Category Archives: Screening and Discussion

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 10th of November, Jarman 7, 5-7pm

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Posted by Sarah

All are very welcome to join us for the third of this term’s screenings, which will take place on the 10th of November, Jarman 7, 5-7pm. We will be showing Stella Maris (1918, Marshall Neilan, 84 mins).

Stella Maris

Neilan’s film focuses on the two women pictured above: the title character and her inverted mirror image, both of whom are played by Mary Pickford. Stella Maris is a young, paralysed woman who has deliberately been kept ignorant of the suffering people are capable of inflicting on one another. By contrast, Unity Blake is a young orphan who is severely beaten by her violent alcoholic female employer. The pair are brought together by their mutual love for one man – John Risca (Conway Tearle) – and Unity sacrifices her life for Stella and John’s happiness.

The melodramatic plot  outlined above should provide much for us to discuss, while the doubling of Pickford as both characters links closely to the Gothic tradition, discussed earlier this year in relation to Black Swan (2010).

Do join us, if you can, for one of Pickford’s finest films.

More Details on this Term’s Meetings

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We now have more details on the rest of this term’s activities.

screening

All are very welcome to attend our meetings which will take place on the following dates, at the following locations:

27th of October 5-7pm, Jarman 7: Discussion about The Melodrama Research Consortium

10th of November 5-7pm, Jarman 7, Stella Maris (1918, Marshall Neilan, 84 mins)

24th of November 5-7pm, Jarman 7, In This Our Life (1942, John Huston, 97 mins)

8th of December 5-7pm, Jarman 7, The Best of Everything (1959, Jean Negulesco, 121 mins) EDIT: we have decided not to screen this film but instead to have further discussion on The Melodrama Research Group. Apologies for any disappointment caused.

15th of December 5-7pm, MLT 2, A Research Talk by Patrick Pilkington, of Warwick University, on Courtroom Drama.

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 20th of October, Jarman 7, 5-7pm

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Posted by Sarah

All are very welcome to join us for the second of this term’s screenings, which will take place on the 20th of October, Jarman 7, 5-7pm.

Marie Antoinette Norma Shearer part 2

We will be screening the second half of Lies’ choice: Marie Antoinette (1938, WS Van Dyke, 149 mins) starring Norma Shearer. Those who missed the first part are still very welcome to come along – a recap will be provided!

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 6th of October, Jarman 7, 5-7pm

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Posted by Sarah

All are very welcome to join us for the first of this term’s screenings, which will take place on the 6th of October, Jarman 7, 5-7pm.

Marie Antionette Norma Shearer

We will be screening Lies’ choice: Marie Antoinette (1938, WS Van Dyke, 149 mins) starring Norma Shearer. Due to the length of the film, it will be screened in two parts, with the second following on the 20th of October.

Autumn Term Screening and Discussion Timetable

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Posted by Sarah

Exciting news! We now have the dates for this term’s Screening and Discussion Sessions.

screening

All are very welcome to attend our meetings which will take place on the following dates, at the following locations:

6th of October 5-7pm, Jarman 7

20th of October 5-7pm, Jarman 7

27th of October 5-7pm, Jarman 7

10th of November 5-7pm, Jarman 7

24th of November 5-7pm, Jarman 7

8th of December 5-7pm, Jarman 7

15th of December 5-7pm, Location: To Be Confirmed

More information on films/other activities will be posted in due course. It is anticipated that some of our meetings will focus on the Group’s very interesting involvement with the Melodrama Research Consortium.

Do log in to comment, or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk, if you have any suggestions for screening/other activities.

 

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 27th of May, Jarman Studio 6, 4-7pm

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All are welcome to attend the third of the Summer Term’s Maternal Melodrama themed Screening and Discussion sessions, which will take place on the 27th of May, in Jarman Studio 6, from 4-7pm.

We are screening Ann-Marie’s choice The Old Maid (Edmund Goulding, 1939, 95 mins)

Old Maid 1

Ann-Marie has very kindly provided the following introduction:

The Old Maid is the last film to be screened in the Melodrama Research Group’s series of maternal melodramas. The screening hopes to spark some interesting debates that will help inform our knowledge of maternal melodrama in preparation for our symposium on the 3rd of June.

Edmund Goulding’s film is loosely adapted from the 1935 play of the same name by Zoe Atkins. The play was also awarded a Pulitzer and is itself adapted from a novella by Edith Wharton. Like many of Bette Davis’ melodramas the film has a defined historical setting, and this time it is set during the American Civil War. The film hurries through events and twenty years before it reaches its finale, but this is a Davis film so there is a guarantee of intense female suffering along the way! Including but not limited to: an illegitimate daughter, lost lovers (yes, plural), and a cruel and yet seemingly caring cousin. Perhaps most heartbreakingly, it is the daughter’s treatment of ‘Aunt Charlotte’ that causes the character such anguish.

Old Maid 2

The film itself was not received well by the critics, most only praised the performance of Bette Davis and her co-star Miriam Hopkins (the only actress she seemed to dislike more than Crawford!). Despite the critics dislike for the static look of the film, The Old Maid was successful amongst audiences[1], which of course could lead to a discussion about the importance of maternal melodramas to the audiences of the 30s and 40s.

Other possible areas for discussion:

  • The role of female sacrifice.
  • The role of class, particularly the importance of the ‘good name’.
  • The good and bad mother figure.
  • Familial relations.
  • A woman’s place in society.
  • Aging and youth.
  • Female companionship.

 

 

[1]Over $1.6 million in ticket receipts and Davis’ biggest commercial success to that date, but would soon be beaten by various other films. See: James Spada (1993) More Than A Woman, London: Sphere. pp.219-222

 

Do join us, if you can, for the last of this term’s screenings.

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 20th of May, Jarman Studio 6, 4-7pm

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All are welcome to attend the second of the Summer Term’s Maternal Melodrama themed Screening and Discussion sessions, which will take place on the 20th of May, in Jarman Studio 6, from 4-7pm.

We are screening Tamar’s choice: Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945, 111 mins)

MP mother and daughter

Tamar has very kindly provided the following introduction:

Mildred Pierce – film noir or melodrama?

Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) is the next film to be screened in the Melodrama Research Group’s series of maternal melodramas, leading up to our symposium on this topic on 3 June. But if it is a maternal melodrama, why is so much written about it under the film noir label?

The film, adapted loosely from the James M. Cain novel of the same name, tells the story of Mildred Pierce and her journey to business success and personal failure. Much of the film’s moody opening seems as if it is trying to force Mildred into the role of noir’s usual femme fatale, but as the narrative succumbs to its flashbacks, her motherhood, as well as other factors, complicates this.

MP double page ad Variety 1

The movie poster’s tagline is in accord with this noir presentation: “The kind of woman most men want – and shouldn’t have! That’s…..Mildred Pierce”, though an earlier piece of publicity had more simply “Kinda Hard Kinda Soft”. Neither seems to do justice to the narrative exigencies to which Mildred is subjected. Perhaps the significant factor for our Melodrama Research Group to ponder is that the film does not easily fit any generic label, but rather exceeds several; furthermore, as theorists have shown, film noir was not an industrial category at the time and, as Steve Neale suggests, neither perhaps was melodrama. There will be much to consider and much to enjoy, then, as we watch Joan Crawford head a talented cast as Mildred and listen to Max Steiner’s supple and evocative score.

Further Reading

Pam Cook, “Duplicity in Mildred Pierce”, Women In Film Noir, London: BFI 1978.

Claudia Gorbman, “The Drama’s Melos: Max Steiner and Mildred Pierce”, The Velvet Light Trap, No. 19, 1982.

Steve Neale, “Melo Talk: On the Meaning and Use of the Term ‘Melodrama’ in the American Trade Press”, The Velvet Light Trap, No. 32, 1993.

 Do join us, if you can, for this Hollywood Classic.

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 13th of May, Jarman Studio 6, 4-7pm

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All are welcome to attend the first of the Summer Term’s Screening and Discussion sessions, which will take place on the 13th of May, in Jarman Studio 6, from 4-7pm.

Stella Dallas

In preparation for the Melodrama Research Group’s one-day Symposium on Maternal Melodrama we are screening several related films. The first of these is Stella Dallas (1937, King Vidor). Lies has very kindly provided the following introduction:

Stella Dallas stars Barbara Stanwyck as Stella, the working class daughter of a mill worker who, in an attempt to better herself, seduces and marries mill executive Stephen Dallas (John Boles). The couple have a child, Laurel, but soon discover their marriage is not a success, as their differences in class and taste prove insurmountable. The two divorce and Stella retains custody of Laurel. Years later, however, as Laurel grows into young adulthood, it becomes increasingly obvious that her kind-hearted, but rather tasteless, mother is an obstacle to her introduction into her father’s upper class circles, and Stella is forced to choose between her own wishes and what she believes to be best for her daughter.

Originally published as a novel in 1920 and made into a silent film in 1925 (starring Belle Bennett as Stella and Ronald Colman as Stephen), this film is a maternal melodrama par excellence and should provide ample topics for discussion, such as:
– The ways in which this film can be defined as a melodrama
– The role of female self-sacrifice in (maternal) melodrama
– The role and function of class in this film, or What Happened After Cinderella Married The Prince
– The relationship between mother and daughter
– The relationship between both of Laurel’s mother figures (Stella and the second Mrs Dallas)
Do join us, if you can, for a classic Hollywood melodrama which showcases the talents of one of the most compelling female stars of the 1930s and 1940s.

Melodrama Screening and Discussion, 2nd of April, Keynes Seminar Room 6, 4-7pm

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Posted by Sarah

All are welcome to attend the last of this term’s screening and discussion sessions which will take place on the 2nd of April in Keynes Seminar Room 6, from 4pm to 7pm.

In advance of the School of Arts’ trip to Amsterdam over Easter we have chosen to screen the Dutch film Black Book (2006, Paul Verhoeven, 145 mins).

Black Book

Set in Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, the film’s plot revolves around female Jewish singer Rachel, played by Carice van Houten. After Rachel’s  family is murdered she seeks revenge by infiltrating the regional Gestapo. However, Rachel faces a dilemma as she unexpectedly falls for an officer who represents the regime she passionately wishes to destroy…

Do join us if you can, but please note that due to the film’s length we will start promptly at 4.