This week’s selection is a gem – Street Scene is King Vidor’s screen adaptation of Elmer Rice’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name (Rice also adapted the play for the screen). Street Scene stars an ensemble cast that includes Beulah Bondi (who in reprising her stage role makes her feature film debut), Sylvia Sidney and William Collier, Jr.
The film takes place on a single block of Manhattan tenements. Amidst this setting, we are introduced to a diverse group of people who are representative of the living conditions for many newly arrived immigrants to New York City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Of course, the narrative zeroes in on a couple of families, but the interaction among all of the tenements’ inhabitants means that their lives are completely intertwined.
We are witness to their joy, hopes and fears and, in the final movement, tragedy. At a speedy 80 minute running time, I found it an engrossing piece of cinema that transfers well from the stage.
Street Scene is available for viewing and download at The Internet Archive or YouTube.
I’ve meant to catch a production of this for years…thanks for the nudge.
Todd Mason recently posted..1968: Judith Merril and Kate Wilhelm put together an ad against the Vietnam War…
It was on a random morning on Turner Classic Movies.
Sounds brilliant.
Thanks Patti! Will visit your site soon 🙂
I remember when I first saw this I was stunned by the fact that it had that familiar Gershwin-esque theme by Alfred Newman that he used so many times in his later films for Fox and which served at the overture to HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE – I’d never realised that he originally wrote it for this actual film – kind of hijacked the experience a bit so thanks for the links as I’d really like to see it again!
Cheers,
Sergio
Sergio (Tipping My Fedora) recently posted..Twilight (1998) – Tuesday’s Forgotten Film
I read that too Sergio, I think I remember noticing that when I first saw it as well.
iluvcinema recently posted..Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Street Scene (1931)
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ve never seen this classic before but I like the looks of it.
The Focused Filmographer recently posted..It’s “Time to Vote Tuesday!” 88
Definitely worth a look!
This looks interesting… definitely a far cry from Duel in the Sun that King Vidor also directed, ahah.
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Most definitely. He also shot the Kansas scenes in The Wizard of Oz (uncredited of course 🙂 )