The Member of the Wedding **** (1952, Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, Brandon De Wilde) – Classic Movie Review 5919

Director Fred Zinnemann makes a superb job of his stage-to-screen 1952 movie of Carson McCullers’s lovely play and novel The Member of the Wedding about the rites of passage of a tomboyish young girl called Frankie Addams (Julie Harris).

[Spoiler alert] Frankie experiences the wedding of her older brother Jarvis (Arthur Franz) and the death of her cousin John Henry (Brandon de Wilde) in a Georgia small town. Frankie is frustrated that her widowed father Mr Addams (William Hansen) is permanently preoccupied with his business, leaving her in the care of their housekeeper, Berenice (Ethel Waters), who offers her endless friendly advice.

Director Zinnemann draws strength from keeping the piece almost entirely to the set of the kitchen of the family cook Berenice. But it is screen-writers Edna and Edward Anhalt’s distilling of McCullers’s poetic writing about loneliness and growing up, and the astonishing performances from the three main stars, which are the main jewels in this crown.

But Stanley Kramer’s production is a labour of love, and Hal Mohr’s black and white cinematography and Alex North’s score are impeccable.

Oscar nominated Best Actress Harris is amazing, playing 12 at the age of 27. She died on 24 August 2013, aged 87. Surprisingly, this was her sole Oscar nomination.

It is Brandon de Wilde’s film debut, aged 10. He won the Special Award for the best juvenile actor at the Golden Globes in 1953. He was Oscar nominated for Shane (1953) as Best Actor in a Supporting Role. On 6 July 1972, he was killed in a traffic accident in Denver, Colorado, when the camper van he was driving struck a parked truck. He was only 30.

The book was written in 1946 and the play with the movie’s same three stars ran in 1950 for more than 500 performances on Broadway.

Also in the cast are Nancy Gates, James Edwards, Harry Bolden, Dickie [Dick] Moore, Danny Mummert, June Hedin and Ann Carter.

The Member of the Wedding is directed by Fred Zinnemann, runs 93 minutes, is made by Stanley Kramer Productions. released by Columbia Pictures, is written by Edna Anhalt and Edward Anhalt, based on Carson McCullers’s play and novel, is shot in black and white by Hal Mohr, is produced by Stanley Kramer, is scored by Alex North and is designed by Rudolph Sternad and Cary Odell.

About 20 minutes of footage featuring Ethel Walters were cut by Columbia Pictures after the premiere. The missing scenes are reinstated in Seventies reissues.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5919

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