The John Garfield: The Original Rebel Blogathon is here!!!!

I am so excited that the day for John Garfield: The Original Rebel Blogathon has finally arrived!! I can't wait to read all the Garfield love! Since I saw him in Four Daughters (1938) I've been mesmerized by this man and I hope that some of you have discovered or rediscovered just how amazing he is!!

Normally I have a new post for each day of the blogathon but since there are less entries on this one I will be putting them all below.

Day 1:

Silver Screenings starts us off with the brilliant post Why We Need John Garfield in a Cary Grant Movie.

Why sure it's brilliant! You think it would be anything else?

My post from last years The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon on a fictional, 1940s version of Conspiracy Theory starring John Garfield and Maureen O'Hara.

Oh, the movie that could have been...

Caftan Woman show's us Garfield's world in The Breaking Point (1950)

We all look at Garfield like this ;)

Taking Up Room takes a fresh look at Air Force (1943) with Into the Wild Blue Yonder.

That look you get when you think you're listening to Orson Welles.

Reelweedgiemidget  Reviews tells us about Garfields' shocking final film, He Ran All the Way (1951).

Day 2:

Old Hollywood Films starts off the day with her review of the melodrama Humoresque (1946).

 

Taking Up Room shares her second post, this time exploring the afterlife and Waiting for Judgement with Between Two Worlds (1944).

Garfield really knows how to capture an audiences attention!

Finding Franchot tell us about Garfield and Tone's Group Theatre experience and friendship.

Crimson Kimono reviews the often overlooked film but perfect pairing of actor and actress in The Fallen Sparrow (1943).

Cary Grant Won't Eat You talks Garfield as sexy con-man in Nobody Lives Forever (1946).

Day 3:

Mike's Take on the Movies covers the explosive performance of Garfield in He Ran All the Way (1951).

So explosive the window shattered!

Taking Up Room shares her third and final post on the true story of A Highly Ordinary Life in Pride of the Marines (1945).

Critica Retro chronicles Garfield's rise as a violinist in Humoresque (1946).

Me when I spot John Garfield in a movie.

The Flapper Dame tells us how Garfield elevates a classic noir plot in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).

Musings of a Classic Film Addict gives us her analysis of Between Two Worlds (1944).

Lifesdailylessonsblog writes a wonderful tribute and life story on Hollywood's Forgotten Hero.

Back to Golden Days wraps things up with John Garfield and the Hollywood Blacklist.

Keep checking back for more great posts!

And don't forget to join the fun blogathon I am co-hosting with Love Letters to Old Hollywood!

ANNOUNCING "John Garfield: The Original Rebel" Blogathon

The first time I saw John Garfield on film I was completely blown away by his performance and became an instant fan. I had to learn more about this sullen and enigmatic man who never seemed to be on top.

Out of his 34 acting credits, Garfield is probably best known for his role in the Classic Film Noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). He appeared in several other noir films, as well as some classic WWII films, like Destination Tokyo (1943) with Cary Grant. He was also in the Academy Award winning film Gentleman's Agreement (1947) which is currently on Netflix.

Since John Garfield's birthday is March 4th, I thought it would be the perfect time to host a Blogathon in his honor and see how many other Garfield fans are out there (or to introduce him to others). Here's how to join:

1. Choose a topic (film, life story, relationship with, favorite films, his work with the Hollywood Canteen, etc.) and let me know in the comments. Be sure to include the link to your blog. I will allow up to two posts on the same topic. You can find a list of his films here.

2. The event will run from the 3rd to the 5th. Publish your post before or on those days and leave the link to your post either here or on the post I set up once the Blogathon starts.

3. Choose a banner below and display it on your blog to help spread the word!

 

Roster:

 

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies: Tribute post & John Garfield Imaginary Movie

The Flapper Dame: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Caftan Woman: The Breaking Point (1950)

Finding Franchot: John Garfield and Franchot Tone's Group Theatre History

The Wonderful World of Cinema: Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Back to Golden Days: John Garfield's involvement in the HUAC hearings and his subsequent blacklisting

Musings of a Classic Film Addict: Between Two Worlds (1944)

Realweegiemidget Reviews: He Ran All The Way (1952)

Silver Screenings: Destination Tokyo (1943)

Taking Up Room: Air Force (1943), Between Two Worlds (1944), & Pride of the Marines (1945)

Cary Grant Won't Eat You: Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood: Dust Be My Destiny (1939)

Mike's Take On The Movies: He Ran All The Way (1952)

Old Hollywood Films: Humoresque (1946)

B Noir Detour: They Made Me a Criminal (1939)

Crimson Kimono: The Fallen Sparrow (1943) 

The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon: The Original "Conspiracy Theory" (1947)

Did you know that Conspiracy Theory (1997) starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts is actually a remake of a 1947 film of the same name starring John Garfield and Maureen O'Hara? It follows the same story line very closely, with only a few minor differences.

Released by Warner Brothers and directed by Elia Kazan (Gentleman's Agreement), the film tackles the conspiracies about Communism floating around Hollywood at the time. Jerry Fletcher (Garfield - in Gibson's role) is a New York cab driver who sees conspiracies of all kinds everywhere. He prints them in a newsletter that has a subscription of five people. When one of his conspiracies turns out to be true, he finds himself hunted by "them."

(The Postman Only Rings Twice)

Alice Sutton (O'Hara in Robert's role) is a Justice Department Attorney that Jerry is obsessed with. He visits her at her office whenever he has a really big conspiracy. Alice tolerates him because he saved her from being mugged once. One day Jerry comes to her with a conspiracy that members of the Communist Party are slowly infiltrating the Federal Loyalty Security Program, which had been newly formed by President Truman. This program "gave loyalty review boards the power to fire federal employees when 'reasonable grounds' existed for belief that they were disloyal. Evidence of disloyalty included not only treasonous activities, but 'sympathetic association' with a long list of organizations deemed by the Attorney General to be 'Communist, fascist, or totalitarian'." Alice listens to him and tells her she will take care of it. In a conversation with her boss though, we find out that she is really only concerned with finding out who her father's killer was.

(The Fallen Sparrow)

After Jerry leaves Alice's office, he spots some suspicious characters and follows them to a government building. A little while later he is abducted and brought to an abandoned wing of a mental hospital where he is tortured and injected with "gravy for the brain." Tied to a wheelchair, he manages to bite his captors nose and escape by sending the wheelchair down some stairs causing it to fall apart.

(Body and Soul)

Jerry makes his way back to Alice's building, holding up the guards at gunpoint. In a dramatic and emotional scene, Alice gets him to put down the gun and listens as he tries to tell her what happened to him under the influence of the injection. All he remembers is that he bit a man's nose off. Jerry is then brought to the hospital, as he has an injury in his side. Alice goes to visit him and he begs her to switch the his chart with that of the other man in the room, who is suffering from a knife wound. Alice tells him she can't do that. The next morning she comes back to find that the other man is dead. Jerry thanks her but she insists she didn't switch the charts.

(The Postman Only Rings Twice)

When the hospital discovers that the body is not that of Jerry Fletcher, as it says on the chart, the CIA and FBI come in and ask Alice some questions. Alice is thrown off guard when the CIA psychiatrist Dr. Jonas (Humphrey Bogart in Patrick Stewart's role), the man in charge, shows up with a huge bandage covering his nose. He tells her it is a dog bite, but now Alice isn't so sure that Jerry's story is so crazy after all. She also meets Agent Lowry (John Payne in Cylk Cozart's role).

(Miracle on 34th Street)

Jerry manages to escape the hospital, with Alice's help, and hides in her car. They swing by Jerry's apartment to try to figure out which of his conspiracies must be correct. Jerry gives Alice a list of his subscribers. The next day Alice calls all of the people on the list, only to discover that all but one have died. She follows the trail and ends up in Jonas's office. He tells her that Jerry was part of a government sanctioned program that brainwashed it's test subjects and turned them into assassins. He also tells her that it was Jerry who killed her father.

(Dark Passage)

Bogart's dramatic face bandage was reduced in the final film to just cover his nose.

Even though Alice knows Jonas is an evil man, she wants to get her father's killer, so she works with him to trap Jerry. When Jerry sends her a note to meet him on the bus, she goes. Jerry manages to lose Jonas and his men who are following and drives to Alice's father's stables in Connecticut. Alice calls Jonas at a fueling station to let him know her location.

At the stables, Jerry finally remembers what happened the night of her father's death. He was the one sent to kill him but found he couldn't go through with it. He tells her another assassin was sent to finish the job.

(The Fallen Sparrow)

Suddenly they are surrounded and Jerry is taken again. Alice tracks him down to the abandoned hospital wing. She hears him though a vent and manages to find him. As she unties him Jonas shows up. A fight ensues. Jerry drowns Jonas but is shot in the process. Agent Lowry shows up and Jerry is whisked away to a hospital. Alice is not allowed to go with him and later is told he is dead.

(We Were Strangers)

Able to move past her father's death now, Alice takes up horse riding again. One day, after visiting Jerry's grave, she finds a note in her house that had been slipped under the door. It's from Jerry. Alice realizes that he is still alive. When the communists have been cleared from the government program, he will be able to come out of hiding.

The moment Alice realizes Jerry is still alive.

(gif from Miracle on 34th Street)

Trivia:

Ann Sheridan was considered for the role of Alice.

Garfield and O'Hara had starred in The Fallen Sparrow together in 1943. It centered on Nazi conspiracies.

It's ironic that the conspiracy involved the Red Scare as Garfield was included in a FBI report as a Communist Party Member in 1949. This lead to his name being added to the Hollywood Blacklist and eventually his death from heart failure in 1952.

The film was not very well received at the time because the topic hit a little too close to home, which is why it remains such an obscure film, even today.

(Humoresque)

This post is part of The Great Imaginary Film Blogathon hosted by Silver Scenes. Be sure to read about all of the other movies that weren't actually made! ;)

Not Your Typical Noir: "Nobody Lives Forever" (1946)

 

Nobody Lives Forever (1946) is one of my favorite Noir Films. It stars one of my favorite actors, the ever-troubled John Garfield. It is also unusual in that much of the film takes place in the sunlight instead of the typical Noir darkness and on the beach instead of the city streets. Even then, the dark scenes are shrouded in mist instead of bathed in garish neon lights.

 

 

The story begins with Nick Blake (Garfield) getting out of a military hospital. A former con artist, his stint in the army and his injuries have changed his views on life and he is ready for a fresh start. His best pal, Al (George Tobias), is going to make the change with him. 

 

 

The first person a guy usually wants to see when he gets out of the army is his girl. Before he left, Blake left his money for safekeeping with his girlfriend Toni (Faye Emerson). He heads to the nightclub in New York City where she works. Upon arriving he sees that business is thriving and presumes that she started it with his dough and made a good profit off of it. But like most women of Film Noir, Toni sold the struggling nightclub to her new boyfriend, Chet King. She tells Blake that his money is gone but he won't stand for that. He roughs up King, gets his dough, and then leaves New York behind for the sunny beaches of California.

 

 

In California, Blake rents a bright and spacious beach house. He also meets up with another old friend and fellow conman, Pop Gruber (Walter Brennan). His vacation doesn't last long, however, as he is approached/blackmailed by his old enemy Doc Ganson (George Coulouris) to do one more job. In return, they will leave him alone.

 

 

Before he went straight, Blake would con unsuspecting rich widows into sinking their money into phony companies by romancing them. His "assignment" this time is the young and beautiful Gladys Halvorsen (Geraldine Fitzgerald), worth two million. She is traveling with her business manager (Richard Gaines) and isn't having a very good time. He gets her interested in his "company," invites her over to his beach house, and takes her out dinner, dancing, and the theater.

 

 

Gladys quickly falls for him and surprises him with a date of her own. She takes him to the old Mission San Juan Capistrano, founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra. Its a lovely and poignant scene.

 

 

 

It is there that Blake realizes he is in love with Gladys. He tells Ganson he's not going through with the con and will pay the gang their original cut of the money, $30,000, out of his own funds. He then makes plans with Gladys to leave. Gladys is radiantly happy, and doesn't believe her business manager when he tells her his suspicions of Blake's shady past.

 

 

Everything looks like its going to work out for the happy couple when Toni enters back into the picture. She learns of Gladys and convinces the gang that Blake has simply cut them out so he can marry Gladys and get all of her money for himself. Before Blake has a chance to come clean with Gladys, she is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned shack on the dock.

 

 

Blake and Pop go after her and the film ends with a climatic noir gunfight. I won't tell you how it ends. You'll have to watch it to find out!

 

 

Before I wrap up this post, I want to share a few more screen shots with you. First, this awesome hat:

 

Front view

Back view

Side view

The brim is removable!!!

 

And some shots of the Spanish Mission:

 

 

This post is part of The Film Noir Blogathon hosted by The Midnite Drive-In. Be sure to check out all the other posts, as well as my post on Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982).