As America moves through these trying times that challenge our long held views on when to war, the limits of emigration, racial integration, religious tolerance and the fair application of justice and capital punishment, it would do us good as a nation if we look back upon the times we have come through for educative guidance. For this noble purpose there is no better venue from which to start than the product found in the archives of the American film industry. For despite all the schlock that has emanated from Hollywood over the years, the industries film vaults contain some choice gems that do a better job of depicting the human side of this country's trek through its history than can be managed by a dozen history books.
In the Beginning There Was Silence...
Without doubt, D.W. Griffith's 1915 silent film classic "The Birth of a Nation" was also the birth of the legitimate social voice of the film industry. Running a little over 3 hours in its original uncut version and displaying to the open mind the obvious and uninhibited prejudice of its director, Griffith, the film brilliantly depicts the ravages of the Civil War through two related characters within a southern family.
Based closely on the Thomas F. Dixon novel ("The Clansman: An historical romance of the Ku Klux Klan" - 1915), in the wake of its cinematic triumph, with exception to motive the film work manages, with acceptable historical accuracy as to time and place, to depict the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.
When viewing this early masterpiece, one must always keep in mind that this film does silently state that there was nothing socially wrong with the 'Old South' of gentility and mint juleps, and that in many ways they were the ones wronged by the conquering North. It depicts the Negro as simple minded, lazy, sex crazed and particularly lustful toward White women. And without doubt, the KKK being depicted as avenging angels who came about to rescue White southern society from the brutality of the Carpetbaggers of the North, and abuse by the freed Negroes, severely hinders modern intellectual digestion.
Like history itself, this is not a nice, pretty or politically correct film. Nor is it as many at the time regarded it to be, a celebration of the KKK as a misunderstood heroic organization. Unfortunately, many believe to appreciate a film one must be successfully entertained by it. This film is important not only because of the historical insight it offers to a different time in America, but also the minds of those who were the offspring of the architects that era, and who themselves came to view the time, no matter how brutal and dehumanizing, as loyal to the value of their familial predecessors' lifestyle. As follows the natural evolution of such inherited values, in time, their viewpoints would color and dominate the moral climate of the first half of America's 20th century. By todays standard the epic may bore the average filmgoer. But for those who wish to acquire a true 'understanding' of history, rather than just the committing of events to memory, viewing this film will not be time wasted.
In the light of viewing such early films of this nature, I would also recommend 1927's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." First produced in 1913 as a 13 minute Edison Manufacturing Company release, I would however recommend the 114 minute silent 1927 version produced in the year that sound made its debut; obviously, it has more meat to it. Based on the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel of the same name the book (considered by many including Abraham Lincoln to be the match that ignited the Civil War), and the film created the most hated villainous character ever to appear in film or literature, namely the infamous Simon Legree; book or film, he'll make your skin crawl. And the film also highlighted that, before the Civil War, Black slavery shared the stage with forms of 'White' slavery. True history is not always as simple and black and white as it may at first appear: the human side is far more complex.
Vigilante Rope Justice...
I cannot think of a single film that better illustrates the injustice and folly of vigilantism than 1943's "The Ox Bow Incident." This film's premise is based on the experience of two wandering cowhands, played believably by Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan, who chance to stop in the 1885 town of for a cold beer. While enjoying that long awaited beer, comes word that a beloved and respected rancher has been murdered and his herd of cattle stolen. And rather than wait for the town sheriff to return, a posse is hastily formed and the cowhands are urged to join them. When they catch up with the three supposed perpetrators who are in possession of the cattle, they claim to have purchased them legally, and profess innocence of any killing. More to the point, they are willing to return with the posse and face a trial.
However, an ex army officer who formed and led the posse wants justice meted out immediately. A vote is taken and despite the eloquent appeals and protests of the two cowhands, the men are allowed to write letters to their families, given a moment of prayer, and then hanged. The tragedy here is that the rancher who was supposedly murdered is still alive. This film is a must see for all who love and covet the concept justice.
From an even more disturbing vantage point, I most heartily recommend 1950's "The Sound of Fury." This film was based upon the 1933 kidnapping and murder of Brook Hart, the son of the owner of Hart's Department Store in San Jose California. As depicted near the end of the film the two male suspects, after capture, were pulled from their jail cells by a large group of vigilantes, dragged across the street to St. James Park, where both were summarily lynched.
This small jewel of a film, released at the time as a second feature, captures the absolute terror of the lynching mentality. It does so by revealing how that 'animal' mania takes over the minds and personalities of otherwise decent people, and turns them into monsters that they are reluctant to admit knowing the morning after the nefarious deed has been committed.
The final 15 minutes of the film chillingly details the mob assault on the jail against fire hoses and police batons, and the anguish of the sheriff and his beleaguered deputies, torn between wanting to preserve order and justice and emotionally reluctant to order the shooting the townspeople. But most of all the never to be forgotten blood curdling frenzied sounds of the mob that emanates from the street as the men are lynched, one after another. You never actually see them lynched, but the sounds describe for the mind what the screen, mercifully, does not. The emotional impact of this film will stay with you for a long time. In fact, it begs not to be forgotten.
How the West Was Won...and Lost
While viewing the glorious cinematic bravado of the 'winning and opening of the American West', we often lose site of the fact that there was an indigenous people already in occupation of the territory in question - the American Indian. You will note that I stated the "American Indian', and by so doing made the people citizens of a country for which they had never expressed any desire to be. In the beginning, this was their land and we simply took it!
There have been so many epic westerns produced from the beginning of the American movie experience; one would think the overwhelming choices would render it almost impossible to chose any in particular. That however would be a misstatement for I, with good reason, readily choose the following:
"The Last of the Mohicans" 1992, "Dances with Wolves" 1990, "Little Big Man" 1970, "Soldier Blue" 1970, and "Trooper Hook" 1957 and "The Searchers" 1956.
These films, taken as a whole, offer a well rounded view of not only the mind set of the early American settlers of the West, but also of those who were settled there - before - the West was settled, namely the American Indians. In these films, both sides are treated fairly with respect to human motivation, the harboring of racial and cultural prejudices, both ways, and attitude toward life itself.
Of particular note is "Little Big man" which bravely brings before us the image of a 'homosexual' Indian - which after all, they too must have had from time to time. Also the poorly scripted but well acted by Barbara Stanwyck (who could never do less) "Trooper Hook", which addresses the problems of a White woman captured by the Indians, raped, bears a half-breed child and when rescued - wants to keep the child. And sadly, "Soldier Blue", a reasonable, brutal yet poignant portrayal of a proud people, the American Indian, in their final moment of utter and complete defeat.
An American Crime Wave...
Five excellent films tell the historically detailed story of the growth of organized crime in America:
"Al Capone" 1959, "Once Upon A Time in America" 1984, "On the Waterfront" 1954, "The Godfather" 1972 - 1990 and "Murder Inc." 1960.
View these films and you will gain a reasonably accurate understanding of how organized crime gained a foothold on American society.
And Justice for All ...Maybe
If there were ever a film that depicts the struggle between justice and political expediency, that film would have to be "Boomerang" 1947. Based on an actual crime that took place in the State of Connecticut, the film is riveting in its adhesion to human as well as event detail, and never once does it give way to melodrama.
The actual events took place in 1924 when future U.S. Attorney General, Homer Cummings (portrayed brilliantly by actor Dana Andrews), then a public prosecutor, to the detriment of an on track and well charted future career, went up stream against politicians and public opinion to prove that a man all wanted convicted, was in fact innocent. The case was a landmark one, for it placed into question the so-called 'absolute reliability of the eye witness.'
A second choice is one that is purely fictional, but significantly important for well demonstrating the ideals of the American republic. The film is 1963's "The Man in the Middle", which starred actors Robert Mitchum, Keenan Wynn (delivering what many say was his best performance) and British actor Trevor Howard.
A soldier of officer rank has murdered in cold blood another soldier in front of many witnesses, but is he really guilty? This question hovers over the decision making process in what should have been a clear-cut open and shut case of homicide. The debilitating issue and block to a simple verdict is that all involved appear to know that accused is - insane. Nevertheless, for reasons that are both political and procedural the military brass, from the top down, want the defendant convicted and executed post haste.
The film is a well-brewed mixture of racial prejudice, political immorality and military indifference to the addressing of human needs and frailties, when those faults and qualities run counter to its immediate requirements. It is also a testament to the enduring will of the individual to overcome impossible odds that are presented by the moral corruption brought upon them by the very organizations they are sworn to serve.
My final choice is the 1948 film "Call Northside 777" based upon a true account of a newspaper reporter sent by his editor to cover a human-interest story. The mother of a convicted murderer has placed a small ad in his paper. Her son was convicted of killing a police officer in post Depression 1932, and 11 years later his mother is scrubbing floors to earn enough money to prove her son innocent. At first the reporter doesn't believe her son was wrongly convicted, but more and more the resistance by the authorities to being proved wrong begins to intrigue him. How he solves the case in the end was also true and a landmark technological event for the time.
Racial and Cultural Prejudice... and Pride
There were so many good films made on this continuing scar on American sociology that it may at first appear impossible to make a choice. But I have done so to my own satisfaction and I chose the following six films: "Gentlemen's Agreement" 1947, "No Way Out" 1950, "Strangers in the City" 1962 "A Raisin in the Sun" 1961, "To Kill A Mocking Bird" 1962 and "Claudine" 1974.
The brutal treatment of Jews in American society, right in the middle of World War ll and right after as we were still witnessing the human devastation of the Nazi death camps, is the cinematic testimony of the film, "Gentlemen's Agreement". Could the film have been done better, yes? But good rather than great is always preferable to not at all. It was simply a statement that needed to be made.
The early 1950's saw a steady migration of Puerto Ricans to the major cities of the United States, with particular reference to the New York City area. This independently made film, "Strangers in the City", though amateurish in its photography, sometimes poorly lighted and often grainy in appearance is, nevertheless, well acted by amateurs and is an important film; particularly so in these present times of emigration problems for America. In short the first wave of Hispanics from the American territory, Puerto Rico, were brutalized financially, socially and quite often sexually. This is not by any gauge an easy film to view, but it is a necessary film to see and understand for its message.
"Now Way Out" and "To Kill A Mockingbird", "A Raisin in the Sun" and the touchingly gentle, "Claudine" though produced years apart, compliment each other as they perfectly juxtapose the plight of the American Negro; a trek that has extended from slavery's abolition through the early 1960's and the Freedom Marches of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Of particular note, "Claudine" is a very important film for it demonstrates the joint plight of both Blacks and Whites trying to improve their lives - that being the American Social Welfare System. As one southern notable once stated, "The system can even keep a White man down, and often does."
War and the Nuclear Apocalypse as Possibility...
There have been so many well-made heroic films about the American involvement in the two great world wars as well as the 'police' action in Korea and later in Vietnam. But if one is considering the actual horror of war and the even greater nightmare of unthinkable proportions beyond conventional war, I would recommend the following five films: "Fail Safe" 1964, "Seven Days in May" 1964, "Platoon" 1986, "Saving Private Ryan" 1998 and "Blackhawk Down" 2001.
"Platoon" and "Saving Private Ryan" are the absolute best at the depiction of the absolute horror a war and up-close combat as even a well-made film treatment can achieve, and even such an achievement cannot duplicate the smell of blood and actual death. There's nothing pretty or heroic about war. We simply are placed in circumstances where we become raging animals to survive, and if as a group we survive in the end, our side has won. The point is, however, we do survive because we have to. However, can our form of government survive which has toppled so many others through time - its military?
One concept that few Americans like to think about is a possible coup by our military. This daring speculation for anytime is well presented, scripted and intelligently acted in "Seven Days in May." For those who are quick to criticize America I challenge you to query your store of world knowledge; in how many other countries would such a film be allowed to be openly made much less publicly distributed and shown? You can count them on the fingers of one hand, and if by chance you run out of fingers when doing so you are naively inexperienced in the ways of the world (I know for I have traveled to, worked and lived in over 30 countries), or you are simply by political motivation lying to yourself. And then there is the other possibility.
"Fail Safe" presents the other possibility no one likes to contemplate. This stark film makes it absolutely clear that the genius of mankind is in its ability to construct complicated systems and machines; unfortunately, all operated by and dependent upon the one single element incorporated that has the greatest capacity for error - humans. And that is the sole point of this dated film that is flawlessly acted and chilling in its implications for the future of the human race to this day - and probably the day after. Via a nuclear conflict, even one initiated accidentally, we Americans, along with the rest of the developed world, maintain the potential to screw up big time!
Why I am Proud to be an American
Despite the topics of these great American films, some well known and others obscure, the one message they send to all who view and understand them is - success. America has succeeded because we are a noble work in progress and, in spite of our resident nationalist human foibles (which is in reality everyone's, since we are a cultural mix of the world), we are still here and still achieving. And most of all we have the guts to show our faults, warts and all, for all the world to see as cinema.
All of these films well demonstrate a salient truth; through the years of our history, as brutal and bloody as our past may have been, we Americans have done well at surviving the greatest peril of all - ourselves. Think about it. How many other civilizations have been able to make that statement? And every time I return from a trip abroad, when I step off the plane, especially after witnessing life, as it has to be lived elsewhere in the world, I am moved to drop to my knees and kiss the ground I step upon - regardless of what's on it. Once I actually did. America, I love you!
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