Script review – “Kramer vs Kramer” (1978 draft) by Robert Benton

The first Benton script I’ve read (I have seen a bunch of his moves though). It’s intelligent, thoughtful work – a very good screenplay. Reading this apart from the film means you’re not as distracted by the politics, star power and brown suits. It’s Ted’s journey from selfish man and lousy husband and father to a much nicer person.

So much of it feels true – Ted blithely apologising when his wife announces she’s going to leave (thinking that’ll fix it), his insistence that all is okay (the French toast scene is a great example of subtext in screenwriting), his denial that he was a bad husband (“I remembered every anniversary”), his work boss who now has lost a friend because Ted can’t hang with him as often, his friendship with their neighbour (has their been a better depiction of a platonic friendship between a man and a woman in a Hollywood film?)

Some interesting things which I don’t believe made the final cut – Ted talks to a “Saturday dad” who resents the time he has to spend with his child; Phyllis, his casual root in the film, has an extra scene where she plays some baseball with Billy and Ted and then a moment where she tells Ted she’s moving to do a job in another city (the big print indicates they love each other, which to be honest I never got). The script has scope for improvisation in a few scenes – it says things like “Billy and Ted are walking along talking about cartoons”. Joanna’s depression was more evident in the film – the amount of time she was away from her child is less emphasised here. And the script ends with a final shot of Billy and Ted amongst all the other families in the part. An excellent, moving script.

Script review – “Never Let Me Go” (shooting script) by Alex Garland

I’ve become a real fan of Garland’s screenwriting – it’s lean, sparse, logical but still hits all the emotional points. This is a beautiful piece of work, even if the story has done service before in The Island – it’s about kids who are raised to provide body parts for people. (It’s also similar to the old Joe Losey Hammer movie, The Damned.) The blithe acceptance of their fate by the society within which they live is one of the most terrifying things about this (although I did feel at some stage a clone would have rebelled. I think we should have seen one person try to do it.) There are only three main characters (I’m beginning to feel that in a film that’s all you need for leads), plus some touching support – the teachers who are trying to be ethical, the other students desperate for a dream to cling to. I’m not that surprised this wasn’t a hit – it’s sad and depressing, very melancholy, without much bang bang. It also doesn’t have a massive amount of plot – we find out relative early what’s going on, and we know from the beginning it’ll end unhappily. The rest is tone and emotion.

Movie review – “The Forgiveness of Blood” (2011) **1/2

The second film from the director of Maria Full of Grace is about blood feuds that take place in modern-day Albania: a world of iphones, TV, computer games, school, police… and these ancient rituals and concepts of honour which mean families are stuck behind closed doors because their father has killed a neighbour.

It’s a fascinating world, and the film has stayed with me afterwards. Rarely has there been a better argument for the rule of law – the bland acceptance by these characters (the majority of them anyway) of their idiotic codes of behaviour is terrifying. You can imagine the arguments of supporters of this system – “they sort it out themselves, it’s a lot more effective this way” (the sort of thing always said by apologists for corrupt cops “keeping a lid” on crime, or IRA supporters who would praise the supposed ability of that organisation to keep the streets drug free.) This shows how easily such power is corrupted.

The behaviour of many of the characters is depressingly familiar: the annoying villager who winds up dead, the father who is seemingly oblivious to the pain he’s caused his kids (“what about how I’m feeling… why don’t you come and visit me”), the cousin of the dead man who insists on upping the stakes of the feud.

But to be honest I did get bored watching it. There were plenty of opportunities for suspense and action not taken – I know the director probably didn’t want to go down this path and this is a matter of personal taste, but I couldn’t help feeling it was a shame he didn’t think “right, a film shot in Albania with an all-Albanian cast is compromise enough I’m going to give the story the Hollywood treatment”. The set up cries out for a more creepiness, tension, maybe even a sex scene (the lead kids are teenagers after all) and some decent humour. Many scenes are repetitive (eg the kid working out) or subplots go nowhere (eg the sister become an entrepreneur). A film I admired and will remember more than enjoyed.

Movie review – “Bundle of Joy” (1956) **

The 50s were full of colour musical remakes of old screwball comedies – The Opposite Sex (a remake of The Women), Let’s Do It Again (The Awful Truth), High Society (The Philadelphia Story), You Can’t Run Away From It (It Happened One Night), The Girl Most Likely (Tom, Dick and Harry), The Birds and the Bees (The Lady Eve), Living It Up (Nothing Sacred), Rock a Bye Baby (The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek), Silk Stockings (Ninotchka). This was an update of Bachelor Mother starring the husband and wife team of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Eddie is actually billed over Debbie – presumably this is something negotiated between husband and wife. He was a nice head of hair and wonderful voice but is a bit awkward and unsure on screen. I think the description “wet” would not be inappropriate.

Debbie does her Debbie stuff very well although she doesn’t have great on-screen chemistry with her hubby. Both stars are very much in the shadow of David Niven and Ginger Rogers. And Adolphe Menjou, who sounds like ideal casting and doesn’t give a horrible performance, isn’t as terrifying, funny and touching as Charles Coburn was in the original. Look at his reading at the end of the line “I don’t care who the father is, I’m the grandfather” – he totally stuffs it.

Norman Krasna is still credited as one of the writers, along with some new names. There are some not so good script changes from the original – Reyolds is fired here because of over-aggressive selling techniques instead of simple cost cutting (thereby making her less sympathetic). The world within which the characters live is more benign, less cutthroat – not a good thing. Additions like Reynolds seeing Fisher on TV don’t work, or does the fantasy sequence where they go shopping. Most crucially, musicals need a reason for the characters to sing, and it never feels emotionally like there’s such a reason.

It is colourful at least, it’s fascinating to see one of the most famous couples of the 50s act together, the basic story remains strong, and Tom Noonan delivers a bright supporting performance. There are worst ways of spending a Saturday afternoon. This was one of the last films from RKO. The last they shot there was The Girl Most Likely, a musical comedy remake of Tom Dick and Harry.

Movie review – “The Delicate Delinquent” (1957) **

The break up of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis meant that Lewis’ next few films saw other actors in the “Martin” role – there was Darren McGavin in this one and David Wayne in The Sad Sack. And while it’s customary for people to say everyone thought Jerry would be the okay one in the aftermath of the breakup, surely even he had a few moments without Dean? They were dispelled with the box office response to this movie, which was solid – even if it’s not well remembered today.

It’s a send up of the juvenile delinquent film, a sub genre popular in the mid 50s in the wave of Rebel Without a Cause. McGavin is a cop determined to prove to his superiors that not all the delinquents are bad – he uses as a test study a kid who isn’t a delinquent at all, Jerry Lewis. McGavin was an entirely different actor to Dean Martin, far more intense and “real”. When McGavin invites Lewis back to his place, that would have seemed normal for Dean Martin because they’re established as friends from previous films but here is full of gay subtext – you never quite get why McGavin is so interested in Lewis as a project, especially as he’s not a delinquent (he isn’t in a gang, and doesn’t even have any gang friends). Later, when McGavin flirts and snaps with Martha Hyer (playing a social worker – she later married Hal Wallis in real life), it's far more angry than it would have been with Martin. Also, no Dino means it’s Jerry who sings a big serious ballad. Urgh!

Half-way through this film tells into a service comedy when Lewis enlists in the police force (it means he can do a variation on his old service comedy boxing routine - a fight with a Japanese wrestler) . There’s also a bit of social realism when Lewis tries to persuade a delinquent to turn good - which works, as the delinquent reveals Jerry isn't guilty of a certain crime. So the movie does take itself seriously in spots - something that would become increasingly common in Jerry's solo movies. The best bits are Jerry's screams of cowardice in the face of gangs and police at the beginning.

Movie review – “You’re Never Too Young” (1955) ***1/2

One of the best Martin-Lewis films, helped considerably by the fact they’re working from a strong story for a change: it’s a remake of The Major and the Minor, which actually improves on the original by having someone chase after the impersonator – in this case a killer and jewel thief (always-reliable villain Raymond Burr) who is trying to retrieve a diamond from them. The script does suffer from logic problems and feels clunky shoehorning Dean Martin into the story in the opening sequence, but it’s also a completely fresh way of looking at the story but it’s a man pretending to be a child.

The man is, of course, Jerry Lewis, who often played child like creatures – so it’s fascinating to see his take on an eleven year old. He meets two people on the train, who share the characteristics and plot function of Ray Milland in the original – there’s school teacher Diana Lynn (who was in the Billy Wilder original, and is more likeable here than in My Friend Irma), who takes pity on him; plus another teacher, Dean Martin (teaching music and sports at an all girls school – there’s a movie in that concept alone), who has a fiancee (Nina Foch) who won't let him go off to active duty (which made sense during World War Two but wasn't the Korean War over when this was made?).

There’s some hilarious stuff here: Lewis cutting Martin’s chair (Martin rarely got the chance to do slapstick; Lewis getting amorous to Lynn, who is oblivious to his real age and intent; Lewis kissing a young girl at the school; the big production dance number from the girl students; Lewis throwing a tantrum and being a bratty kid; Burr's wife trying to seduce Lewis to get the diamond off him; Martin interrogating Lewis, suspecting the truth. It's some of their strongest material, frequently laugh-out-loud. The pedophile subtext of the original is greatly reduced, apart from one scene where Lewis tries to con a genuine kid out of his uniform by offering special treats. It does go on for a bit - almost two hours, which is too long.

Movie review – “It’s a Date” (1940) **

Disappointingly lame comedy musical, despite the fact it was written by the normally reliable Norman Krasna and stars Deanna Durbin. Durbin was then in her on-the-cusp-of-womanhood phase – here she plays a breathy and excitable aspiring actor (although being Deanna Durbin she doesn’t come across painfully), who finds herself in competiton with her actress mother (Kay Francis) both for a part and a new man (Walter Pidgeon). The story (for which Krasna isn’t credited, although he’s the sole screenwriter listed) is incredibly lame and convoluted. Basically all that’s going on is Durbin is given a role which was meant for Francis and feels bad about it, and Durbin is convinced Pidgeon loves her even though he’s keen on Francis. It’s all false drama.

It might have been saved with say technicolour or location photography (the bulk of the action takes place in Hawaii) but it’s all black and white and studio bound. There’s not even a decent comic subplot. (It’s a rare Krasna script that doesn’t deal with impersonation or mistaken identity). There’s an okay support cast including Eugene Pallette, but it’s under-utilised (Durbin doesn’t have a decent love interest, for interest). The star does sing ‘Ave Maria’ (in a nun’s habit) and ‘Loch Lomond’, and there are some fun digs at young actors, including a scene set at a drama camp.