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Released By: Twilight Time
Released On: June 14, 2016
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Cast: Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, Brandon De Wilde, Arthur Franz
Year: 1952
Purchase From Screen Archives
The Movie:
From book to Broadway to silver screen, Carson McCuller's The Member of the Wedding tells the story of Frankie Addams, a young southern girl who can't seem to fit in anywhere. Her tomboyish short hair and attire, not to mention her awkward age, have excluded her from the local girls' club, and with her eldest brother away in the army, her social activities are confined to the house and the people she shares it with. Berenice, the large, Black housekeeper with the glass eye is friendly enough, but hardly on Frankie's level, and the same goes for John Henry, the young cousin who is half of Frankie's age. With her mother passed on, one would think her father would provide some sort of guiding hand, but the elder Mr. Addams is far too busy with his work to pay Frankie any mind.
Though she seems content to act out her aggressions and frustrations with the world and her social standing with a series of frequent temper tantrums, Frankie's chance to "fit in" comes when her brother arrives back home on leave with his beautiful fiance in tow. Realizing that she'll probably never fall in line with the girls' club, or be invited out to the local juke-joint with a handsome fella...or blend in with Berenice's Black jazz trumpeter friend, Honey...Frankie decides that she'll dedicate herself to being a full-fledged, enthusiastic member of her brother's wedding, with the childish idea that the three of them will then move away together.
As the wedding date grows closer, Frankie becomes more and more frantic, attempting to undo her tomboy image and mold herself into the girl who will escort her brother and his new bride into the next phase of their life, declaring that she will most certainly kill herself if her demands aren't met; and when things go badly, Frankie runs away from home, desperately seeking the acceptance that she vocally ridicules, but secretly desires.
Turning a successful book into a successful Broadway play into a successful film is no small feat, and The Member of The Wedding stacks the odds in its favour by including the three leads that pulled off over five hundred successful performances, in Julie Harris, Ethel Waters, and Brandon De Wilde. Waters' strength is the sympathetic pull she has as Berenice, both loving and scolding in the same moment, but also a woman who seeks the same self-peace that Frankie does. De Wilde is also very good here as the young John Henry, a cute kid who predates that Jerry Maguire kid by decades and does a fine job of acting as the comic foil. Much has been made of Julie Harris' performance as Frankie; in her late 20's when the film was made, she manages to pull off a character more than half her age with no flaws, enough that she received an Academy Award nomination; but I may be in the minority here pointing out that her performance is grating. Shrill, loud, constant freakouts and yelling, these may be the calling cards of the young girl back in 1952, but after 90 minutes, it wears thin.
That being said, I'm certain that I am not the target audience for The Member of The Wedding. By the time the film reaches it's predictable conclusion, it can safely be said that this is a coming-of-age film in which Frankie plays a mirror image of author McCullers, and that's obviously going to strike a chord in some viewers, but for others, it'll play as contrived and by the book. Though Stanley Kramer, champion of films showcasing social issues undoubtedly picked up the rights due to some of the more controversial topics that the film seems to breeze over, and although director Fred Zinnemann is certainly no slouch behind the camera, The Member of The Wedding doesn't offer up much outside of stereotypical characters and tidy resolutions.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Twilight Time brings The Member of the Wedding to Blu-ray in a 1.33:1 AVC-encoded black and white transfer that looks damn fine considering the age of the film. Black levels are good, and the range of present shades is plentiful and conveys the detail of the film adequately. Some damage and dirt does occasionally appear, and a few scenes, notably close-ups, appear soft, but this is a pretty swell transfer.
The English 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio mono track is also perfectly suited for the film, being predominantly dialogue-driven, and there isn't any distortion or tinniness present. Alex North's score is permitted to breathe in the track as well, with no audio issues or apparent compression. As is usually the case, Twilight Time has included an isolated score track as an option.
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are provided.
First up in the extra features is The World of Carson McCullers (15:53), which features McCullers biographer and professor Virginia Spencer Carr discussing Carson's life and the impact of her writing, interspersed with vintage footage of McCullers and clips from the film.
The Journey From Stage To Film (10:11) is a short piece with Kevin Spacey and producer Stanley Kramer's wife, Karen, talking about the impact of the film, the characters, and the actors who made the transition from the Broadway play to the film.
Introduction By Karen Kramer (1:36) features Stanley Kramer's wife, Karen, talking about why her husband felt the need to buy the rights to The Member of The Wedding to make it into a film.
A trailer for the film and the Twilight Time catalogue are also included.
Rounding out the extras are not one, but TWO commentaries. The first of the commentaries is moderated by David Del Valle, and features Singer/Songwriter Suzanne Vega, and film guy/writer Derek Botelho. A number of topics are covered, including Vega's one-woman show on Carson McCullers and her introduction to her work, as well as Derek's play about the summer Carson spent with Tennessee Williams. They also discuss the transfer of the Broadway play to the screen and using the same actors, the death of Brandon De Wilde, and the sexuality/racial issues found in the film and book.
Another commentary features McCullers biographer Virgina Spencer Carr, which retreads the topic of the actors in the film, discusses the comparisons between Carson and the character of Frankie, but largely consists of Miss Carr describingg what's happening on-screen with a fair number of pauses in between. If you only have time for one commentary, you might do better with the other one.
A smartly-done booklet essay by Julie Kirgo caps off the extras for this disc.
The Final Word:
A well-regarded film gets a solid transfer from Twilight Time with good number of bonus features included. Limited to 3,000 units, so if you need it, get it soon.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
