One of my favorite authors was John O'Hara (Born on January 31, 1905 - died on April 11, 1970) he was one of America's most prolific writers. While O'Hara's legacy as a writer is debated, his champions rank him highly among the under-appreciated and unjustly neglected major American writers of the 20th century. O'Hara became a best-selling novelist before the age of 30 with his first novel Appointment In Samarra (published in 1934) and his second novel was Butterfield 8 (published in 1935), this novel was his roman à clef based upon the tragic, short life of flapper Starr Faithfull, whose mysterious death in 1931 became a tabloid sensation. John O'Hara's fourth novel was titled Pal Joey and it was published in 1940. Author John O'Hara offered his novel Pal Joey to Rodgers and Hart for adaptation as a new musical. Pal Joey premiered on Broadway on December 25, 1940, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ran for 374 performances. Directed by George Abbott with choreography by Robert Alton, the opening-night cast included Gene Kelly as Joey, Vivienne Segal as Vera, and June Havoc as Gladys. Van Johnson and Stanley Donen were also in the cast. John O'Hara also wrote the libretto for the musical while Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart did the music and lyrics.
After World War II O'Hara published his fifth novel A Rage To Live (published in 1949), then in 1955 O'Hara published his latest novel Ten North Frederick and in 1958 he published From The Terrace. By the late 1950's Hollywood adapted five of his novels into films Pal Joey (1957, Columbia), which starred Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth, Ten North Frederick (1958, 20th Century Fox), which starred Gary Cooper, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Diane Varsi, and From The Terrace (1960, 20th Century Fox), starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Myrna Loy. Butterfield 8 (1960, MGM), was also adapted into a film that starred Elizabeth Taylor who received her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Since all four films were successful it was decided to turn A Rage To Live into a film in 1965 the production company was the Mirisch Corporation and United Artists was the Distribution Company.
The film A Rage To Live was released on October 20, 1965 and it starred: Suzanne Pleshette, Bradford Dillman, Ben Gazzara, Peter Graves, Carmen Mathews and Bethel Leslie. The Mirisch Corporation bought the screen rights in 1959 for United Artists. This sale was on similar terms when they bought the screen rights to From The Terrace in 1958. Other properties that the Mirisch Corporation acquired around the same time were: West Side Story (1961, United Artists) and Two For The Seesaw (1962, United Artists). The screenplay was by John T. Kelley, the director was Walter Grauman, the Cinematography was by Charles Lawton Jr., the music was by Nelson Riddle, while the opening credits featured a striking instrumental theme by Ferrante & Teicher, as the film's credits are displayed amongst various rural settings. The film's only Academy Award nomination went to Howard Shoup for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White but lost to Julie Harris for Darling.
This is not just a casual film of a bad girl making life difficult for herself by committing constant mistakes, but as you follow the melodramatic story with patience, it emerges as an extremely interesting psychological study into the dilemma of a beautiful woman not being capable of saying no and men not able to resist her, but actually insisting on persuading if not possessing her, not being aware of their own limits, having no sense of self-criticism and no self-discipline.
Suzanne Pleshette was known for her sultry voice and down-to-earth beauty. Pleshette was usually cast as the good girl in such films as in Rome Adventure (1962, Warner Brothers), and Youngblood Hawke (1964, Warner Brothers). Pleshette was by far the best thing in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963, Universal), eclipsing everyone in the cast which proved that the master of suspense really had an eye for real acting talent. Pleshette and a child star Veronica Cartwright steal the film from right under everyone's nose. On the Broadway stage she replaced Anne Bancroft in February 1961 as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker.
Grace Caldwell is a child of privilege her family owns the local newspaper. Grace is beautiful, smart, classy and headstrong. Pleshette gives a passionate and sensitive performance, achieving the near impossible task of eliciting sympathy for playing a reckless nymphomaniac. Her performance is both subtle and sharp its exactly what her part demands as the rich and sexually charged girl who lives in sleepy town of Fort Penn, Pennsylvania. Suzanne adeptly conveys the fact that it's a compulsion and an illness that compels her to act the way she does. The costumes that were designed by Michael Shoup, suggest a demure quality while others, particularly some snug pencil skirts, show off her dazzling figure. Suzanne's two male costars are well played by Ben Gazzara and Bradford Dillman, who's performance is both sensitive and understanding. Notice that his hair is lighter than usual this was done to contrast with the raven-haired Suzanne Pleshette. While actor Peter Graves is the third man in her life. Actress Bethel Leslie plays the alcoholic wife of Graves and towards the end of the film the confrontation scene between her and Suzanne was the climax.
The film is quite good at showing Grace walking an uneasy tightrope, one minute Grace is crying than the next minute she is seen making out with a boy. While she rationally explains to her brother that not only she can't help her urges...but that she's not "settling" for a lesser life by indulging in them. And yet she never comes off to me as the "tramp" that some call her. She's warm and generous and seems to just be living her life as a nice person, even regretting her slipping off the straight and narrow every now and then. The town's reaction is startling and believable. Its definitely a soap opera but it has a wonderful sense of form and pace which gives off that glossy high drama look.
As the film progresses its more interested in storytelling, in moving the plot along from situation to situation, creating the visual equivalent of a "page turner" as we continually watch a set of characters moving through an interesting set of obstacles where the emphasis is more on the movement rather than on the "why" of the movement. The film's strongest allure comes from our knowledge in Grace's continued affairs, and with sultry-eyed, lush Suzanne Pleshette's husky voice and inescapably erotic demeanor filling her scenes with carnal suspense, why shouldn't we find pleasure in that emphasis by the filmmakers―particularly when Pleshette is so good at her job here?
Grace Caldwell is a popular high school student who lives with her widowed mother Emily (Carmen Matthews) and her older brother Brock (Linden Chiles) who attends Yale University. When she gets caught one night necking with one of her brother's friends, Charlie (Mark Goddard), they are discovered by his mother Jessie Jay (Brett Somers) Grace becomes the center of a local scandal. Thus begins a situation that worsens when Grace ends up sleeping with a number of young men. When on vacation with her mother Grace sneaks out to have a fling with a waiter while her mother is stricken by heart attack and dies. Consumed by guilt, Grace is convinced that she is nothing more than a slut, destined to live a life of shame. She gets a second chance when she meets Sidney Tate (Bradford Dillman), a handsome, hard working young man who is instantly attracted to her. Before long, he asks her to marry him and soon have a baby boy and all seems well. That is until Roger Bannon enters into the picture. Roger had known Grace slightly for years and confesses to her that he's been obsessed with her. Although devoted to her set-in-his-ways husband, Grace becomes tempted by Roger's gruff, blue collar demeanor and is attracted by his raw sexuality. Before long, they become lovers-and their relationship sets in motion a series of dire events that will lead to a shocking conclusion. As with any good story, we want to know what happens next, and A Rage To Live keeps us turning the pages wondering not if, but when, Grace will ultimately fall from grace, with director Grauman conjuring up a suitably ambiguous ending showing a weeping Grace, on a foot bridge, as her husband leaves her. But, the question that remains on everyone's mind is will she get him back? Or will she slip back into her nymphomania.
As soon as Grace resolves one crisis in her troubled life, another takes its place. Yet, these problems are all of her own making. The concept of the film- a likable woman who cannot control her sexual urges and fantasies- was certainly daring for its day, especially since Grace is presented as a sympathetic figure who dotes on her husband and young child. Yet, she repeatedly risks it all for another turn under the covers. The cautionary aspects of the tale are as old as time: if you play with fire, you'll probably end up getting burned. Yet, Grace is not a villain. Her defense of her unfaithful actions to her husband is the time worn excuse: she loves her spouse and her dalliances are only to fulfill her physical needs. (Seeing how boring Dillman's Sidney is, you can hardly blame her.)
Both Butterfield 8 and A Rage To Live are cinematic siblings, of sorts. Both are based on books by John O’Hara, and both tell the story of a tramp trying to achieve respectability, only to ruin the lives of those who she loves. Butterfield 8 is the more popular of the two because of Elizabeth Taylor’s Academy Award for Best Actress. But A Rage To Live has moody black-and-white photography and a delicious performance by Suzanne Pleshette, A Rage to Live deserves the same attention as Butterfield 8 has.
After World War II O'Hara published his fifth novel A Rage To Live (published in 1949), then in 1955 O'Hara published his latest novel Ten North Frederick and in 1958 he published From The Terrace. By the late 1950's Hollywood adapted five of his novels into films Pal Joey (1957, Columbia), which starred Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth, Ten North Frederick (1958, 20th Century Fox), which starred Gary Cooper, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Diane Varsi, and From The Terrace (1960, 20th Century Fox), starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Myrna Loy. Butterfield 8 (1960, MGM), was also adapted into a film that starred Elizabeth Taylor who received her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Since all four films were successful it was decided to turn A Rage To Live into a film in 1965 the production company was the Mirisch Corporation and United Artists was the Distribution Company.
The film A Rage To Live was released on October 20, 1965 and it starred: Suzanne Pleshette, Bradford Dillman, Ben Gazzara, Peter Graves, Carmen Mathews and Bethel Leslie. The Mirisch Corporation bought the screen rights in 1959 for United Artists. This sale was on similar terms when they bought the screen rights to From The Terrace in 1958. Other properties that the Mirisch Corporation acquired around the same time were: West Side Story (1961, United Artists) and Two For The Seesaw (1962, United Artists). The screenplay was by John T. Kelley, the director was Walter Grauman, the Cinematography was by Charles Lawton Jr., the music was by Nelson Riddle, while the opening credits featured a striking instrumental theme by Ferrante & Teicher, as the film's credits are displayed amongst various rural settings. The film's only Academy Award nomination went to Howard Shoup for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White but lost to Julie Harris for Darling.
This is not just a casual film of a bad girl making life difficult for herself by committing constant mistakes, but as you follow the melodramatic story with patience, it emerges as an extremely interesting psychological study into the dilemma of a beautiful woman not being capable of saying no and men not able to resist her, but actually insisting on persuading if not possessing her, not being aware of their own limits, having no sense of self-criticism and no self-discipline.
Suzanne Pleshette was known for her sultry voice and down-to-earth beauty. Pleshette was usually cast as the good girl in such films as in Rome Adventure (1962, Warner Brothers), and Youngblood Hawke (1964, Warner Brothers). Pleshette was by far the best thing in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963, Universal), eclipsing everyone in the cast which proved that the master of suspense really had an eye for real acting talent. Pleshette and a child star Veronica Cartwright steal the film from right under everyone's nose. On the Broadway stage she replaced Anne Bancroft in February 1961 as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker.
Grace Caldwell is a child of privilege her family owns the local newspaper. Grace is beautiful, smart, classy and headstrong. Pleshette gives a passionate and sensitive performance, achieving the near impossible task of eliciting sympathy for playing a reckless nymphomaniac. Her performance is both subtle and sharp its exactly what her part demands as the rich and sexually charged girl who lives in sleepy town of Fort Penn, Pennsylvania. Suzanne adeptly conveys the fact that it's a compulsion and an illness that compels her to act the way she does. The costumes that were designed by Michael Shoup, suggest a demure quality while others, particularly some snug pencil skirts, show off her dazzling figure. Suzanne's two male costars are well played by Ben Gazzara and Bradford Dillman, who's performance is both sensitive and understanding. Notice that his hair is lighter than usual this was done to contrast with the raven-haired Suzanne Pleshette. While actor Peter Graves is the third man in her life. Actress Bethel Leslie plays the alcoholic wife of Graves and towards the end of the film the confrontation scene between her and Suzanne was the climax.
The film is quite good at showing Grace walking an uneasy tightrope, one minute Grace is crying than the next minute she is seen making out with a boy. While she rationally explains to her brother that not only she can't help her urges...but that she's not "settling" for a lesser life by indulging in them. And yet she never comes off to me as the "tramp" that some call her. She's warm and generous and seems to just be living her life as a nice person, even regretting her slipping off the straight and narrow every now and then. The town's reaction is startling and believable. Its definitely a soap opera but it has a wonderful sense of form and pace which gives off that glossy high drama look.
As the film progresses its more interested in storytelling, in moving the plot along from situation to situation, creating the visual equivalent of a "page turner" as we continually watch a set of characters moving through an interesting set of obstacles where the emphasis is more on the movement rather than on the "why" of the movement. The film's strongest allure comes from our knowledge in Grace's continued affairs, and with sultry-eyed, lush Suzanne Pleshette's husky voice and inescapably erotic demeanor filling her scenes with carnal suspense, why shouldn't we find pleasure in that emphasis by the filmmakers―particularly when Pleshette is so good at her job here?
Grace Caldwell is a popular high school student who lives with her widowed mother Emily (Carmen Matthews) and her older brother Brock (Linden Chiles) who attends Yale University. When she gets caught one night necking with one of her brother's friends, Charlie (Mark Goddard), they are discovered by his mother Jessie Jay (Brett Somers) Grace becomes the center of a local scandal. Thus begins a situation that worsens when Grace ends up sleeping with a number of young men. When on vacation with her mother Grace sneaks out to have a fling with a waiter while her mother is stricken by heart attack and dies. Consumed by guilt, Grace is convinced that she is nothing more than a slut, destined to live a life of shame. She gets a second chance when she meets Sidney Tate (Bradford Dillman), a handsome, hard working young man who is instantly attracted to her. Before long, he asks her to marry him and soon have a baby boy and all seems well. That is until Roger Bannon enters into the picture. Roger had known Grace slightly for years and confesses to her that he's been obsessed with her. Although devoted to her set-in-his-ways husband, Grace becomes tempted by Roger's gruff, blue collar demeanor and is attracted by his raw sexuality. Before long, they become lovers-and their relationship sets in motion a series of dire events that will lead to a shocking conclusion. As with any good story, we want to know what happens next, and A Rage To Live keeps us turning the pages wondering not if, but when, Grace will ultimately fall from grace, with director Grauman conjuring up a suitably ambiguous ending showing a weeping Grace, on a foot bridge, as her husband leaves her. But, the question that remains on everyone's mind is will she get him back? Or will she slip back into her nymphomania.
As soon as Grace resolves one crisis in her troubled life, another takes its place. Yet, these problems are all of her own making. The concept of the film- a likable woman who cannot control her sexual urges and fantasies- was certainly daring for its day, especially since Grace is presented as a sympathetic figure who dotes on her husband and young child. Yet, she repeatedly risks it all for another turn under the covers. The cautionary aspects of the tale are as old as time: if you play with fire, you'll probably end up getting burned. Yet, Grace is not a villain. Her defense of her unfaithful actions to her husband is the time worn excuse: she loves her spouse and her dalliances are only to fulfill her physical needs. (Seeing how boring Dillman's Sidney is, you can hardly blame her.)
Both Butterfield 8 and A Rage To Live are cinematic siblings, of sorts. Both are based on books by John O’Hara, and both tell the story of a tramp trying to achieve respectability, only to ruin the lives of those who she loves. Butterfield 8 is the more popular of the two because of Elizabeth Taylor’s Academy Award for Best Actress. But A Rage To Live has moody black-and-white photography and a delicious performance by Suzanne Pleshette, A Rage to Live deserves the same attention as Butterfield 8 has.
