Mourning Becomes Electra (film)

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Movie
Original title Mourning Becomes Electra
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1947
length 159 minutes
Rod
Director Dudley Nichols
script Dudley Nichols
production Dudley Nichols for RKO
music Richard Hageman
camera George Barnes
cut Roland Gross
Chandler House
occupation

Mourning Becomes Electra is a 1947 American film starring Rosalind Russell and Michael Redgrave and directed by Dudley Nichols . The film is based on the play of the same name by Eugene O'Neill , which relocates the oresty of Aeschylus to the time of the American Civil War .

action

With the end of the Civil War , the wealthy Mannon families began to decline. Immediately before her father Ezra and her brother Orin return, Lavinia Mannon and her mother Christine visit relatives in New York. Lavinia learns that her mother has a relationship with the much younger Adam Brant. Driven by the long-standing hatred of her mother, Lavinia investigates her mother's lover. She discovers that Adam is actually a born Manning and confronts her mother with the knowledge. Christine, however, already knows Adam's true identity and still plans to run away with him, as she detests her husband Ezra from the bottom of her soul. However, since a divorce from Ezra does not seem possible, Christine plans to poison her husband. She lets Adam know about her plans. On the night of Ezra's return, the plan seems to work, but at the last second Lavinia enters the scene and can at least take traces of the poison. Immediately upon his return, Orin begins to research the true backgrounds that led to his father's death. Christine claims Lavinia was mad and will tell lies about her. At first Orin believes his mother, but Lavinia can convince him of the truth. Furious and incited by Lavinia, Orin finally shoots Adam. The siblings confront their mother with the facts, who shoots herself in the head before their very eyes in order to avoid the shame of an arrest.

In the weeks after the events, Orin is more and more eaten away by his guilt, while Lavinia, finally freed from her domineering parents, blossoms into a young woman. However, her attempt to become engaged to Peter Niles and to start a fresh start fails because Peter also suffers from his family and is unable to love. In the end, Orin and Lavinia realize that the dead have taken control of their lives. Orin kills himself and Lavinia boarded up doors and windows and decides never to leave the house again.

background

Eugene O'Neill published his play Mourning Becomes Electra ( Mourning must carry Elektra ) in 1931. The plot is largely based on the Orestie of Aeschylus , but relocated it to the 1860s and New England. Alla Nazimova played the role of Christine, aka Clytemnestra, and Alice Brady played the role of Lavinia, aka Electra during the 150 performances the play saw. In 1935 there were first plans to film the material with Katharine Hepburn as Lavinia. It was not until 1945 that concrete measures for a screen adaptation were started. Dudley Nichols, a close friend of O'Neill, and actress Rosalind Russell persuaded Studio RKO to take the risk. For the role of Christine, Greta Garbo was under discussion, but she immediately declined the role. In the end, Katina Paxinou was awarded the contract. The studio initially planned to use James Mason as Orin, aka Oreste, but chose Michael Redgrave . By his own admission, Rosalind Russell originally wanted to take on the role of Christine and saw in Olivia de Havilland the ideal cast for Lavinia. The actress also reported that filming was problematic and stressful, an impression shared by Michael Redgrave.

The first version of the film ran for 175 minutes and was cut to 157 minutes after disastrous previews and then again shortened to 121 minutes.

Rosalind Russell received her second nomination for Best Actress for her performance , but, to everyone's surprise, lost to Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter .

Theatrical release

The film was $ 2,342,000 to manufacture and proved to be a catastrophic failure at the box office. He only brought in $ 435,000. In the end, the studio had a horrific loss of $ 2,310,000.

Reviews

The reviews were mixed. The direction was mostly perceived as lengthy and static, while the actors would not meet the demands of the roles.

Bosley Crowther found clear words for the staging in The New York Times .

"However, it must be stated that 'Mourning Becomes Electra' on screen is far from the captivating effect of the stage play - it remains a static and boring affair."

Awards

There were two nominations in the categories at the 1948 Academy Awards :

At the Golden Globe Awards in 1948 there was an award in the category:

  • Best Actress - Rosalind Russell

The National Board of Review awarded a prize in 1947 in the category:

  • Best Actor - Michael Redgrave

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ But there's no escaping the judgment that 'Mourning Becomes Electra' on the screen is a far from electric entertainment - is a static and tiresome show, in fact.