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Idiot's Delight (1939)
Perfection, Rhythm, Music, Message!
Idiot's Delight is one of the great films of all time! It combines superb acting, brilliant musical choices, searing dialog, wonderful editing, and spectacular sets and settings. I have watched this film many times, and can't wait for it's release on DVD(It HAS been released at this update)!
There is a rhythm about it, from the opening musical strains, to the final moment of triumph of life and love over war and hatred, that is absolutely compelling. Kudos to director Clarence Brown for his superior touch, and, of course, to Norma Shearer and Clark Gable for their bravura portrayals of two lost souls, who find each other in the mounting chaos that becomes World War II, as they watch.
The powerful supporting cast further contributes to the strength of the underlying drama, as adapted from Robert Sherwood's impressive play (by him!) to the screen. Charles Coburn as the non-committal German scientist, Burgess Meredith as the starry-eyed radical, Joseph Shieldkraut as the dispassionate soldier, and the chilling portrayal by Edward Arnold, as a hardened, heartless, industrialist, make virtually every scene a must-watch event. And who could forget Virginia Mayo and "Les Blondes"!
The film depicts, with stunning accuracy, the beginning of World War II, nine months BEFORE it actually happened!!! - a towering intellectual feat (and of particular significance to this writer, as I was born in the middle of the historical time-frame of this film). Coupled with astonishing dialog, in passages by Burgess Meredith's idealist, Norma Shearer's femme fatale, Edward Arnold's heartless arms magnate, and Clark Gable's hopelessly naïve American, the impact of the ideas of Idiot's Delight wash over the viewer in a cascade of fantasy become reality.
After this parade of thought and action has marched across the screen relentlessly for more than 100 minutes, the final scenes (in the "American" ending) between Gable and Shearer give us all hope that the world will become right again, if we just understand that God really IS there to lead us forward.
Idiot's Delight stands as a crowning achievement of film-making art - visually, intellectually, and emotionally. It satisfies the thirst of human-kind for answers to the age-old question of who is in charge, and points the way for us, as mere humans, to seek the answer from Him who made us & guides us.
Rewritten(from 2009) by Stephen E. Backhus, this 6th day of January, 2019.
Suspicion: The Deadly Game (1957)
The Deadly Game is the greatest TV drama ever aired. I saw it Dec. 9, 1957
"Suspicion" - The Deadly Game (S1,E11), aired Dec. 9, 1957
On Monday night, December 9, 1957, I was in my dorm room, a freshman at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Down the hall from my room, was a gathering room with chairs, tables, sofas, and a TV. The dorm advisors scheduled TV viewing for evenings, so around 8:00PM, I went there to see what was on. The room was pretty full, so I sat near the back just as the program, "Suspicion", came on. The host gave an introduction, (I think Boris Karloff said something), and the program, called, "The Deadly Game", began.
From the opening moments, in a snow storm in the country, to
the incredible ending, the audience of bright, young men, would-be scholars, sat completely absorbed. Several times, I noticed that other students entered the room, looked at the TV, and then just stood there, watching in awe as the episode unfolded. A commercial came and went. No one moved or said a word. The story played on. Now the trial began. The commercials went unnoticed. The concentration and tension of the audience was palpable. I noticed that the room was now completely packed, shoulder to shoulder, standing room only.
"The Deadly Game", played itself out to its mesmerizing, horrifying, conclusion. The host returned to end the program, and a new show was about to begin. The audience slowly began to come back to its dorm-room reality. But, still no one left. Finally, as the young men in the room began to look around, one of the students standing at the back said, "That's the best TV show I've ever seen." Others of us nodded in agreement as we slowly began to disperse. I don't think anyone stayed to see what was on next. We had just experienced what I believe, to this day, was the greatest single TV drama ever aired.
It has been more than 50 years since I saw, "The Deadly Game", yet the memory of that night, and the experience of seeing it has lived with me as vividly as if it had played last night. I dearly wish it would be put on DVD, so it could be seen again today. Please, please, put it on DVD. Thank you!!
Update: September 22, 2021 - This is written to inform and complete my review of 10 years ago. It turns out that not all of the "Suspicion" series broadcasts were filmed as they were broadcast. And I am very sad to report that it appears "The Deadly Game" was among those shows NOT filmed. I am sorry to say that it seems we will never see that brilliant show again.
Therefore, I will provide a small summary of its plot here:
The traveler caught in the snowstorm, seeks refuge in large strange house in the country. His host invites him to the evening activity at the house, which is a mock trial, put on by the legal experts who populate the house. In conversation with one of the experts, our "Hero" is asked if he would like to confess his crimes to the, now convened, "court" of the legal experts.
He, of course, says he has committed no crime. His "expert" advises him he had better confess to some small crime, rather than have the "Court" investigate murder. Our "hero" indignantly declines, saying he's never murdered anyone.
The judge(Boris Karloff) calls for a trial for murder. Our hero can't believe what is happening. But, as the trial proceeds, and the "evidence" is presented by the lawyers for both prosecution and defense, it becomes clear that they intend to convict our hero of murder.
The summations are given, the judge determines the result, and our disbelieving, shocked, horrified hero is convicted of murder! The sentence is DEATH, and the show ends with the hero being taken away - - - for execution !!!
After reading the above, I've realized that no amount of writing by me to describe the show, and its impact on that 1957 audience, will ever be adequate. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will sadly, never be repeated.
I hope my writing has conveyed at least a little of the magic of that December night in 1957, when television was at its best.
There have been several remakes of "The Deadly Game", including a movie version in later years. But nothing will ever replace its stunning effect on that night when it aired for the first time.
Update written Sept. 22, 2021, by Stephen E. Backhus (Dayton, Nv)
Written Tuesday, July 19th, 2011, Stephen E. Backhus
Gardnerville, Nv.