(this blog was begun the night of Thursday September 26, 2019)
Tonight I watched another costume drama, only this time - instead of being set in England in the Middle Ages - we were in Washington D.C. in the 1820s. The movie was "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936), starring Joan Crawford as a real life woman named Margaret "Peggy" O'Neil, the daughter of a local innkeeper who, because of her vivacious personality and youthful beauty, became a favorite lady of some of the D.C. elite at that time. As the movie opens, Congressman John Randolph (Melvyn Douglas again) is debating Daniel Webster (Sidney Toler of "Charlie Chan" fame) over the constitutionality of states' rights vs. the mandate of the Federal Government. Joan Crawford has known Randolph since she was an adolescent and has been secretly in love with him all this time (much like last night's teenybopper who was in love with Melvyn Douglas in "Woman In The Shadows").
My generation only knew Melvyn from his senior citizen roles, when he was in his eighties, but when he was young he was quite handsome and suave, in a slightly evil way. Here, he is a States' Rights champion, meaning he is a Virginian first and an American second, as he himself declares. This would make him an far right Republican nowdays, but in the movie he is a nobler figure. In the matter of romance he rebuffs Crawford's advances, for the same reason Ralph Bellamy rebuffed the kid in last night's flick : because he thinks she is too young. Peggy is young, but she is an adult by this time, and when John Randolph won't have her, she gives in to the eager attentions of an equally young Robert Taylor, so handsome that he looks pretty. Taylor - who is top billed but isn't the actual lead - plays a Navy man just arrived in port. He is full of vim and vigor and sweeps Crawford off her feet upon their first meeting. By the end of the first act they are married, and she has pretended to have forgotten all about John Randolph, though in truth she can barely contain herself.
Shortly after this, about halfway through the film, we are settling into a new context : the candidacy of Andrew Jackson for President. The year is 1828. Peggy O'Neil knows Jackson through her father and refers to him as Uncle Andy. Jackson is portrayed by the venerable Lionel Barrymore as a cantankerous but deeply patriotic old coot. He is dignified yet rough hewn, articulate yet versed in Southern slang. He is also shown, briefly, to have racist tendencies, but overall he is depicted as a great American statesman. There are many opinions of the real life Andrew Jackson, one of the most controversial Presidents in our history, but for the purpose of our review we will stick with Barrymore's rendering of him as a flawed but upright leader who in the end did the right thing by upholding Federalism in an attempt to avert the Civil War.
The movie is not about that at all, however. In Hollywood tradition, it's a love story about the life of Peggy O'Neil, with an adjoining theme about the life-bonding love between President Jackson and his wife Rachel, who was scorned and persecuted by the ladies of the Washington social circle, because she was a small town Tennessee woman who smoked a pipe. When Jackson became President, he circled the wagons around his wife to protect her from ridicule. She died before the end of his term, and after she was gone he adopted Peggy O'Neil, his favorite "niece" as an unofficial adviser.
It is after this point in the film, slightly over halfway through, that the dramatic tension of the story kicks in. It centers on both Jackson's tumultuous presidency and the public's non-acceptance of Peggy, living in the White House as his aide. If you Google her picture (a painted portrait), you will see she was quite beautiful.
As the struggle between states' rights and the authority of the Federal Union becomes heated, President Jackson knows he must rid himself of Peggy's presence, which has become an added complaint of his opponents, so he sends her off to Europe with Franchot Tone, his secretary of war.
This results in a marriage of convenience between Tone and Peggy, and nowdays she is known historically as Peggy Eaton, the wife of John Eaton who was Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War. In truth however, her heart always belonged to Senator John Randolph, and as she will find out, he has secretly loved her the entire time, as well.
The final act will show what becomes of their love, and also of Jackson's presidency. Will he be able to hold the Union together? Do we know our American history? What if Donald Trump had been president in 1828?
Oh Lord, that S.O.B has me digressing.......
But forget him and let's return our attention to the movie. It's a little strange to see Joan Crawford, who always played the most modern of women, in a period piece. She was a good actress, though, and acquits herself quite well as Peggy O'Neil. MGM apparently spared no expense in assembling an all-star male cast to support her - Melvyn Douglas! Robert Taylor! Lionel Barrymore! Franchot Tone! Sidney Toler! and......did I mention a young Jimmy Stewart (pronounced Jimmay Schtooart) in a minor role as Peggy's a local boy with a lifelong crush on Peggy? Yeah, he's in it too.
I mean, how's that for a cast? The actors all work well together and the drama is maintained, but there's something missing, maybe a feeling of spontaneity. At times, the scenes feel over rehearsed, a little stilted, as though the actors are too aware they are making a historical film and want to get the dialogue and mannerisms of the time exactly right. Overall, though, I thought it was a very good film about a subject - Peggy O'Neil - I had never heard of. I didn't know much about Andrew Jackson either. It's quite a story, with a beautiful romance, and everything looks great. The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards, one for cinematography, and another for Beulah Bondi's supporting role as Rachel, the pipe smoking wife of the president. Bondi was a legendary character actress, and oh, did I mention the amazing cast in this film? :)
Two Very Big Thumbs Up, then, for "The Gorgeous Hussy". It's another recommendation for fans of costume dramas, and this time you get some American history thrown in for good measure. /////
Well, here I am and it's Friday afternoon now. I have a few minutes to read my book "The Rendlesham Enigma" (almost 700 pages long!) and then I shall head out to the produce market before returning to Pearl's for my evening shift. I hope you are enjoying your Friday, and I will see you tonight, with megatons of love sent your way in the meantime!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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