A long-standing favorite, The Private Affairs Of
Bel Ami was never easy to find, beingindependently made, distributed by UA,
then let to TV among mix of NTA features. It is subtitled "The History Of
A Scoundrel," hence George Sanders as lead. There is a lovely Blu-Ray just
out, much to the good as Bel Ami has layers of atmosphere splendidly
photographed (Russell Metty). I had 16mm prints during chase after that format,
none to approach how this disc looks. Whatever approval has been withheld might
now be freely given, for the Albert Lewin-directed feature (his best, I think)
may now be seen to same advantage as heard (dialogue and epigrams so good that
I used to jot them down during 70's TV broadcasts). Surprise for me,
after twenty or so years since seeing Bel Ami, was how understandable, if not
sympathetic, Sanders' character plays. A scoundrelyes, but gripped by
ambition he can't deny or resist --- also truthful at all times, and how many
scoundrels can lay claim to that?
I always felt The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami
beat socks off The Picture Of Dorian Gray, the latter wider-seen, more lavishly
produced, but for me stricken by central weakness of Hurd Hatfield as title
character. Sanders was there too, and we couldwish he had played Dorian, or at
least be woven more fully into action. His Bel Ami uses people badly, the whole
point of narrative, though it's hardly a likeable lot he grazes on, plus he has advantaged
position of underdog, thus pass we'll give for at least some of misdeeds. Georges
Duroy (Sanders' character, also referred to as "Bel Ami" based on his
caddish conduct with women) is less instigator than provoked by his enemies,
principal of which is Warren William in a final role, their conflict a
highlight. Georges' climb is as much a defense against Paris snobbery that blocks his transition from
provinces that betters disdain. He'lluse lethal intellect and way with women to
force way up social, economic, and political ladders. I find myself rooting
for Georges to make it, which might say more about me than him. Director and
writer Lewin does not soften Sanders scheming, but deep-buried humanity is
there from a start. It would need a hard heart not to feel a little sorry for
severe comeuppance Bel Ami gets in the end.
The story is based on Guy de Maupassant, but
ended up being more Lewin, who did the screenplay. Lewin felt movies needed
intellectual uplift: "I always tried to make pictures that would please me
and some of my intelligent friends and still please the general public enough
to pay off." Lewin also referred to himself as an "equilibrist,"
a word I know not the meaning of, and will resist looking up. Obviously, this
man was no studio's pet. He was able to make indie pact with David Loew for The
Private Affairs Of Bel Ami in wake of The Picture Of Dorian Gray earning a
small profit (very small). They aimed at first for Technicolor, but realities
said otherwise. Shooting would be at the doomed Enterprise studio, which was rented, then
left by that company, thus Bel Ami move to RKO-Pathe. Bugaboo for independentswas finding space to make your movie --- it wasn't as though majors flung open gates to accommodate you. A theme song was got out
months ahead of Bel Ami, a hoped for boost. Introduced by popular
"Hildegarde" of airwave fame, it was also waxed by DinahShore,
then others. A larger stink developed when a group called the Associated
Women's Club found out what The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami was all about
...
The fuss was aired over half-a-year before the
film's belated release (delays thanks to UA having a glut of product).
Club women tipped to Bel Ami content were quick with salvos, claiming the
film's effect on youth wouldbe "deleterious and harmful." Lewin,
Loew, and Sanders (each named specifically) displayed an "insulting and
offensive attitude toward women's position as a public figure, and
homemaker." Such inference must be "eliminated" to avert a
boycott by membership nationwide. Whatever the filmmakers thought, United Artists
saw publicity value to put just-previous The Outlaw in the shade. Nothing but
good could come of the dust-up, especially fed by quotes like this: "This
savagecriticism of women must be stopped and the presentation of the
anti-feminist thoughts of a disillusioned French in the sex-dominated book,
Bel-Ami, will be thoroughly boycotted by members of our organization." For
UA to run with this would be risky, as better than half a potential viewership
hung in the balance, that half being one that largely decided what movies families and
couples would go to see.
Further publicity centered around a painting
to figure into Bel Ami narrative. A contest was had among name
painters to submit a mostappropriate canvas. The eleven results would tour
US galleries. Another stroke of what seemed luck came when Boston's mayor
called halt to an exhibition at the city's famed Copley Gallery, his shut-down
prompted by nudity as rendered by artist Paul Del Vaux (Max Ernst having been winner of the contest, so censorship didn't become an issue for the movie). Loew and Lewin promptly
filed a $200K damage suit that got in papers coast-to-coast. This was in
October 1946, when The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami was thought to be imminent in
theatres. Who knew that it would be Spring 1947 before the thing finally
played, by which time heat from thecontroversy had cooled considerably. The
Associated Women's Club flap and Boston business was more-less free ink, but to
keep kettles at boil, UA sank $250K into Bel Ami's ad budget, high for them,
and a vote of confidence for what was hoped to be a Big One for 1947.
Key art for posters shows Angela Lansbury
clutching at leg of an otherwise unseen George Sanders. This was figured not
just to grab attention, but to become a trademark, asfamiliar as icons used to
sell other products. The Sanders trouser leg would equal Jane Russell's
haystack pose for The Outlaw, razor image on behalf of Spellbound, other
visuals that delivered for past pics. The art tours were also revived, showmen encouraged to consult local museums for tie-ins. "Bel Ami vs. The Women" was figured for a
"Battle Of Barbs," femme readers invited to answer insults as spoken
by George Sanders in the film. The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami was left to
sink or swim with these, plus lingering value of the song, and linkage with
the deMaupassant book. Reviews were no assist, being mixed when not outright
pans, like Bosley Crowther's in the New York Times. "Sink" became
more like a drown, The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami taking a ghastly $389K in
domestic rentals, one of UA's sorriest performers that year. Did even Lewin's
"intelligent" friends show up? If so there must not have been very
many of them. Hopefully a latter, if not so erudite, generation will come
finally to embrace The Private Affairs Of Bel Ami.
Is it possible that, as a publicity stunt, a publicist may have encouraged the Associated Women's Club to protest the film? (The club could have been sincere in their criticism of the film without realizing that they were being used as an inadvertent promotional tool.)
Dan Mercer considers the legacy of George Sanders:
"I disapprove of hypocrisy in other people."
When such a line falls so readily from the tongue of an actor, you must wonder whether he is not so far removed from the character he's playing, whether it is Belle Ami, Lord Henry Wooten, or Addison de Witt. There is in such commentary the suggestion of a lively, sardonic intelligence which views humanity from the distanced perspective of his own desires and appetites.
George Sanders produced an autobiography late in his career, "Memoirs of a Professional Cad," which blurred the distinctions between the man and the parts he played. If he was not that character, however, he at least understood the fascination it had for some. A little later, there was another piece of prose, a suicide note, in which he professed to be leaving this "sweet cesspool" of a world because he was bored with it. In truth, this boredom was the pose of a proud man. His career had faded into ever fainter echoes of parts he'd played, he'd suffered financial reverses, and now he was alone and faced with declining health.
Perhaps as he waited for the pills to take effect--vodka and Nembutal were the ingredients of his last cocktail--he permitted himself a smile, thinking of the effect that note would have. Even some punk rockers would sing that "If you covered him with garbage/George Sanders would still have style." There were two other notes, however, the contents of which I do not have, though I wonder whether they were more personal and less subservient to the pose. There is a place for love in anyone's life, even in its absence.
The Kinks were part of the original British Invasion of 1964 along with the Beatles, Dave Clark 5, Rolling Stones and a few more. Yeah, sometimes called the grandfathers of punk but hardly anonymous punk rockers. That song, 'Celluloid Heroes', came out in 1972, predating punk by about 5 years. Also includes a shoutout to Bela Lugosi!
If you want to see a similar movie, track down "The Scoundrel," a 1935 Paramount release starring Noel Coward and written/directed by Hecht & MacArthur. It gets a bad rep for its sentimental climax, but it makes no difference to me. My parents saw "The Scoundrel" on its original release when they were teenagers, and never forgot it.
8 Comments:
Possibly Sanders' best performance. Love this picture, never understood why it was not more appreciated.
Also a great fan of Lewin's films -- his Moon and Sixpence is superb (and also much better than the weak tea of Dorian Gray).
Always loved that jaunty Dinah Shore number. Had the 78 for years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZotW-jE7aQ
Is it possible that, as a publicity stunt, a publicist may have encouraged the Associated Women's Club to protest the film? (The club could have been sincere in their criticism of the film without realizing that they were being used as an inadvertent promotional tool.)
Yes, for all we know, the whole thing may have been rigged.
Dan Mercer considers the legacy of George Sanders:
"I disapprove of hypocrisy in other people."
When such a line falls so readily from the tongue of an actor, you must wonder whether he is not so far removed from the character he's playing, whether it is Belle Ami, Lord Henry Wooten, or Addison de Witt. There is in such commentary the suggestion of a lively, sardonic intelligence which views humanity from the distanced perspective of his own desires and appetites.
George Sanders produced an autobiography late in his career, "Memoirs of a Professional Cad," which blurred the distinctions between the man and the parts he played. If he was not that character, however, he at least understood the fascination it had for some. A little later, there was another piece of prose, a suicide note, in which he professed to be leaving this "sweet cesspool" of a world because he was bored with it. In truth, this boredom was the pose of a proud man. His career had faded into ever fainter echoes of parts he'd played, he'd suffered financial reverses, and now he was alone and faced with declining health.
Perhaps as he waited for the pills to take effect--vodka and Nembutal were the ingredients of his last cocktail--he permitted himself a smile, thinking of the effect that note would have. Even some punk rockers would sing that "If you covered him with garbage/George Sanders would still have style." There were two other notes, however, the contents of which I do not have, though I wonder whether they were more personal and less subservient to the pose. There is a place for love in anyone's life, even in its absence.
The Kinks were part of the original British Invasion of 1964 along with the Beatles, Dave Clark 5, Rolling Stones and a few more. Yeah, sometimes called the grandfathers of punk but hardly anonymous punk rockers. That song, 'Celluloid Heroes', came out in 1972, predating punk by about 5 years. Also includes a shoutout to Bela Lugosi!
If you want to see a similar movie, track down "The Scoundrel," a 1935 Paramount release starring Noel Coward and written/directed by Hecht & MacArthur. It gets a bad rep for its sentimental climax, but it makes no difference to me. My parents saw "The Scoundrel" on its original release when they were teenagers, and never forgot it.
“Dear World,
I am leaving because I’m Gabored...
Good Luck”
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