Michael Curtiz was, “one of the most prolific directors in the history of the cinema.” Michael was born in Hungaria and left home at age 17 to join the circus. He then returned to Budapest and got into theater. He attended Markoszy University and the Royal Academy of Theater and Art, then joined the Hungarian National Theater. In 1913 Michael served in World War 1, and just two years later, in 1915, he went back into filmmaking. Curtiz was one of the top helmsman at Warner Bros. Studio during the 1930’s and 1940’s (Biography). He was extremely successful, creating about 5 movies every year. He was able to create films on a low budget, yet, have them become very successful. Then, in 1958, Michael Curtiz directed The Proud Rebel.
The Proud Rebel directed by Michael Curtiz is a film that is based off of the book which was written by James Edward Grant. This film tells the story of a man, John, who served in the Civil War, and comes home to his now mute son, David. David became mute after he watched his mother burn in a fire while John was gone. Throughout the film, John is faced with many obstacles as he tries to get his son to a doctor in Minnesota. This doctor is said to have the ability to fix John’s muteness. On the journey towards Minnesota, John is faced with brothers, Jeb and Tom, who attempt to take David’s dog, Lance. John fights off the two men, resulting in their father, Harry, knocking him out, pouring alcohol on him, and spreading word to the sheriff that his sons were attacked by a drunk man. John then has a choice to either pay a $30 fine, or spend 30 days in jail. Not being able to afford either options, Linnett Moore gets involved and makes a deal with the sheriff. John then works on her ranch to pay off his dues and ends up falling for Ms. Moore. The hardships do not stop there. Although this film has many plot transitions, The Proud Rebel does end up having a happy ending.
TMC (Turner Classic Movies) also did a review for Curtiz on this film. The post spoke mostly of what occurred in the film, but also had insight on the specific settings on targeted scenes, “The film, presented in a world premiere restoration, combines the scenic splendor of Utah with a sensitive story of a widowed Confederate veteran (Alan Ladd), his mute son (Ladd’s son David) and the farm woman (Olivia de Havilland) who tries to help them.” Although this film was originally casted in Utah, it was meant to look as if it took place in Illinois, “[There are] no high mountains in our camera. We’re above them. This is Illinois right after the Civil War. That and the fact they’ve got sheep here is why we came.”
Seeing as Curtiz was a very successful director, The Proud Rebel did receive many positive responses from its viewers. “David Ladd is excellent as the mute boy; he received a special Golden Globe for his performance. Casting David to act with his father was an inspired choice which worked out very well indeed,” and, “There’s plenty of Western action, as Ladd tries to save her from a land grab, but the real focus is on relationships, with the three creating a new family unit.” These two leading quotes are examples of the encouraging reinforcement that Curtiz received just from this one Blockbuster. As the screenshot below shows, The Proud Rebel is a heartfelt movie that has the basis of creating a new family unit, in addition to the happy ending everybody desires.
References
“Digitally Restored Version of ‘The Proud Rebel’ to Debut at the 2015 TCM Film Festival.” Olivia De Havilland: Lady of the Classic Cinema, www.oliviadehavillandonline.com/blog/digitally-restored-version-of-the-proud-rebel-to-debut-at-the-2015-tcm-film-festival.
Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings, laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/2015/07/tonights-movie-proud-rebel-1958-at-tcm.html.
“Overview for Michael Curtiz.” Turner Classic Movies, www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/42547%7C111394/Michael-Curtiz/.
“The Proud Rebel (1958) Full Western Movie | Alan Ladd Full Movie.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 June 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4TuyJmFRD4&t=98s.
Hi Caitlyn.
I enjoyed your response because It felt as if I was watching the film due to its very descriptive nature. I was very clearly able to follow along with the writing and received a general outline of the movie. I do wish that you went a little more in depth about some of the symbolic meaning of the story or even the stylistic composure that the filmed possessed. I would be very interested to see unique factors that the film possessed and not simply just a descriptive outline and the success of the director. Other than That I enjoyed your response and felt that it was very easy to follow.
Hey, One thing I noticed from the start was the biography of the director. I find this being a useful skill I could take away from this in the future to help give support and credibility to my assignment. Describing the director instead of the actor seems like a strong approach to entering what the movie is about. This connects to my post because we have the similar approaches in our summary/body paragraphs, I feel like are writing is close. One thing I learned was about the author, not just the fact that I didn’t know who he was, but all the interesting information about him and his past.
Hello Caitlyn,
I really enjoyed reading your post, I found it to be very descriptive and well done. I thought the way you incorporated plenty of information about the film’s director prior to talking about the film itself provided a lot of insight into the director’s life for the reader. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a blog post done this week, so I don’t have anything to compare from my writing to yours, however in reading your post I learned quite a lot about the movie and its director. The main thing I will incorporate into my future blog posts based on your post would be the director biography and the movie trailer itself.