Announcement: 50th Follower!!

Be sure to look at the post after this for my newest article!

Great news, folks! Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear has just got it's 50th follower!!

I just want to take the time to earnestly thank every one of my followers. You have no idea how much it means to me to see your icons on my blog and know that you all consistently read and follow what I write. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To all of the readers that I have had over the years, thank you! You have made this hobby of mine so worthwhile and fulfilling. Thank you for your amazing comments! The only thing that I like more than seeing that I have readers is responding to your comments!

I want to thank the Classic Movie Blog Association for inducting me into their ranks and introducing me to so many new readers. I want to also thank S.M. Rana and Jack L. in particular for helping me make this blog what it is. If I could, I would thank all of my followers individually...but then this post would be several pages long! Just know that I value and appreciate EVERY ONE of you!

So here's to 50 more followers and many more years of forgotten classics!

Editor-in-Chief
Nathanael Hood

Salt of the Earth

Directed by Herbert J. Biberman
1954
The United States of America

By all accounts, the film Salt of the Earth should not exist. Rarely has a film encountered such massive resistance and opposition to its production and distribution. Based on the 1951 strike against the Empire Zinc Company in Grant County, New Mexico, Salt of the Earth depicts a long, torturous miners’ strike against a corrupt and greedy corporation. Made during the height of the Cold War and anti-Communist sentiment, the film was written, produced, and directed by members of the Hollywood Ten, a group of writers and directors who were blacklisted from Hollywood after being cited for contempt of Congress for not giving testimony to the House Committee on Un-American Activities. The film was decried by the House of Representatives, investigated by the FBI, and became the first and only American film in history to be officially blacklisted.

Stories of the films difficult production are legendary. Before the first take was printed, the Hollywood Reporter announced that it was a “commie” film under “direct orders from the Kremlin.” It was nearly impossible to hire Hollywood union crews due to the blacklist. Of the few that they managed to get, some were FBI informants like the editor Barton Hayes. The production was run out of several towns, including one incident in Silver City, New Mexico where the filmmakers were warned to, “get out of town...or go out in black boxes.” Film-processing labs were forbidden from working on the film, so it had to be developed in secret at night. During the development of the film stock, it had to be delivered in unmarked canisters to prevent sabotage. During the editing process it had to be stored in an anonymous wooden shack in Los Angeles. Theater projectionists refused to show it, thereby preventing the film from being seen anywhere in the US. And the final blow against the production came in the deportation of Mexican actress Rosaura Revueltas, who played the lead role. It wasn’t until 1965, a full twelve years after its completion, that Salt of the Earth was shown in American theaters.

This monstrous opposition begs the question: what kind of film was this to deserve or inspire such resistance? The answer lies in its sympathetic portrayal of strikers fighting against a powerful corporation. The film opens with a now infamous voice-over:

“How shall I begin my story that has no beginning? My name is Esperanza, Esperanza Quintero. I am a miner's wife. This is our home. The house is not ours. But the flowers... the flowers are ours. This is my village. When I was a child, it was called San Marcos. The Anglos changed the name to Zinc Town. Zinc Town, New Mexico, U.S.A. Our roots go deep in this place, deeper than the pines, deeper than the mine shaft...”

Before the strike even begins, we are familiarized with the situation faced by the miners and their families: their town has been taken over by a powerful corporation that completely controls every aspect of their lives. But the narration also establishes a second vital point: the people are more powerful than the machine that employes them. Of course, they don’t realize this at first. At the beginning of the film, the men of Zinc Town, New Mexico all work in the local mine while their wives stay home and take care of their children. Esperanza is no different. She toils away at cleaning her home while her body toils away with a third child in her womb. And just like all of the other women in the town, she lives in constant fear of an industrial accident in the mine.

One day that accident happens, nearly killing one of the workers. The mine owner callously demands that despite the causality, the mine being damaged, and the mine’s structural integrity being called into question that they get back to work immediately. Without a word spoken amongst the crowd, they unanimously decide to strike. They begin a grueling strike that stretches over many months. The mine owners employ every dirty trick in the book to get them back to work: he hires scabs, policemen, and locals to intimidate and assault the strikers. Esperanza’s husband, Ramon, is thrown in jail for over a month just for spitting in the face of an assailant. And then, after months of striking and suffering, a federal law is passed that legally prohibits them from striking.

The men decide to call it quits. After all, what could they possibly do against the new law? The women respond that they have a solution. Due to a loophole in the law, while the men are prohibited from striking, the women are not. They volunteer to take their husband’s places in the picket lines. And now enters the second great dilemma of the film. The men are horrified at the idea of the women picketing for them. For the entirety of the strike the women have been treated like second class citizens. And now they demand to take their place doing a man’s job. Amazingly, the men vote not to let the women picket for them.

This begs the question of why the men would stop their wives from striking. From my own analysis, I doubt that it has much to do with idea of women’s rights or equality. Instead, I think that the men feel that their masculinity is threatened. Striking is a man’s job. How can they maintain any self-respect if women succeed where they fail? After all, their community has been divided along gender lines for generations. Women stay at home, men do the work. The idea of women striking challenges their preconceptions concerning workplace and home politics. What are they to do?

Of course they eventually relent and the women start picketing. But that isn’t the point of the film. It is the struggle, the fight, the battle for equal rights, both in the workplace and in the bedroom, that dominates this film. The fight feels uncomfortably real and dangerous. Perhaps this is due to the fact that only five professional actors were used. Taking a page from Italian Neo-Realism, the vast majority of the cast were locals from Grant County, New Mexico and members of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 890, the very people who participated in the strike that inspired the film.

The pain we see is real. The people are real. The film is real. Perhaps that is why it scared the government so much. Reality is a difficult thing to confront, particularly when you oppose the unwashed masses that you were sworn to protect in the first place. So in a way, Salt of the Earth is more than just a great film. It is something real, true, honest, and righteous.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Ten
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047443/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047443/trivia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_of_the_Earth#Production
http://www.culturevulture.net/Books/Suppression.htm

Blogathon Update

Well, great news, everyone!

We have 20 people signed up for the blogathon!

Just to reiterate, the people who have signed up and chosen their movies are:

Frankenstein Unbound – Chris Michael
A Bucket of Blood - Ivan G Shreve Jr (http://www.thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com)
The Day the World Ended – Stacia (http://www.shebloggedbynight.com/)
Five Guns West – Toby (fiftieswesterns.com)
The Intruder- Jack Lunt (http://jacklfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)
X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes- Team Bartilucci (http://doriantb.blogspot.com/)
The House of Usher- ClassicBecky
Tomb of Ligeia- Rick (Classic Film & TV Cafe)
Little Shop of Horrors- Page (My Love Of Old Hollywood)
The Masque of the Red Death- S.M. Rana (Onlyne)
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre-Tom (http://motionpicturegems.blogspot.com)
Tales of Terror- Jaime Grijalba (http://Exodus8-2.blogspot.com)
The Wild Angels- Ivan Lerner (http://ivanlandia1.blogspot.com/)
The Haunted Palace- Rachel (http://thegirlwiththewhiteparasol.blogspot.com/)
Boxcar Bertha- Michaël Parent (http://cinephiliaque.blogspot.com/)
The Raven- Michael Troutman (Jump_Raven)
Bloody Mama- John Greco (24 Frames)
Sorority Girl- Thomas Duke (Cinema Gonzo)
Creature From the Haunted Sea- (W.B. Kelso)
Tower of London- Kevyn Knox (http://themostbeautifulfraudintheworld.blogspot.com/)

Now comes the next step:

Everyone has to choose which day they want to post their articles. The blogathon will take place during June 17th, 18th, and 19th. People need to say which date they will post and provide a link to their site. You can do so by sending me an email or leaving a comment to this update.

So far:

June 17th:
-Tales of Terror- Jaime Grijalba (http://Exodus8-2.blogspot.com)
-The Wild Angels- Ivan Lerner (http://ivanlandia1.blogspot.com/)
-The Day the World Ended– Stacia (http://www.shebloggedbynight.com)
-GAS-S-S-S- Gary Cahall (http://www.moviefanfare.com/category/from-the-files-of-dr-strangefilm/)
-Boxcar Bertha- Michaël Parent (http://cinephiliaque.blogspot.com/)
-Bloody Mama- John Greco (http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/)
-Sorority Girl- Thomas Duke (http://cinemagonzo.blogspot.com/)

June 18th:
-Little Shop of Horrors- Page (http://myloveofoldhollywood.blogspot.com/)
-The Haunted Palace- Rachel (http://thegirlwiththewhiteparasol.blogspot.com/)
-Tower of London- Kevyn Knox (http://themostbeautifulfraudintheworld.blogspot.com/)
-The St. Valentine's Day Massacre- Tom (http://motionpicturegems.blogspot.com)
-Tomb of Ligeia- Rick (http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/)
-Five Guns West – Toby (fiftieswesterns.com)
-Creature From the Haunted Sea- W.B. Kelso (http://microbrewreviews.blogspot.com/)

June 19th:
-The Intruder- Jack Lunt (http://jacklfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)
-The Masque of the Red Death- S.M. Rana (http://smrana.blogspot.com/)
-The Raven- Michael Troutman (http://ishootthepictures.blogspot.com/)
-A Bucket of Blood - Ivan G Shreve Jr (http://thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com)
-X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes- Team Bartilucci (http://doriantb.blogspot.com/)
-Frankenstein Unbound – Chris Michael (http://forgottenclassicsofyesteryear.blogspot.com/)
-The House of Usher- ClassicBecky (http://www.classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com)

Also, I have a great announcement! As a kind of added bonus to the aforementioned awards that I will be giving out, I am pleased to announce that the first place winner will receive a prize!

The prize will be 3 Roger Corman titles of their choice! There are a couple of rules, though:

1) The film has to be in print.
2) The film has to be available on DVD.
3) Each film can not cost more than $20.

So we're looking at potentially $60 worth of prizes!

Anyhow, please continue to work on your articles and feel free to put up my blogathon banner on your respective sites! I'll be back in another week for another blogathon update!

Also, I will be posting my next blog article on Monday.

Editor-in-Chief

Nathanael Hood

ANNOUNCING: FCY BLOGATHON

Get ready, folks! Today I'm unveiling Forgotten Classics of Yesteryear's very first blogathon! The topic is none other than the king of B-movies himself, Roger Corman!

Recipient of an Honorary Academy Award for his work, Roger Corman has been a tireless producer and director of films for over 50 years! Known for directing exploitation and B-movies, Corman pioneered techniques of shooting on a shoe-string budget and completing films in record times (his film Little Shop of Horrors was completely filmed over two days and one night). His most famous films were a cycle of films that he made with Vincent Price based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe in the early 60s, including the cult classic The Masque of the Red Death.

But more important than his own films was his role as teacher in the lives of many of the greatest filmmakers who ever worked in Hollywood. His students and apprentices include Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Nicolas Roeg, Ron Howard, and James Cameron. He would also go on to produce many of their very first films, giving them a foot in the industry to become some of the most influential directors who ever lived.

So this blogathon, lasting from June 17-19, will be a celebration of the man who transformed Hollywood with the power of highly stylized B-movies.

Anyone can participate. The Classic Movie Blog Association has graciously agreed to advertise the blogathon. However, being a CMBA member is NOT a prerequisite for entry. Anyone who has a passion for film is welcome to join.

There will be four awards given out:
1) First Place Prize for Best Review/Article
2) Second Place Prize for Best Review/Article
3) Third Place Prize for Best Review/Article
4) Blogger's Choice Award for Best Article

The first three awards will be handed out by myself based on the inherent quality of the submitted articles. The fourth award will be decided based on votes from the participant bloggers. Each participating blogger will get one vote to be cast at the conclusion of the blogathon once every article has been posted. The articles and/or reviews can be in any form, be of any length, and be on any topic as long as it pertains to Roger Corman, his work, or work that he influenced.

Please note that I am only allowing one person to write for each film directed by Corman. Please contact me at nahood@ursinus.edu or nch257@nyu.edu to claim your film. Films will be assigned based on a strict first-come, first serve basis.

Already several films have been claimed:

Frankenstein Unbound – Chris Michael
A Bucket of Blood - Ivan G Shreve Jr (http://www.thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com)
The Day the World Ended – Stacia (http://www.shebloggedbynight.com/)
Five Guns West – Toby (fiftieswesterns.com)
The Intruder- Jack Lunt (http://jacklfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)
X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes- Team Bartilucci (http://doriantb.blogspot.com/)
The House of Usher- ClassicBecky
Tomb of Ligeia- Rick (Classic Film & TV Cafe)
Little Shop of Horrors- Page (My Love Of Old Hollywood)
The Masque of the Red Death- S.M. Rana (Onlyne)
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre-Tom (http://motionpicturegems.blogspot.com)
Tales of Terror- Jaime Grijalba (http://Exodus8-2.blogspot.com)
The Wild Angels- Ivan Lerner (http://ivanlandia1.blogspot.com/)
The Haunted Palace- Rachel (http://thegirlwiththewhiteparasol.blogspot.com/)
Boxcar Bertha- Michaël Parent (http://cinephiliaque.blogspot.com/)
The Raven- Michael Troutman (Jump_Raven)
Bloody Mama- John Greco (24 Frames)
Sorority Girl- Thomas Duke (Cinema Gonzo)
Creature From the Haunted Sea- (W.B. Kelso)


So hurry up and claim your film fast before they're all gone!

I'll post more updates as the date approaches!

Thank you, and good luck!!

Editor-in-Chief
Nathanael Hood

CMBA BLOGATHON PART TWO: まごころ (Sincerity)

Directed by Mikio Naruse
1939
Japan

Nobody can really explain the friendship between Nobuko and Tomiko. The two young schoolgirls are close friends despite what Japanese society in the late 30s would consider to be damning differences. Nobuko is from a well-to-do middle-class family. Her mother leads a patriotic women’s association that helps maintain the home front while the men are away at war. Her father is a successful banker. There are whispers that he may be drafted into the army as an officer. Truly, Nobuko family represents the perfect wartime nuclear unit. Tomiko, on the other hand, does not. Her’s is a poor family led by a single mother who makes ends meet as a stay-at-home seamstress. The two share their house with an invalid grandmother. While Nobuko’s family is engaging the Enemy at home and abroad, Tomiko’s family can’t even offer a single male to serve as a private in the Imperial army. And yet Tomiko is head of her class while Nobuko ranks tenth. Nobody can explain the friendship between Nobuko and Tomiko. Even more, nobody seems to want to confront what their friendship implicates.

Not that this bothers Nobuko and Tomiko. The two live blissfully unaware of what their friendship represents. Yes, Nobuko is obviously from a superior family, but that doesn’t bother them. They seem to be made for each other. In one scene where the girls are being taught gardening skills (after all, they are girls in late 30s Japan) at school, a teacher comments that their work compliments each other. One works fast, the other thoroughly. They are both sides of a single coin.

Of course, Nobuko’s mother can’t comprehend how Tomiko could be getting higher marks. At first, she blames the teacher. But no, he is a good man who says that Nobuko isn’t working hard enough. So her resentment of Tomiko and her family simmers. She tells her husband about the situation. He seems less interested in Nobuko’s performance than in Tomiko’s achievement. Something about that girl seems familiar. He buys an expensive doll for Tomiko without any explanation. Who would have thought that such a simple gift would have such explosive ramifications. Such is life in Sincerity, a wartime effort by legendary Japanese director Mikio Naruse.

The giving of the doll comes at an uneasy time in Tomiko’s life. She discovers that at one point her mother and Nobuko’s father were in love. Tomiko begins to want to know about her own father. But she is given varying accounts of him. Tomiko’s mother claims that he was a great, honorable man. Tomiko’s grandmother yells back that he was a drunken scoundrel. Nobody seems to be able to agree what he was actually like. They have an old, dusty photo of who they claim was her father. But the photo is unmarked, faded, and of questionable origins. Her father remains an unspoken enigma within the family.

And then comes the gift of the doll. I would like to tell you that Nobuko’s father is revealed to be Tomiko’s father. I would like to tell you that it is revealed that the girls are really sisters.

Yes, I would like to tell you that. But I can’t. The last fourth of the film marks one of the strangest developments that I have ever seen in a film. The first three-fourths of the film focus on Tomiko. We follow her as she runs the emotional gauntlet of sadness, betrayal, joy, and acceptance as she comes to terms with her missing father. There are several delicately filmed and emotionally powerful scenes of the two girls trying to salvage their friendship after the revelation concerning Nobuko’s father is revealed. There is even a dream sequence where Tomiko imagines her mother and Nobuko’s father being reunited. But suddenly, near the end, the film makes a sharp turn and makes Nobuko’s father the center of attention. We are treated to a bizarre scene where Nobuko’s mother confronts her husband about the rumors concerning Tomiko’s father. He sharply rebukes her and reprimands her for thinking such things. Then the film transitions to a scene at a train station where Tomiko, Nobuko, and their two mothers cheerfully send off Nobuko’s father to the army. The girls wave flags, the mothers reconcile, and the father waves merrily as he is spirited away to the front lines.

And then the movie ends.

I have only one explanation for why the movie does such an abrupt about face: wartime censors. Many Japanese films of the era ended in the exact same way as Sincerity with families tearfully waving goodbye to valiant men off to battle. At the time, directors were not allowed to depict families mourning over their loved ones being sent off to battle. This explains why everybody is so happy when they first hear that Nobuko’s father is drafted. Disharmony was not allowed to be depicted among Japanese citizens and, even more insanely, selfishness. Filmmakers were literally not allowed to show Japanese citizens acting selfishly or partaking in actions that didn’t involve personal sacrifice for the wartime effort. I suspect that Naruse was ordered to reshoot the ending of this film. Naruse may still have been learning the ropes as a director in 1939, but not even the most inexperienced novice would purposefully end the film in the same manner.

So in the end we have a film that works more as a museum piece than a work of art. It is a glaring example of the reach and impact of Japanese wartime censorship during the Second World War. I would love to see how Naruse would have ended the film had he not been shackled by Imperial censors. The film suggests a powerful climax where the members of both families come to terms with Tomiko’s parentage. But what we have is a film with a tacked on ending that seems naive, insulting, and potentially offensive to modern viewers. Thankfully, Naruse’s career continued long after the Imperial censors left. We have many great films by Naruse that do justice to his original artistic intentions. But as it is, when we look back on Sincerity, we can only see wasted potential and hints of what could have been.

Note from the Editor: I will be uploading this film along with The Whole Family Works as soon as I figure out how to do it on my new MacBook Pro. Hang in there!

Sources:
http://celluloidbreakfast.blogspot.com/2010/12/sincerity-japan1939mikio-naruse.html
http://groups.google.com/group/naruseretro/browse_thread/thread/824b6d516d11af00?pli=1
http://worldscinema.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/mikio-naruse-magokoro-aka-sincerity-1939/

CMBA BLOGATHON PART ONE: はたらくー家 (The Whole Family Works)

Directed by Mikio Naruse
1939
Japan

In a cramped dining room, a large family huddles and dines in the late evening. Ishimura, the unemployed father, retires for the night to drink away his problems. Even though he has nine children and almost no money to feed them with, Ishimura always keeps his sake cup full. And why wouldn’t he? Life is hard. Japan is mired in a devastating depression as a result of the Sino-Japanese War. His sons all work meaningless and monotonous tasks at a local factory. His daughters have no ambitions other than to be married off to rich suitors. His wife, once beautiful enough that Ishimura was compelled to have nine children with her, is becoming bloated with age and sour of disposition. But at least there is routine. Ishimura drinks, his wife stays at home and tends the house, and his sons toil for the war effort. In their own way, the whole family works.

Such is the state of affairs within Ishimura’s household in this curious wartime effort by legendary Japanese director Mikio Naruse. Widely considered to be the unofficial fourth godfather of Japanese cinema (the other three being Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, and Kenji Mizoguchi), Naruse was a tireless creator, directing 89 films during an almost 40 year career. His films were characterized by leisurely and relaxed pacing and a focus on mono no aware, or, “an awareness of the transience of things, and a gentle sadness at their passing.” Much like his contemporary Ozu, Naruse frequently made films about Japanese families. But whereas Ozu would focus primarily on the middle-class, Naruse chose to explore the lives of the poor and disenfranchised. While Ozu was busy dissecting concepts of filial piety, familial loyalty, and tradition in the face of progress, Naruse would busy himself with the harsh realities of life, such as how to make money and how to keep food on the table.

His film The Whole Family Works centers on a conflict between Ishimura and his eldest son Kiichi. Kiichi does not want to waste away in a factory. Inspired by his encouraging teacher Mr. Washio, Kiichi begs his father to allow him to stop working for five years and study to become an electrician. He argues that although the family will have to suffer for five years to support him, it will be worth it when he can provide the family with extra money once he gets his license.

Both Ishimura and his wife refuse to let him stop working. Ishimura’s wife argues that without his factory salary, they will not be able to eat. Ishimura seems to disagree because he is afraid of the idea of change. Although his family lives a difficult life, Ishimura enjoys the status quo. Without all of his sons working, he would have to seek employment again. And then how would he enjoy his permanent vacation? Of course, Ishimura never says any of this out loud. But watch closely during the scene where Kiichi initially confronts him. His body movements, his motions, and his excuses speak volumes.

The Whole Family Works is an unusual outing for Naruse. Whereas his other films focus on traditional, immediate problems such as monetary crises, this film seems to depict a struggle between the forces of modernism and traditionalism. Kiichi represents the new generation, full of bright ideas concerning the future. Ishimura represents the established way of things and conservatism. After all, the family could quite conceivably survive for five years without the extra salary. It is the violation of familial piety and parental devotion that seems to bother and trouble Ishimura and his wife. Such a film is even more unusual when it is considered within its historical subtext. During 1939, Japan was heavily involved in World War Two and Imperial censors were cracking down on cinematic content like never before. Films that even hinted at dissension within society were quelled and removed. Wives were not even allowed to be shown weeping for their husbands going off to war. Instead, they were supposed to be depicted as cheerfully wishing them well as they went off to fight the good fight. So one wonders how this film was approved and made in the first place?

However it was made, the film survives and represents an interesting time of transition for Naruse between his earlier expressionist work to his later, simpler, almost minimalistic work. There are two moments in particular that seem boldly out of place for those who are familiar with his later work. The first is a scene where a group of children playing war games abruptly transitions to scenes of actual warfare. Such a bold edit seems more reminiscent of Soviet cinematic theorists and not a relaxed Japanese director. The second is one of the final scenes where Kiichi confronts Ishimura in front of his family and begs him again for the opportunity to go to school. As the argument brews and grows more intense, Naruse makes several cuts to a thunderstorm outside.

But the fact remains that The Whole Family Works is a fascinating film from one of Japan’s true cinematic masters. While it doesn’t rank with his more famous films, it still deserves recognition as an important stepping stone in Naruse’s career. It was partially through the lessons learned and mistakes made in The Whole Family Works that Naruse became the cinematic genius that he was.

Stay tuned for Part Two of my Entry to the CMBA's 1939 Blogathon!!

Editor's Note: Sorry that it took so long to get this article up. I recently got a new computer and I've been trying to figure it out. Also, I'll try to post this video on youtube as soon as possible.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikio_Naruse
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/the-whole-family-works/1957
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031407/