The bells of der bingle

The final installment of the Ingrid Bergman film series runs Wednesday evening at the Goldsmith Family Cinema at Wesleyan, featuring Bergman with Bing Crosby in Bells of St. Mary, the sequel to Going My Way.

Historically speaking, the film was made in a time when movies about Catholic priests were big box office - and Crosby's Father Chuck O'Malley wasn't performing any exorcisms. And, oh yeah, Bergman plays a nun (not like any nun who taught me).

The film will be introduced by Crosby historian Martin McQuade, who will hopefully talk about Crosby as one of America's finest singers, an innovative recording pioneer, and of course, as a popular actor.

We'll always have Washington Terrace

After the showing of Casablanca last night, I bumped into Barrie Robbins-Pianka who told me she had scored a hat trick last night in Middletown, attending three important events in a very busy Wednesday evening. Barrie had run in the Not Your Typical 5K Road Race on and around Main Street. She had attended a part of the contentious informational meeting about the proposed construction of an Army Reserve Training Center in Westfield, and she made it to the Goldsmith Family Cinema to see Casablanca.

I only made two out of three (knowing the Westfield contigent was a powerful voice in City Hall - and it was - the room overflowed despite the traffic issues downtown because of the road race).

At the Wesleyan film center, actor, and friend of Wesleyan, Edward Herrman gave some interesting insights into the film we were about to see. Herrman, who first saw the film in New York City in 1971, at a time he described as "most cynical" and full of antipathy for anything that was associated with "the establishment." To his own astonishment, in a revival movie house filled with marijuana smoke, he was among an audience who fell in love with a film that is admittedly romantic, idealist and, in fact, patriotic. Herrman read from screenwriter Howard Koch's book on the film (and who better than Herrman to read in his sonorous baritone), which seems to indicate that the film that emerged from a chaotic film process has turned into a classic which still works its magic on an audience.

And while this is one in a series of Ingrid Bergman films, Casablanca is undeniably Bogey's movie.

On this evening, laughter and applause filled the room. I sat rapt, thinking once or twice in amazement, that this old relic once again had me by the neck.

Here's looking at you kid.

The fundamental things apply

Casablanca is one of the best stories ever told.

And it will be told again Wednesday evening, July 16, at 8 pm at the Goldsmith Family Cinema on Wesleyan's campus. It's part of a series honoring and featuring Ingrid Bergman. Actor Edward Herrman will provide an introduction before the film is screened.

I've loved the film since I first saw it, chopped to shreds and interrupted by commercials for the Veg-o-matic, or Wonderbread, on some afternoon movie series on TV.

The casting, including the magnificent supporting players (Sydney Greenstreet, Claude Raines, Paul Henreid, Dooley Wilson), is perfect. The story that Ronald Reagan was being considered as the original first choice for the role of Rick, is apocryphal, and was a fiction created by Reagan's publicity agent. George Raft was apparently considered, because he was lobbying Jack Warner for the role, but reliable sources say the rights to the script were purchased for Bogart. Ingrid Bergman was "borrowed" from David O. Selznick for the role of Ilsa.

The film was directed by the underrated Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Angels With Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Life With Father, Mildred Pierce and many others), who reportedly traded directorial assignments with Howard Hawks. Curtiz was scheduled to shoot Sergeant York, and Hawks, Casablanca, and they agreed to take on each other's assignments.

And of course, there's the script. Originally written as a stage play (which was never produced) by high school teacher Murray Bennett, and called Everybody Comes to Rick's, it was purchased for a record $20,000. It was reworked simultaneously by the team of Julius and Philp Epstein (twin brothers), and Howard Koch. All the writers worked on the film, particularly the ending (which was in question until late in shooting), as it was being shot.

My favorite scene, still, is the "dueling anthems" scene in which drunken German officers begin singing Die Wacht Am Rhein and French expatriates stand to sing La Marseillaise, drowning the Germans out, and raising the hair on my neck, each time.

And then, there's that other song, As Time Goes By, a favorite of original writer Bennett, and lobbied against by the film score composer Max Steiner, it became a hit for Rudy Vallee, who had recorded his version in 1931.

The film will be shown, as are all others in the series, on archival 35mm prints.

Notorious

It was a busy night in Middletown. At the Wadsworth Mansion, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem held off anticipated thunder showers to the delight of a crowd.








Downtown, Middletown's newest tavern, Public, held a sneak preview opening for dignitaries.

And at the Goldsmith Family Cinema in Wesleyan's film studies program, it was the first of four classic films featuring the ethereal beauty of Ingrid Bergman.

It's great that Wesleyan, the city of Middletown and the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce has found a way to share the collected treasure Jeannine Basinger, head of the film studies program, has assembled as Wesleyan.

Basinger and staff assembled a slide show of rare family items, showing Bergman from the time she was a child in Sweden. Basinger also provided an insider's account of how the Bergman collection landed at Wesleyan, along with many anecdotes about Bergman's life as an actress. Finally, the film of the night, Hitchcock's Notorious, was preceded by home movies shot by Bergman's father early in the 20th century.

Next Wednesday it's Casablanca, introduced by actor Edward Herrman.

(Wadsworth photo by Paul Zakarian)

Ladies of the Twilight, on the Silver Screen, and at the Podium

It's amazing how the middle of the week can get cluttered with arts events in July. Once upon a time, a group representing the town's arts presenters would get together monthly and talk about their respective schedules. "Arts for All" (as the group was dubbed) morphed into the Middletown Arts Stakeholders Group and there's still plenty of give-and-take but, occasionally, 2 very good shows happen on the same night.

That happened on Wednesday July 2 when Elite Syncopation performed at The Wadsworth Mansion and the Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng Band played in the CFA Courtyard at approximately the same time.

This week, The Mansion Concert series features Village District-ers Rani Arbo, her husband Scott Kessel, Andrew Kinsey and Anand Nayak (collectively known as Daisy Mayhem) at 6:30 p.m. In a previous Middletown EYE post, you can read more about the show and watch a video. In the instance of bad weather (especially storms with lightning), the concert will be canceled.

The same evening at 8 p.m., the 2nd Annual Wesleyan Film Series begins its 4-Wednesday run in the Goldsmith Family Cinema on Washington Terrace. This year's offerings, collectively known as "Ingrid Bergman and her Hollywood Men", will not only feature great movies but also an introduction and a post-screening Q&A with members of the Wesleyan Film Studies Program. First up is "Notorious", the 1946 Alfred Hitchcock production that pairs Bergman with Cary Grant and also stars Claude Rains as the villain. The post WWII thriller is one of Hitchcock's best (and he made many great movies throughout his long career) and certainly worth seeing again on the big screen.

The series also features Bergman with Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca" (July 16), with Charles Boyer in "Gaslight" (July 23) and with Bing Crosby in "The Bells of St. Mary" (July 30.) All screenings are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday July 15 at 12:10 p.m. in Wesleyan's CFA Cinema, Kate Rushin will read her poetry and talk to the audience about her craft. A graduate of Brown University, Rushin has taught at Wesleyan and other schools around the state. Her collection, "The Black Back-ups" (Firebrand Books), was published in 1993 and is a wonderfully evocative series of scenes from the poet's life. She reads at a graceful pace, letting each word sink in the listener's mind. The pieces have sass and fire, soul and wit, beauty and honest emotions. This talk is free and open to all who enjoy word paintings. Best of all, there is no other event going on at the same time.