{"id":28671,"date":"2012-11-26T12:18:04","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T19:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28671"},"modified":"2020-12-17T22:34:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T05:34:24","slug":"becky-sharp-1935","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28671","title":{"rendered":"Becky Sharp (1935)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;She&#8217;s hard, she&#8217;s selfish &#8212; she&#8217;ll take advantage of you!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Poster-222x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-28674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Poster-222x300.jpg 222w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Poster-94x128.jpg 94w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Poster.jpg 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 222px) 100vw, 222px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn early 19th century England, a socially ambitious orphan named Becky Sharp (Miriam Hopkins) seduces various men in her attempt to rise out of poverty, though she only truly loves her soldier-husband (Alan Mowbray).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Frances Dee Films<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Literature Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Miriam Hopkins Films<\/li>\n<li>Rouben Mamoulian Films<\/li>\n<li>Social Climbers<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary notes that while this screen version of &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Langdon_Mitchell\">Langdon Mitchell&#8217;s<\/a> stage adaptation of Thackeray&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vanity_Fair_%28novel%29\"><em>Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a>&#8230; restores several episodes from the novel, it differs in drastic ways&#8221;, specifically by eliminating &#8220;most of his social criticism&#8221;, failing to adequately express &#8220;how class pressures mold the character of Becky Sharp&#8221;, and making Becky &#8220;the <em>one<\/em> major character in the film&#8221;. While Becky is traditionally viewed as the &#8220;anti-heroine&#8221; of the novel &#8212; in contrast with the lead character of Amelia (played as a supporting role in the film by Frances Dee) &#8212; &#8220;Becky becomes our heroine [in the movie], the feisty figure whom we identify with or root for as she uses every trick in the book&#8230; to get what she wants.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee-1024x740.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee-1024x740.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee-300x217.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee-768x555.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee-374x270.png 374w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins-Dee.png 1255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary points out that while &#8220;in the book she is ruthless&#8221;, the &#8220;script eliminates her many unforgivable acts&#8221;, leaving us to &#8220;see only her virtues&#8221;. He notes that she possesses &#8220;charm, wit, intelligence, resilience, [and] vitality&#8221; &#8212; and that while she &#8220;is selfish&#8221;, she &#8220;wants the best for her social husband&#8230; and best friend [Dee] as well as for herself&#8221;, and is &#8220;willing to sacrifice her own happiness so that they will be happy&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>Peary ultimately argues that while this film &#8220;may not be Thackeray&#8221;, it&#8217;s nonetheless &#8220;an enjoyable, if flimsy, period piece, with a likable heroine and a dynamic performance from Hopkins&#8221; (who he nominates as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>). Unfortunately, I can&#8217;t quite agree with Peary that Becky comes across as a &#8220;likable heroine&#8221;, and I&#8217;m not overly impressed with Hopkins&#8217; performance, in which she seems to indulge her worst tendencies towards shrillness and hyperactivity. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2-1024x772.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"483\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2-1024x772.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2-768x579.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2-358x270.png 358w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Hopkins2.png 1225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With that said, her Becky remains a clever, savvy heroine to be sure, and one can&#8217;t help sympathizing with her position in a society which so roundly rejects her from the get-go; meanwhile, her marriage to Mowbray demonstrates that she <em>is<\/em> capable of true love, even if her designs on men are always and forever calculated to help her maneuver her way out of poverty. <\/p>\n<p>As Peary notes, however, the film is really &#8220;best known for being the first to use three-color Technicolor process&#8221;, and represents a &#8220;remarkable job [done] with [early] color experimentation&#8221;. He points out that director Rouben Mamoulian (with assistance from DP Ray Rennahan) &#8220;decided to use color thematically to express character mood, and added more and more color as the film progresses and the plot thickens&#8221;, with &#8220;every shot look[ing] color-coordinated&#8221;. He notes that his &#8220;favorite shot comes [early] in the film&#8221;, as &#8220;Mowbray and another red-jacketed soldier stand in the foreground in front of a hanging white sheet, through which we can see the black silhouettes of Hopkins and Dee &#8212; so within the frame Mamoulian contrasts color with black and white&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography-1024x772.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"483\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography-1024x772.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography-768x579.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography-358x270.png 358w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography.png 1233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s right to note that this is &#8220;very clever&#8221;, as is the film&#8217;s most famous sequence taking place &#8220;on the eve of Waterloo&#8221;, as the guests at a gala ball &#8220;leave according to their color group so only the ones in red remained in the ballroom&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4-1024x762.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4-1024x762.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4-363x270.png 363w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography4.png 1221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fine use of early Technicolor cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2-1024x771.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"482\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-58342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2-1024x771.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2-768x578.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2-359x270.png 359w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Becky-Sharp-Cinematography2.png 1231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a look simply for its historical relevance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0026104\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1935\/06\/14\/archives\/the-screen-the-radio-city-music-hall-presents-becky-sharp-the-first.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classicfilmguide.com\/index7f1e.html\">Classic Film Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/68317\/becky-sharp#articles-reviews?articleId=138259\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/becky-sharp\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;She&#8217;s hard, she&#8217;s selfish &#8212; she&#8217;ll take advantage of you!&#8221; Synopsis: In early 19th century England, a socially ambitious orphan named Becky Sharp (Miriam Hopkins) seduces various men in her attempt to rise out of poverty, though she only truly loves her soldier-husband (Alan Mowbray). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Frances Dee Films Historical Drama Literature Adaptation Miriam Hopkins Films Rouben Mamoulian Films Social Climbers Strong Females Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary notes that while this screen version of &#8220;Langdon&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=28671\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28671"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58345,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28671\/revisions\/58345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}