...Tender Comrade will be on TCM tomorrow, on Veteran's Day, appropriately. It is best described as a 'Stage Door' arrangement of a bunch of ladies living in a house whilst their dudes are off at war, and they are doing the 'Rosie the Riveter' deal.
I enjoyed this one, and Ginger is devastating as usual in it... but there was some 'controversy' about this one when it came out, citing 'underlying communist dialogue'... in fact, it was said to have been 'toned down' quite a bit before Ginger would even do it. I didn't really get all that much 'communistic' philosophy from it, but you can gauge it yourself...
In any event, it is an interesting one - but be sure to have hankies handy... there are some parts that prompt the ol' tear ducts... well, I was a bit choked up at the end... again, it takes a REAL man to admit THAT, ladies!!!
VKMfan
In any event, it is an interesting one - but be sure to have hankies handy... there are some parts that prompt the ol' tear ducts... well, I was a bit choked up at the end... again, it takes a REAL man to admit THAT, ladies!!!VKMfan
Awww, poor Huey. :( You can have my box of tissues too if you need, I rarely cry at movies.
ReplyDeleteI liked this one though, it was sweet. It was Tender! But I saw it on YouTube and someone had done the VHS-DVD transfer (Huey's favourite) and it came out funky.
Lauren
This is one of my favorite Ginger movies...yep, definitely need a hanky at the end!
ReplyDeleteLauren - the VHS-DVD transfer procedure is quite a bug-a-boo... since I have seen it a few times now, I can hold it together at the end... but just barely. :-)
ReplyDeleteGingerella - I like this one a lot, too! It does have some nice scenes in it, and of course Ginger just knocks me out... I was thinking about where this one falls in my overall Ginger Rankings, and it would safely be in the 'top half', at the least. I also know this was one of the FIRST Ginger movies I remember seeing, quite a while back (like, in the mid-80's, before most of y'all were probably born!) so, that alone makes it pretty special!
I did catch this one yesterday and although I always love watching Ginger, it was not one of my favorites. I found myself so distracted by all of the war/political propaganda, that I couldn't really get into the story or characters. It was one of the most overtly propagandized films I'd ever seen, and I didn't like the pro-war or pro-Socialist themes.
ReplyDeleteI did notice that the controversy mostly came from the scene where the housekeeper receives her husband's medal and then Kim Hunter's character states that the medal isn't really hers (the housekeeper's), it belongs to all of them, "share and share a like, that's Democracy." The controversy comes from the fact that that is NOT at all what the word democracy means - a democracy is an organizational system where a vote is taken and the majority wins. The concept of Socialism, in contrast, is a philosophy based on "from each according to his ability to each according to his need." This is the way that the girls had set up their living arrangement in the house. They all worked and then divvied up the money that was left between everyone - and so when Kim Hunter remarked that the medal didn't belong to the housekeeper, it belonged to all of them, that was a blatantly Socialist/Marxist/Communist, anti-individualist, Collectivist statement. I wonder how the OWI let that one pass and get inserted into the script that was otherwise casting a very positive light on US involvement in the war. If you really dissect it further though, that Socialist statement really wasn't at odds with the message of the movie at all. The movie really pushed the idea that we should all be happy, as good citizens, to contribute and sacrifice and do our part for the war effort - for the Greater Good that is. And that is what Socialism is about - sacrificing individual rights for the greater good of the group, when technically a group does not even exist. It is just the name we call a gathering made up of Individuals.
I was also disappointed that the movie was inaccurate in continuously describing the US as a democracy. We are not a Democracy, we are a democratically-run Republic ("and to the Republic for which it stands..."). There's a big difference between the two.
Well, I hope I didn't make that so technical that no one else could enjoy the movie either. :) Ginger was cute as always, but she far out-acted the mediocre script handed to her.
Thanks JWalker, for posting the Ginger listings on TCM, that's very convenient! :)
Great overview, AIA!
ReplyDeleteAs I stated at the top, although yes, the "Ginger Factor" is pretty big in this one, as she is obviously the 'leading lady', the 'bigger' picture is that the movie does seem to toggle back and forth between 'patriotism' and 'socialism'... and I just never got a good feel for which side of the fence the movie was ultimately wanting to land on... remember, the enemy was not Russia at the time, and in fact they were 'tenative' allies... thus the probable influx of the Socialist slant in the entertainment world, as it was a time of 'world change' - remember, entire countries pretty much had to start over from scratch, and the Communists had an opportunity to 'spread their message'. After WWII, the largest US threat became Russia (USSR), thus, the Cold War began - and the subsequent Un-American Activities Hearings shortly after the war (with Lela participating as a 'friendly witness')... this flick would have never seen the light of day if it were attempted 4 or 5 years after its release.
But as is, the script has spots which obviously fly in the face of what patriotism and capitalism are all about... here's what Ginger had to say about it in her book:
"To my great surprise, some dialouge had a Communistic turn, which upset me deeply. I complained to the front office...that they would have to make a finer sifting of this script if they wanted me to continue with the film. In order to satisfy me, they gave the other actors the dialouge, "share and share alike!" that I was unhappy about."
In the end, tho, the movie jumps into the 'make the sacrifice for your country' mode, thus ending on a patriotic note...it is one thing to sacrifice to aid the cause of a country on the brink of being overtaken... but if one is forced to sacrifice and give to others who can, but aren't willing to at least try to work or earn something, then that is a problem, y'all... and, not wanting to jump into the current political scene too much, but there may be some things headed down the pike which might institute the latter, unfortunately...
ok - political rant over.
BTW - I REALLY dig that pic of Ginger with the bow in her hair... she is just so cool... :-)
I don't understand government/politics at all, so I was just going along with this movie based purely on the emotions.
ReplyDeleteLauren
I agree JWalker - that IS a great pic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!! Always enjoy your feedback!! Have a great weekend!! Winona
ReplyDeleteLauren - I am kinda with you...I guess I know a few things, but I am not overtly political...
ReplyDeleteAIA - It's a cool one - and from what I can tell, it is just a 'freeze-frame' from the actual movie.
SCD - Thanks for the kind words! Great to have you on board here! Again, LOVED the Ginger 'overview' you did last week...just awesome! Anyone else reading this needs to go check it out on SCD's blog page. JW
Saw this one too and I agree with many of you - not one of my favorites. But Ginger was awesome - and especially adorable in the "flashback" scenes with Chris. I read somewhere (IMDB?) That Ginger didn't want Robert Ryan to play her husband because he was too big and scary looking. Speaking of which, check out this picture http://tcmmoviemorlocks.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/robert-ryan-and-ginger-rogers1.jpg .
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was kind of funny at the beginning when they kiss he literally lifts her up. Eventually Ginger went into talk to one of the studio execs and she saw some of his work and changed her mind.
The movie was a little political for my taste (and I heard it created quite a bit of controversy) but I enjoyed it for the people in it and the clothes (why dont people dress like that anymore?)