of American innocence (rugged
individualists; good-bad man)
B.Post-World War I Westerns
1.Killing no longer condoned
2.Cowboy heroes romanticized (good-good man)
C.Escapist Films
1.Comedies (Buster Keaton, Mack Sennett, Harry Langdon)
2.Cecil B. De Mille spectaculars
3.Rudolph Valentino romances
4.Douglas Fairbanks adventures
D.Charlie Chaplin Comedies
1.Metaphors for the time (Depression)
2.Character of the Little Tramp (Everyman) reflected many
American values
E.Gangster Films
1.Gangster hero represented conflicting traditional values of the
1930’s (tragic figure of the Depression)
2.Questioned the American success system and business ethic
F.Citizen Kane
1.Major shift in American film-making
2.Openly criticized the American ethic of success-seeking
AN ESSAY ON AMERICAN FILM
The American Film Hero, A Rugged Individualist
by Len Galiulo, Assistant Professor of English, MercyCollege
The first part of Film: A Reflection of American Values offers a short history of American films to World War II. The first successful American films were Westerns; their good-guy/bad-guy morality reflected innocence typical of America prior to World War I. The cowboy hero was the rugged individualist responsible for the founding and settling of the West. As the Western developed, the “law of the six-shooter” diminished.
The hero often practiced a form of moral disarmament, informing his antagonist that he was unarmed, and that only a coward would shoot a man without defense. The hero no longer rode off into the sunset, but settled down to marry, domesticity replaced ruggedness in the new West.
Early American film-makers were masters of the escapist movie. There were
Cecil B. De Mille spectaculars, Rudolph Valentino romances, and Douglas Fairbanks adventures. And there were the comedies in which traditional figures of authority were made sport of. The Keystone Cops, for example, were a disorganized bunch who often created more trouble than they cured. The master comedians, like Chaplin and Keaton, often outwitted the overwhelming forces of law and order, and frequently ran off with the boss’s girl-friend. The Marx Brothers often made fools of the wealthy aristocracy in America (A Night at the Opera).
Virtually all of the clowns and comedians of this early era made chaos out of an orderly, businesslike America. Charlie Chaplin’s most famous character, the Little Tramp, became a folk hero, an Everyman in a culture that often measured success by financial standards. For example, the Tramp in Modern Times was a wandering individual who struggled against the forces of society that attempted to defeat him.
In the 30’s the Depression added another element to American movies. In countless films, a millionaire would save a starving girl in the streets. Cole Porter made a fortune in musicals telling Americans they didn’t have to be wealthy to be happy. King Kong became a symbol of the primitive folk hero in the traditional theme of “Beauty and the Beast.” All of these films were escapist attempts to retain values that seemed to be failing.
There was, however, a more realistic character in the form of the gangster, who quickly became the folk hero of the Depression. He was another rugged individualist, who sought power through money and violence. He became a tragic victim of the urban world, seeking wealth and notoriety in a society that tried to keep him poor and anonymous. The gangster offered simple solutions to complex social problems, fighting the establishment on its own terms. The law of civilization became the law of the jungle, as “Jesse James Capitalism” was revived with a gun. For his efforts the gangster was paid with a bullet in the stomach and the betrayal of friends who were just as ruthless as he was.
Citizen Kane, first appearing in 1941, was a major breakthrough in American film-making. Not only was it innovative in film techniques, but it openly criticized the traditional American success myth. American films were becoming more realistic.
Prompted by the popularity of newsreels shown about the war in Europe, historical and semi documentary movies emerged as a major film type during the late 30’s. Warner Brothers issued a series of semi documented biographics on the lives of great men.
Charles Laughton’s masterful acting created unforgettable films like Rembrandt and Mutiny on the Bounty. Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff gave excellent performances in the historical film The BlackTower. Wallace Beery perfected the character of the desperado with the heart of gold. Serious moral problems were treated in films like The Informer. Often, however, these historical films dealt with European heroes. Not until after World War II, when America became a major world power, would America try to find its own heroes in G.I. Joe, Edison, and Mark Twain. Film-makers, after World War II, would begin to explore the psychological and social problems of the American character in movies that ranged from The Lost Weekend to Psycho, from High Noon to Midnight Cowboy, from The Wild Ones to Easy Rider, and from Battleground to Slaughterhouse Five.
INDEX OF SLIDES
SCRIPT:
Time: 15 Minutes
SUB-TITLES:
(1)Great American films are oftenPHANTON OF THE OPERA
like mirrors.movie still
(2)They reflect images of ourselvesHAROLD LLOYD HANGING
and how we liveFROM CLOCK movie still
(3)And because films are a popularDOUGLAS FAIRBANKS-
medium, they reflect popularMARY PICKFORD
values.movie still
(4)Great American films get us KEYSTONE COPS
where we live --movie still
(5)because they tell us somethingINTOLERANCE
about how we live.movie still
TITLE:
(6)FILM: A REFLECTION OFKEYSTONE COPS
AMERICAN VALUES, PART 1movie still
NARRATOR:
(7)America’s first successful filmTHE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
was a Western. The Great Trainmovie still
Robbery was made in 1903 and
filmed in the flatlands of New
Jersey. The hero was a short,
rather pudgy man named
Bronco Billy Anderson.
(8)The Great Train Robbery wasTHE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
silent, and its titles told of a movie still
holdup by armed desperadoes,
the formation of a posse, and the
pursuit and capture of the bandits—
(9)all in eight minutesTHE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
movie still
(10)The success of this film wasD.W. GRIFFITH
immediate and total. And to theAnonymous photo
film-makers, D.W. Griffith (seen
here) and Edwin S. Porter, its
overnight success was very
surprising. But maybe it
shouldn’t have been.
(11)For in the early 1900’s, BuffaloBUFFALO BILL CODY’S
Bill Cody’s Wild West shows hadWILD WEST SHOW
sparked lively interest in the farAnonymous
West by offering a romanticizedLibrary of Congress
look at an era that was alreadyPicture Archives
past.photo
(12)Combine this interest with theTOM MIX FIGHTS
themes of good triumphing overmovie still
evil, and love over hate, and
much of the early Westerns’
appeal can be explained.
(13)In the next 11 years, literallyTOM MIX AND HEROINE
thousands of one-reel silentmovie still
Westerns appeared in newly
built movie houses across the
country.
(14)All of these films reflected theSMOKING THEM OUT (detail)
same basic values and offeredby C.M. Russell (Amer.)(1864-1926)
images of the West very like theoil on canvas
ones captured here by American
artist C.M. Russell.
(15)There were always good guysCOWBOY SHOOT UP (1909)
against bad guys who wereby C.M. Russell (Amer.)(1864-1926)
corrupting or terrorizing a town.oil on canvas
And the good guys always won
because of their superior moral
and physical strength.
(16)The cowboy heroes were ruggedWHOSE MEAT (detail)(1914)
individualists. They were menby C.M. Russell (Amer.)(1864-1926)
who lived apart from theoil on canvas
conventions of society. They
were loners—able to get along
on their own.
(17)Cowboys reflected the traditionSHARK MONROE
of man against nature, survivingmovie still
against all odds, using nothing
more than old Yankee ingenuity.
(18)They were active, successful men,KEN MAYNARD
their lives depended on it. In a movie still
gunfight or a showdown, success
meant life, and defeat meant
death.
(19)But most important of all, cowboy THE COUNTRY GALLANTS (1876)
heroes were symbols of a simple by John C. Brown (Amer)(1831-1913)
and innocent time in America; anToledo Museum of Art
America not yet involved inoil on canvas
global conflict.
(20)It was a time when our RoughTEDDY ROOSEVELT
Rider President, Theodorecartoon
Roosevelt, could go around
saying, “Speak softly, but carry
a big stick.”
(21)It was a time when John Hay, THE BATTLE BEFORE CALOOCAN
then Ambassador to England,(1899)
could write about the Spanish-by G.W. Peters (Amer.)
American War:color drawing
JOHN HAY:
“It has been a splendid little war,
begun with the highest motives,
carried on with magnificent
intelligence and spirit, favored by
that fortune which loves the
brave.”
NARRATOR:
(22)In the same way, the OldTHE FAITHFUL COLT (1890)
Frontier was a splendid little by William Harnett (Amer.)(1848-92)
place, where cowboy heroesWadsworth Atheneum
could justifiably kill because theiroil on canvas
motives were the highest.
(23)But our first taste of globalWAR
conflict in World War I showedby Harry d. Reeks
us that war could never againwater color
be called “splendid” or “little.”
(24)So the killings in Westerns nowWILD BILL HICKOCK
seemed wanton and brutal.movie still
Arthur Knight, the film critic,
explains:
ARTHUR KNIGHT:
(25)“. . . the Westerns veered sharplyWILLIAM S. HART
away from the realistic portraitmovie still
of frontier life that was
characterized by the good-bad
man, William S. Hart. Hart’s
hero had been a hard-shooting,
hard-riding he-man. But now,
moviegoers, preferred the more
romantic version of the Old West.
(26)“The hero they wanted and gotTOM MIX
was Tom Mix, the good-goodmovie still
man. He never drank, and unlike
Hart and his blazing six-shooters,
he used his pistols only when
forced to.”
NARRATOR:
(27)And after World War I, heDESTRY RIDES AGAIN
wasn’t forced very often. Rather,movie still
he threatened with his guns,
which turned out to be just as
good. Obviously, the American
public had had enough of
violence. After the war,
(28)they wanted to laugh. CHARLIE CHAPLIN WITH BROOM
movie still
(29)KEYSTONE COPS IN DAYS OF
THRILLS AND LAUGHTER
movie still
(30)Same as slide 6
(31)THE LAST TRAIL (1933)
movie still
(32)American film comedy had beenKEYSTONE COPS
going strong for ten years. Itmovie still
began as true escapist
entertainment—people, it
seemed, were always trying to
escape from other people, and
always for the craziest reasons.
(33)Craziness equaled laughter, andTHE GREAT CHASE
Buster Keaton, Mack Sennett,movie still
Harry Langdon, and a host of
others gave the public what they
wanted.
(34)Comedies, though, had to vieBEN HUR
with Cecil B. De Millemovie still
spectaculars
(35)and Rudolph Valentino desertRUDOLPH VALENTINO
romancesportrait photo
(36)SON OF THE SHEIK
movie still
(37)RUDOLPH VALENTINO AND HEROINE
movie still
(38)But in the early 20’s, one manTHE CHARLIE CHAPLIN FESTIVAL
transformed comedy into moreposter
than escapist entertainment—
Charlie Chaplin.
(39)THE CURE
movie still
(40)THE CURE
movie still
(41)Although Chaplin’s career beganTHE GOLD RUSH
in the prewar years, his great filmmovie still
masterworks were produced in
the 20’s.
(42)It was at this time he infused hisCITY LIGHTS
comedies with depth as well asmovie still
craziness: intelligence as well as
fluff. It was at this time he
perfected his greatest character—
the Little Tramp.
(43)In most schemes and plots, thePAY DAY
Little Tramp usually lost, butmovie still
never without picking himself
up, dusting the dirt from his
shabby clothes, and walking off
into the sunset.
(44)The Tramp was Everymen. HeTHE CLASSIC COMEDIANS
was the little guy who strove formovie still
dignity and romance in a world
that was becoming cold and
hostile.
(45)He was undaunted by the forcesA DOG’S LIFE
around him. He, like the cowboymovie still
hero, was a rugged individualist.
And his character reflected many
basic American values—a strong
belief in the worth of an
individual in mass society; a
belief in the basic goodness of
all people.
(46)But most of all, the TrampMODERN TIMES
reflected a prevailing mood--movie still
that the world was going too fast.
(47)Well, it was going too fast. AndTEACHING OLD DOGS NEW
the gaiety of Chaplin’s comedy,TRICKS (1926)
like the Jazz Age, was all on the by John Held, Jr. (Amer.)(1889-1958)
surface. F. Scott Fitzgerald spokeNew York Historical Society
for a generation which foundcartoon
“. . .all Gods dead, all wars
fought, all faiths in man shaken.”
The result?
(48)Chaplin’s comedies wereCHARLIE WATCHES MAN
metaphors for the times --EATING SOUP
laughing on the outside, cryingmovie still
on the inside. And it would be a
very short time before people
were crying on the outside, as
well.
(49)The Depression—when so manyDUST BOWL
were poor, when so many blamedby Ben Shahn(Amer.)(1898-1969)
the rich, blamed corporations,color lithograph
blamed anyone with money—
(50)The Depression was like no otherEMPLOYMENT AGENCY (1937)
time in American history. It wasby Isaac Soyer (Amer.)(1907- )
an era when personal success, forWhitneyMuseum
millions of people, was almostoil on canvas
unachievable.
(51)People were confused. They feltIN THE CITY PARK (detail)
powerless to control their ownby Raphael Soyer (Amer)(1899- )
destinies. Rationally, they couldoil on canvas
understand why they didn’t have
enough money to buy a loaf of
bread, but emotionally they
couldn’t accept it. Since people
were confused, values became
confused as well.
(52)Antiestablishment feelings were SCOTT’S RUN, WEST VIRGINIA (1937)
strong and movies reflectedby Ben Shahn (Amer.)(1898-1969)
these feelings with a new star—
(53)the gangster.JAMES CAGNEY
movie still
(54)SCARFACE
movie still
(55)THE BIG SHOT (Warner Brothers)
movie still
(56)In many ways, the gangster spokeBULLETS OR BALLOTS
for the 30’s. To begin with, heposter
literally spoke, for by 1930,
sound had become an integral
part of film-making
(57)And gangsters came to representLITTLE CAESAR
a conflict in traditional Americanmovie still
values. Was power on the side of
right? People weren’t so sure
anymore.
(58)It wasn’t so clear who were theLITTLE CAESAR
good guys and who were the bad.movie still
(59)What was clear, though, was thatPUBLIC ENEMY
gangsters were ruggedposter
individualists who went against
the establishment.
(60)men who offered simple solutionsPUBLIC ENEMY
to complex social problems; menmovie still
who seized power in a powerless
age.
(61)Though gangster films were theLITTLE CAESAR
first to implicitly criticize themovie still
American success system and the
ethics of business.
(62)Citizen Kane, which opened inCITIZEN KANE
1941, not only criticized butmovie still
ripped apart these same values.
(63)For Charles Foster Kane, theCITIZEN KANE
thinly veiled caricature ofmovie still
newspaper magnate William
Randolph Hearst, embodied the
American success system. He
had prestige, money, power—
but he paid for them with his soul.
LELAND:
(64)“You want to know what I thinkCITIZEN KANE
of Charlie Kane. . . Well. . . Imovie still
suppose he had some private sort
of greatness. But he kept it to
himself. He never gave himself
away. He never gave anything
away.”
NARRATOR:
(65)A film like Citizen Kane, whichCITIZEN KANE
coupled success with alienationmovie still