DC Film Society: Adam's Rib December 2020

One Scene to Stardom

Last month, as I was writing my tribute to Sean Connery, I imagined audiences seeing Dr. No for the first time in 1962 (when it opened in the UK) or 1963 (when it opened in the US). Connery had acted before in small parts and small movies. Still he was largely unknown when he was cast as James Bond. All of a sudden moviegoers see this cool, charismatic, confident and handsome man utter “Bond ... James Bond” and they had to know that a new movie star was being born right before their eyes. I describe that scene more fully in a 2002 column along with John Wayne’s entrance in Stagecoach. The camera zooms in with Wayne framed against the majestic Monument Valley. That shot establishes not just Wayne’s character in the film but also his star persona for the rest of his career.

Not many stars get such breathtaking moments. Some shine in several scenes or several movies, but never have the one instant where you would immediately think “That’s a star.” There are no concrete rules here. It may not be the actors’ debut feature or the first moment in the film that launched their careers. It only has to be scenes the actors own, likely as a combination of their own talents and the way their films present them. It’s the first time audiences would look at them and realize they were witnessing something special. I proudly present my highly subjective top ten in chronological order:

The Public Enemy, James Cagney: Breakfast Delivery – As gangster Tom Powers (Cagney) sits down for breakfast with his girlfriend Kitty (Mae Clarke), Cagney plays the scene as a ticking time bomb. When Kitty pushes Tom’s buttons one too many times, Cagney lets the rage build up for a few seconds before shoving Clarke’s grapefruit in her face. An act that primal likely surprised audiences in 1931. Some hold that Clarke was genuinely surprised, that neither director William Wellman nor Cagney let Clarke know this was coming. Clarke maintained that she and Cagney worked the scene out ahead of time as a practical joke on the crew, and that they never thought it would make it into the movie. Either way, almost 90 years later, the scene still feels unsettling. That moment establishes Cagney in his gangster roles as someone who always had an undercurrent of violence that could explode any time.

To Have and Have Not, Lauren Bacall: A Whistle – Bacall was a 19-year-old unknown when director Howard Hawks took a chance by casting her with Humphrey Bogart, Warner Brothers biggest star at the time. Warner Brothers marketing, in promoting the film, claimed that Bacall was “the only kind of woman for his (Bogart’s) kind of man.” Hawks set the stage for Bacall to make good on this promise in her first full scene. Bogart’s Harry Morgan is sitting down with Bacall’s Slim hovering over him like a hunter stalking her prey. Legend has it that Bacall developed her classic look, with her chin slightly down and eyes looking up, to calm her nerves. Hawks built off of the look by having a beam of light highlight the lower part of Bacall’s face. Add in Bacall’s velvety, sultry voice and her enrapturing effect was complete. Slim’s seduction of Harry and Bacall’s seduction of us was inevitable by the time she utters “You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and ... blow.” As she leaves, Bogie is thunderstruck, just as we would be in his shoes. Bacall built a career on her steely sexiness and a marriage with Bogart in real life, but it all started here.

Kiss of Death, Richard Widmark: Stairway to Hell – It’s the laugh that gets you; that sneering demented laugh. Widmark, making his film debut, reportedly based this maniacal laugh on the Joker. He plays Tommy Udo, a mob enforcer looking for Rizzo, a suspected rat. Encountering Rizzo’s frail wheelchair bound mother (Mildred Dunnock), Udo makes Tom Powers look like a choir boy. Udo may be mad, but he wouldn’t hurt a harmless old lady, right? Yes he would because Udo’s a vicious sadist. When the film cuts to a closeup of Udo, Widmark embodies evil glee so completely that we have a taste of the fear poor Mrs. Rizzo faces. The laugh becomes closer to a giggle, somehow becoming even more terrifying. We look on in horror as Udo pushes Mrs. Rizzo down the stairs. Widmark’s live-wire performance convinces us that Udo would do anything, even something this barbaric. Victor Mature was the ostensible star of the film, but it’s Widmark that we can’t take our eyes off of. For years college students had posters of Udo in their rooms. Widmark garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and went on to a 45 year career.

The Godfather, Al Pacino: Interrupting Dinner – The scene that saved a career. Al Pacino has long maintained that Paramount executives were about to fire him from The Godfather until they saw the dailies from the scene where Michael Corleone (Pacino) kills Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) and Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden). After retrieving the gun, Michael does not say a word, yet Pacino does so much with this moment. He gives a little hesitation and a solemn halting walk. When he does sit down again, Pacino keeps his head down and his eyes darting, beautifully conveying Michael’s internal monologue. Michael had always stayed away from the family business and wanted his own life, but knows that once he murders these two men there’s no turning back. The camera slowly moves in on Michael and then we hear the subway nearby. Famed sound designer (and later film editor) Walter Murch amplified the screeching subway to further illustrate Michael’s apprehension and dread. Still the main reason the scene works so well is Pacino’s precision with his performance. Before The Godfather he had only done the little seen film The Panic in Needle Park. Thanks to his work in this scene, resulting in him not being replaced, he got the chance to become a screen legend.

Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta: A Walk – John Travolta was already a TV star before Saturday Night Fever, and many questioned if he could make a jump to movies. He answers those questions with a simple walk during the opening credits. On paper it should not amount to much but on screen it sells Travolta’s Tony Manero as the big man on campus, the campus being Brooklyn. First the film only shows his feet, building a little anticipation. Then we finally see Manero in low angle shots making him an imposing figure. Travolta gives Manero, and the film, a swagger. The clothes are perfect; the hair is perfect. Manero walks like he owns the streets, checking out girls on the way. Travolta always makes him look cool, even when he’s eating pizza. If I tried to eat two NYC pizza slices on top of each other it would likely be a disaster worthy of an entire pack of napkins. But Travolta does this effortlessly. Even when a girl turns down Manero it does not diminish him. In only a couple of minutes Travolta establishes both who Tony Manero is and who John Travolta had become.

48 Hrs, Eddie Murphy: A New Sheriff in Town (very NSFW) – Like Travolta, Eddie Murphy was already a TV star but had to prove himself on the big screen. He did that as Reggie Hammond, a felon on a 48 hour leave to help a cop (Nick Nolte) solve a murder. As a bet the cop allows Hammond to pretend he’s an officer to get information at a local redneck bar. The film goes to great pains to stack the deck against Hammond – Confederate flags, good ol’ boys, and racist insults. Watching Hammond take control of the bar on attitude alone is one of the film’s delights. Murphy plays off racist stereotypes in this scene as he would throughout his career. Audiences knew that Murphy was funny, and he certainly is here, but he also shows an intensity and authority of a leading man. These qualities only grew as Murphy became a 80s box office champ.

Risky Business, Tom Cruise: Rock N’ Roll – The sunglasses, the slide, the underwear, the socks, Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock N’ Roll” and the dance were all it took to turn Tom Cruise from a budding young actor into an icon. He plays Joel Goodson, a teenager whose parents leave town for a while. Goodson’s dance is pure joy, that of any high schooler who has the house to themselves. It works because it’s not choreographed. Director Paul Brickman gave Cruise no instruction other than to use the space on the set. Cruise exhibits the cocky magnetism and the seductive smile that would become his trademarks.

Thelma & Louise, Brad Pitt: A Real Live Outlaw – “I’ve always believed that done properly, armed robbery doesn't have to be a totally unpleasant experience.” So says J.D. (Pitt) to Thelma (Geena Davis). Coming from Brad Pitt we believe it, or at least believe that he believes it. In many ways <>Thelma & Louise flips gender roles, including having Pitt as the hero’s object of desire. Pitt fit the bill, as no one was complaining when he took his shirt off. But he was more than that. As J.D. demonstrates his robbery technique, he displays not only washboard abs, but the kind of laid back charm and charisma we would expect from Pitt for the next 29 years. Pitt wasn’t even the first choice for the role, but got it when William Baldwin dropped out. Ironically Pitt beat out future Ocean’s Eleven co-star George Clooney. He was the right choice though, as the actor and the part fit perfectly.

Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson: Ezekiel 25:17 – Jackson was an established character actor in the late 80s and early 90s, with a small role in Goodfellas and more significant roles in Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever. But nothing he had done prepared me for what he unleashed in Pulp Fiction. Jackson plays Jules, one of two enforcers for a local crime boss. When Jules confronts three losers who tried to rip off his boss, he has fun playing with their fear. Director Quentin Tarantino puts Jackson at the center of the room with the losers sitting beneath him. He features low angle shots of Jackson emphasizing the actor’s dominance while sprinkling in some close-ups. It’s in these close-ups where we see Jackson’s withering glare, which matches his mastery of Tarantino’s distinctive dialogue. Jules is in total command of the room just as Jackson is in total command of the screen. Eventually Jackson moves into what critics have called “controlled fury,” which became one of his trademarks. As Jules recites Ezekiel 25:17, Jackson slowly builds up the verses to a withering crescendo. Pulp Fiction boasts many talented actors, but when I left the theater it was Jackson who stayed in my head.

Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy: The Air Marshal (Part 1); Part 2; Part 3 – Like others on this list McCarthy was primarily known for her TV work prior to Bridesmaids. She is hilarious throughout, but it is her segment of the airplane scenes that stand out. CQ wrote an oral history just on her performance describing her character Megan as “a self-made woman of great machismo, voracious sexual appetites, mysterious financial resources, and a truly atrocious wardrobe.” Megan also serves as a wild card, and McCarthy gave her that sense that anything could happen. As Megan torments the poor air marshal (Ben Falcone, McCarthy’s real life husband), McCarthy showed to the world her total commitment to getting laughs at any costs. Falcone ably plays the straight man, giving McCarthy room to shine. McCarthy improvises much of her dialogue, displaying a keen comic mind to go along with her no-holds-barred physicality. She creates the bull “in the china shop” persona that she carried into many of her early post-Bridesmaids films. McCarthy steals the movie on her way to becoming America’s top comic actress.

Adam Spector
December 1, 2020