Literary Adaptations in Early Cinema
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theARTS From page to screen Literary adaptations in early cinema ALEXANDER VAN DER POLL Although many classic stories were Gable was box offi ce gold, and there Correspondent adapted for the screen even before the ad- simply was no one better for the part. The vent of sound in motion pictures, it makes problem that arose was that Clark Gable ince the fi rst lights fl ickered on the sense to rather concentrate on those fi lms was under contract to MGM and the fi lm silver screen producers and directors made in the era of the ‘talking’ picture, version of Gone with the wind was being Shave plundered the treasure trove of since we are after all discussing literature in produced independently by David O literature left to us by the masters of the cinema. Selznick. Eventually, after much hype and written word. Perhaps the most famous adaptation of inter-studio negotiations, Leigh and Gable As early as 1902 George Melie pro- a novel in those early days of cinema, and were cast in the leading roles. duced his classic fi lm Voyage to the moon#, certainly one of the most widely antici- The question which remains to be ans- loosely based on the work of Jules Verne. pated of these has to be Margaret Mitchell’s wered is what makes Gone with the wind Though Melie’s work was only partly Gone with the wind+. a good literary adaptation? Those who drawn from Verne's novel, it set a standard The publicity machinations behind this have read the source material will know for using literature as the basis for fi lms. 1939 fi lm was quite phenomenal. Not least that many aspects of it were changed and/ Of course not all adaptations have been of which included the nationwide search for or left out of the fi lmed version. Yet, what true to the source material. Indeed, some the actress to portray the heroine Scarlet makes Gone with the wind a winning ad- fi lms (which we will look at later on) barely O'Hara. Many actresses were considered aptation is perhaps a congruence of all the have any semblance to the book upon for the part (Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine, artistic contributions to the fi lm: George which they were supposedly based. Paulette Goddard and many more), but the Cukor and Victor Fleming's direction; Sidney Other fi lms have matched the quality of part eventually (and quite ironically) went Howard's screenplay and Ernest Haller's story-telling. Some even excelled. Others to an English lass by the name of Vivienne technicolor cinematography; and, of course, are debated among fi lm scholars to this day, Leigh. At that stage of her career she was Max Steiner's unforgettable, stirring sound- and yet others failed dismally. still very fresh from the United Kingdom track. So, let us have a look at the good, the indeed. Gone with the wind is one of those bad, and the ugly of literature transferred to As to her male counterpart, there was miracles of synergy that happen once every the silver screen. no doubt in the public mind who should hundred years in world cinema. Where, play the part of Captain Rhett Butler. Clark despite daunting source material, high 5050 Cape Librarian, May/June 2010 Ladysmith Black Mambazo theARTS hopes from the viewing public, and behind- with Norma Shearer (aged 36) and Leslie Upon his arrival in the United States the-scenes drama and intrigue, a master- Howard (aged 43) Hitchcock again delved into Du Maurier’s piece is produced. as the teenaged oeuvre for source material. This time, his Let us remain in that magical year of starstruck lovers. American debut fi lm Rebecca+ made it in 1939 for just a moment longer. Another Laurence Olivier, 1940. The fi lm was a rousing success, aside great fi lm was directed that year by Victor a stalwart of from the ending being changed slightly. Du Fleming (the director of Gone with the Shakespeare on Maurier seems to have approved of this wind), namely Frank L Baum's classic The stage and screen, version of her gothic romance. wizard of Oz*. appeared in Henry Twenty-four years later Hitchcock again This example of V* in 1944, and as tried his hand at a short story by Du screen adaptation the tragic Prince Maurier. He called it The birds+. The 1963 is perhaps one of Denmark in fi lm was a smash hit with audiences despite of the few times Hamlet* in 1948. its threadbare storyline, where the screen Previously he had also appeared on screen but again Du Maurier version became as as Orlando in As you like it* in 1936. herself disapproved. much of a classic as The subject of Shakespeare on fi lm is so Other fi lmed ver- the literature it was incredibly vast that indeed more than a few sions of Du Maurier’s based on. books have been written on the subject. work include 1944's The story of Considering the confi nes of this article, Frenchman's Creek#, Dorothy and her suffi ce it to say that probably no other au- 1952's My cousin dog Toto in the thor/playwright's works have been fi lmed as Rachel+ and many strange land of Oz many times, and indeed, re-made as many others. has become part of popular culture to such times as those of William Shakespeare. Adaptations of an extreme extent that books could be Other classic works fi lmed during novels became par for written about that phenomenon itself. those heydays of early Hollywood include the course in the 1930s and 1940s, as can Though to modern audiences the special Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre+ (fi lmed in be seen by the information listed above, yet effects may seem middle of the road, given 1934, and again ten years on in 1944). the trend continued very strongly in the fol- the limited resources fi lmmakers had in Her sister Emily Brontë‘s Wuthering lowing decades too. 1939, the result is spectacular. Add to this heights+ had been fi lmed many times One book, a bestseller in its own right, the talents of Judy Garland singing her before the classic 1939 fi lm with Laurence which needs mentioning here is of course key song, Somewhere over the rainbow, and Olivier in the lead. the Bible. The grand drama and spectacle vaudeville stalwarts like Frank Morgan, Ray Jane Austin proved to be a popular of the stories contained therein proved Bolger, Burt Lahr and the now legendary choice in source material too. And, indeed, irresistible to producers at a time when Munshkins and the success of The wizard continues to be so, as can be seen by the Hollywood was struggling very much indeed. of Oz should come as no surprise. many recent fi lms of her work. Pride and The so-called ‘studio system’ of the pre- The 1930s and 1940s were decades in prejudice*, Emma+ and Sense and sensibil- ceding decades had collapsed by the 1950s which literary adaptations fl ourished. Many ity+ prove to be the most popular with fi lm causing studios to lose out much revenue of the classic works had not yet been makers and the fi rst and causing them to lose their proud list of fi lmed, and rights to these novels were ex- two mentioned were stars under contract to them. tremely cheap (compared to today, where fi lmed in the 1930s In addition, television was becoming a novels are sold to producers for millions and 1940s. true threat. Almost every household in of dollars), and indeed many of the works The great master America owned a set and audience attend- were in public domain, not least of which of suspense, Alfred ance at the cinema plummeted. were the works of William Shakespeare. Hitchcock, was not To counter this threat inventions like 3D, One of the earliest fi lmed versions of immune to the trend stereophonic sound, and, most spectacularly, Shakespeare’s works was The taming of for fi lming novels. In cinemascope were used to lure audiences the shrew* which was fi lmed by legendary his long career he back into the empty theatres. trailblazing director DW Griffi th in 1909. fi lmed three of the Biblical tales were extremely popular With the advent of sound in the late works of Daphne with producers and audiences alike, and 1920s, the fl oodgates were opened and Du Maurier. For the last fi lm he made in soon the market was fl ooded with these. The Bard’s collection of work was raided by England before emigrating to the USA, he Some of them were truly magnifi cent Hollywood producers. fi lmed Du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn# in 1939. productions, while others were scraping In 1935 A midsummer night's dream* The fi lm wasn’t a great success, and Du the bottom of the barrel, looking for stories was followed shortly by Romeo and Juliet* Maurier herself is said to have detested it. Kaapse Bibliotekaris, Mei/Junie 2010 5151 theARTS from the Bible which had not yet been Other contemporary authors who saw proper justice until Francis Ford Coppola’s fi lmed. their works transferred to fi lm include 1992 fi lm Bram Stoker's Dracula#. Even Successful adaptations from the Bible Truman Capote, whose Breakfast at then some elements of the story were not include Samson and Delilah+ (1949), and Tiffany's++ (1961) and In cold blood# portrayed as in the original novel, but it The ten commandments* (fi lmed twice (1967) became iconic fi lms of their era.