{"id":5902,"date":"2008-09-20T08:35:39","date_gmt":"2008-09-20T15:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5902"},"modified":"2020-11-26T11:28:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T18:28:05","slug":"american-tragedy-an-1931","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5902","title":{"rendered":"American Tragedy, An (1931)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You don&#8217;t know how I love all this &#8212; this music, this kind of life!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster-203x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-55059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster-203x300.png 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster-695x1024.png 695w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster-87x128.png 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster-183x270.png 183w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Poster.png 759w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA socially ambitious youth (Phillips Holmes) seduces and impregnates a factory worker (Sylvia Sidney), then plots to kill her when he falls in love with a debutante (Frances Dee).\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>Courtroom Drama<\/li>\n<li>Frances Dee Films<\/li>\n<li>Josef von Sternberg Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Plot to Murder<\/li>\n<li>Social Climbers<\/li>\n<li>Sylvia Sidney Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nJosef von Sternberg&#8217;s adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/An_American_Tragedy\">Theodore Dreiser&#8217;s monumental 1925 novel<\/a> was in some ways destined to disappoint, given the need to condense two volumes (over 800 pages) into a manageable running time &#8212; and, sure enough, Dreiser himself disapproved of the film. These days, viewers are likely most familiar with George Stevens&#8217; 1951 adaptation of the book &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=39581\"><em>A Place in the Sun<\/em><\/a> (starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Shelley Winters) &#8212; primarily because von Sternberg&#8217;s earlier version is so hard to locate. Of the two versions, von Sternberg&#8217;s is ultimately more faithful to the original text &#8212; and less sympathetic to the central protagonist (Holmes), whose cowardly, selfish actions remain truly difficult to watch. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55063\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-1536x925.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Cowardly.png 1705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While Holmes&#8217; performance is less than impressive (he tends to read his lines rather than embody them), he does manage to convey the sniveling callowness of a self-absorbed pretty boy. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-1024x630.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"394\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55062\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-1024x630.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-300x185.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-128x79.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-768x472.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-1536x945.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes-439x270.png 439w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Holmes.png 1663w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Of the lead performers, however, Sylvia Sidney ultimately comes across the best: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-128x75.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-768x449.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-1536x898.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2-462x270.png 462w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sidney2.png 1725w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unlike her counterpart in <em>A Place in the Sun<\/em> (Winters), Sidney&#8217;s &#8220;Bert&#8221; is truly a sympathetic innocent: a hardworking girl who wants nothing more than a chance at romance with her handsome boss. She resists sex at first, but gives in once she realizes that their tenuous relationship won&#8217;t continue without it; later, she&#8217;s willing to give Holmes up as long as he&#8217;ll marry her and give her baby a good name. While she&#8217;s naively desperate, she&#8217;s far from shrewish, and it&#8217;s genuinely painful to know she&#8217;s destined for a watery grave. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking of such spoilers, the fact that audience members (then and now) already know the outcome of this most famous of American stories (based on the real-life story of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.answers.com\/topic\/chester-gillette\">Chester Gillette<\/a>) contributes to the film&#8217;s ultimate failure to impress. By the final third of the movie &#8212; an extended courtroom sequence &#8212; we&#8217;re anxious to see Holmes get his due, but are forced to sit through a series of painful lies and distortions before things finally wrap up. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-1024x629.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"393\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-1024x629.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-128x79.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-768x472.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-1536x943.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom-440x270.png 440w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Courtroom.png 1663w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The presence of Holmes&#8217; mother (Claire McDowell) in the final scenes:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-1024x631.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"394\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-1024x631.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-300x185.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-128x79.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-768x473.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-1536x946.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother-438x270.png 438w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Mother.png 1657w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; hints at the larger theme of Dreiser&#8217;s novel &#8212; that Clyde&#8217;s poverty-stricken upbringing contributed towards his desperate need to climb socially &#8212; which unfortunately is barely touched upon. While competent, this early von Sternberg film doesn&#8217;t provide enough evidence of his burgeoning style to make it a must-see entry in his canon &#8212; though it&#8217;s certainly worth a look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sylvia Sidney as &#8220;Bert&#8221; (Peary nominates her as Best Actress of the Year in his <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\"><em>Alternate Oscars<\/em><\/a> book.)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55060\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-1536x926.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/American-Tragedy-Sydney.png 1677w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s worth a look if you can locate a copy. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0021607\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?_r=1&#038;res=9A07EEDF1038E43ABC4E53DFBE66838A629EDE&#038;oref=slogin\">NY Times Original Review (spoilers alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/an-american-tragedy\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t know how I love all this &#8212; this music, this kind of life!&#8221; Synopsis: A socially ambitious youth (Phillips Holmes) seduces and impregnates a factory worker (Sylvia Sidney), then plots to kill her when he falls in love with a debutante (Frances Dee). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Courtroom Drama Frances Dee Films Josef von Sternberg Films Love Triangle Plot to Murder Social Climbers Sylvia Sidney Films Review: Josef von Sternberg&#8217;s adaptation of Theodore Dreiser&#8217;s monumental 1925 novel&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5902\"> 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_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.9 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;You don&#039;t know how I love all this -- this music, this kind of life!&quot; Synopsis: A socially ambitious youth (Phillips Holmes) seduces and impregnates a factory worker (Sylvia Sidney), then plots to kill her when he falls in love with a debutante (Frances Dee). 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