Stagecoach

          

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

  Not only was the film Stagecoach such an admired movie of all time it was also a very well made film. In the aspect that stagecoach was not just an old western movie that was about an actual stagecoach but it was a metaphor for society. Every person in the film was a member of society and everyone has their own opinions and thoughts on how a person usually is. However, this film taught how to not judge a book by its cover. 

When you think about how the outlaw or prostitute should be was the complete opposite. The outlaw was countless trying to help the people in the stagecoach and the civilians in the town as well as his love interest who was a prostitute but had the biggest heart and she wanted to show others that she is not what they think she is. 

     A character who people may of thought was gonna be a good guy didn't turn out to be the way it was planned. The banker in the beginning of the film stole from his own bank. For being a high member of society in the town he lives in and people depend on he was not all that nice and did not have the best intentions anyone but himself. 

2) Find a related article and summarize the content.

http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1004-Winter-2010-11/Features-On-John-Fords-Stagecoach.aspx 

In this article, John Ford, the director, discussed his love for this movie. He read the story, bought the story then tried selling the idea of a movie to the studios. Everyone who first heard about it thought the story was well written but once they found out it was a western it sort of turned them off from pursuing it. Then a phone call to Ford changed everything; it was from Walter Wanger, producer making his last film at United Artists.They agreed to partner up. Selecting the roles for who to play the lead characters was the next thing to decide. Wanger chose Gary Cooper and Marlene Dietrich and then Ford picked Michael Morrison; a.k.a John Wayne. 

Ford made it clear that this film needed to be created with a very small budget. The cast and crew filmed in Monument Valley and whatever they did not finished filming they continued it at the Goldwyn's lots in California. The film ended being under budget and was filmed for about $220,000. John Ford described his reasons for loving westerns so much because it is usually all filmed in the same location. In result of Ford's "B" film, after that westerns became "A" films and westerns became super popular. 

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. 

After reading this article, you really get a taste on how this film came to actually be created. This movie really was not believed in that much. Everyone thought it was going to be a flop and not do well in the box office when it was the complete opposite. They hired people who they did not think was "A" film material when after the film was release made, for example, John Wayne a house-hold name. When Wayne is describing filming this movie he talks about how many takes he had to get. Ford pushed everyone to their limits to make the best film possible without anyone else thinking positive like he did. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including  your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. 

The film Stagecoach showed the viewers the judgmental views that society places on others. The metaphor for the stagecoach was perfect. Every character truly, on their own, showed themselves, how others viewed them, and how society views them. I think its kind of sad to see that it, after all this time, society is still like this. You can be so kind, good hearted and giving; however, if you do one thing in your community that could be something others look down upon you are known and consistently reminded of it. For example, the prostitute was only trying to help Mrs. Mallory, who was pregnant, on the stagecoach and off the stagecoach the whole time and just because of what she is known for she didn't want her help at all. 

The film was the first of Ford's creations that was he had shot with sound. Mr. Ford took a chance with this film because he believed in the meaning that Stagecoach had behind it. He understood what it stood for and wanted to not only present a great film but give a valuable lesson to his viewers. 

Checklist for Plagiarism

(x) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

(x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, 
I clearly explain that in the paper. 

(x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, 
or used indentation and citation within the text. 

(x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in 
the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

(x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

(x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. 
I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

(x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

(x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent 

about the research and ideas used in my paper. 

Colleen McGovern
10/24/2013

It Happened One Night

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In the mid 1930's, it was a time when the silent film industry was slowly diminishing quickly and the battle of the sexes rose; as known as "screwball comedy". In the film It Happened One Night, directed by Frank Capra, the led actress, Claudette Colbert, establishes what was currently happening in the film industry. When Hollywood first built itself every movie created was all silent and every actor had to communicate physically not verbally. By 1929, silent film was no more and everyone who worked in that field had to either learn differently or get into a new line of work. 

In 1922, the MPPDA, Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America,  was created by Will Hayes. This program was a censorship of the films that would later be created. As a viewer of It Happened One Night you can tell it filmed after the MPPDA was created because of a lot of the scenes in the movie show the censorship . For example, when Ellen and Peter were going to sleep in the motel Peter hung a blanket over a string that was in-between the two twin beds. He called this the "Wall of Jericho." Like we discussed in class, the censorship in this movie was not that corny as it could of been. 

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content. 

http://www.filmsite.org/itha.html

The studio that was a pioneer for "screwball comedies" was Columbia Pictures which was a really  "poverty row" studio back in the day making a lot of "B" movies. When reading the article, as a reader, you find out about Clark Gable and how he was actually a bad boy in the film industry. He wanted to bring the mold of his "gigolo" image that he would usually play in Hollywood. After reading the script, he realized that It Happened One Night would be perfect for him. When trying to get the leading lady for the role of Ellen, Claudia Colbert was the right choice. She had some time  off from her regular studio, Paramount, where she was able to make a quick $50,000 only in four weeks time. In the article, it discussed how Colbert actually admitted that she thought she had just made the worst film ever. When in reality it ended up becoming one of the most romantic films of all time. 

Just like we discussed in class, when Clark Gable created the scene were he undresses for bed he ended up making a very bold fashion trend. When men around the world saw that Gable did not wear a undershirt under his dress shirt they all ended up doing the same exact thing. 

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

In the article, it mentioned a lot about the people who played the characters in the movie. It discussed how the movie that came from the "poverty row" studio who really only created "B" movies made a pretty successful movie that did not even seem like it was a "B" movie anyways. The two main actors in the movie, Gable and Colbert played their roles terrifically. However, behind the scenes they seemed like different people. Even though Colbert disrobed for a movie prior she gave Capra a very hard time when he wanted her to strip down for the bedroom scene in this movie. Also, when she needed to show a little leg in the hitchhiking scene she refused to and made the director hire a stunt double. This was going to work until Colbert did not like his stunt doubles legs and decided hers were better looking. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film.

I can defiantly see how this film made history. Not only was it one of the first silent films to make history it took us, as viewers into a new world of screwball comedies. Males vs. Females! The concept of the movie and all the different themes that were being shown in the film (males vs females, love, right choices, loyalty, moral ideals, etc.) it did a excellent job at keeping them flowing throughout the film. The use of lighting played a big part in this movie. When Ellen is hovering of Peter's bed while she is pleading him to take her away and love her; as a viewer, you can see the changing of lighting that the director put on the character. Capra chose to put a soft glow on her face making her look loving and angelic. With women's costumes being more conservative in this time period because of the MPPDA and the battle of the sexes rising in Hollywood it made movies more interesting to watch and want to take sides. It made women feel and become more of a competition for men especially in the film industry. 

Checklist for Plagiarism  

(x) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

(x) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for 

other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

(x) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those

 words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

(x) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources

 cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

(x) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

(x) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be 

stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

(x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

(x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully

 transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Colleen McGovern

10/16/13

The Gold Rush

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class, we discussed about Charlie Chaplin's biggest role to date; his movie "The Gold Rush". The Gold Rush was not only Chaplin's favorite role he played but as well what he was known for. This movie took over a whole year to make. Costing about $970,000 and grossed to $6 million. In class, we learned what a circular structure is in film terms. A circular structure is where a story ends is where is begins again. 

In the Gold Rush, it was really hard not to see the circular structure. The story first starts off in Alaska were Charlie Chapman's character, the Tramp, is trekking though a blizzard making his way to a small secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere. There, the Tramp, meets for the first time Big Jim McKay and ,the wanted criminal, Black Larsen. After going their separate ways, the Tramp wanders into town and goes into the Dance Hall for the first time. The zoom technique was used in the scene to emphasize the pain the Tramp felt when being rejected by his lover.  There he meets Georgia and with her confidence asks the Tramp to dance with her. The Tramp fall head of heels for the elegance lady. However, not everything is off to a good start. Georgia stands up the Tramp for their New Years Eve date. When Chaplin approaches the Dance Hall again he re-encounters Big Jim McKay and because of his head injury he needs Chaplin's help to relocate his mine of gold! Like we discussed in class, Chaplin's characters are usually known as the underdog and comes out on top in the end. At the end of the Gold Rush, Chaplin and Big Jim McKay end up millionaires and Georgia and Chaplin start their love affair literally right off the boat. 

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.  

http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/biography/articles/5-The-Gold-Rush 

In this article named, Filming the Gold Rush, it describes what happened on the set of this historic Hollywood movie staring, the man of the time, Charlie Chaplin. When creating this movie Chaplin got his inspiration for the movie from  a book called Donner Party Disaster of 1846 and from old stereoscope pictures of the 1896 Klondike's gold rush. This stereoscope pictures displayed images of prospectors hiking up a huge mountain in search of gold. 
This movie took Chaplin almost a year and a half to create. While watching the movie you see a great deal of special effect that for that time period you, as a 2013 viewer, may have been surprised to witness. I was surprised seeing the model of the cabin that Chaplin, Big Jim McKay and Black Larsen all lived at become a smaller version of itself when it was hanging off of the cliff. Seeing the small characters hop out of the house and onto the snow was a interesting view.
 This film was "one of Chaplin's most accomplished films." It has been stated, not only in this article but in others that Chaplin wants to be remembered and known for this role and directing this.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. 
This article definitely changed my opinion on the film with connection to what we talked about in class. Before reading this article and even before our class watched this movie I had only known so little of Charlie Chaplin. In our class discussion I had learned he was one of the most recognizable comedians in the world. While watching the movie I had known why and when reading this article it helped give an understanding into the creation of this movie. Something that caught myself off guard about the article was just Chaplin's past. I do not believe that this article really fully described himself very well. I believe that in order to fully know who his was in his past or currently during the film I would have had to look somewhere else. The article explained his letting go of Lita Grey, his affair with her, she only being sixteen years old and their children; however, I don't think it made it did him justice. Unless, this was who he was and didn't make him seem like a swell guy. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film.

This film was very interesting to watch and I completely understand why it was so popular; and still is. Charlie Chaplin, like we discussed in class was a amateur director; however, he created a simple film that had some much depth into it that you may not have fully noticed till after watching it and analyzing it. During a time of the roaring '20s movies were getting huge and everyone loved rooting for the underdog and mainly all of Chaplin's characters, like the tramp, were those underdog characters. He perfected the basis for a great classic film. He added the comedy with the "rolls scene" that till this day does not make people stop laughing and as well as the romance factor with his beloved Georgia. 

A very fun scene that stands out in my mind was when the Tramp and Big Jim McKay are waiting for Black Larsen to return with food and the two men become very hungry. In Big Jim McKay's eyes, the Tramp, turns into a huge delicious looking chicken. This really showed, in a funny and unqiue way, how hungry those men must of been during the actual gold rush. Even though this was just a Hollywood comedy it does actually show that those men had some hard times expecially if it blizzarded like it did in the movie. For a silent fillm, the characters did a very nice job displaying this feeling on camera. Even without words you can hear what they are trying to say to the audience without saying a single word. That is when you know your a good actor or actress is not only when you speak but your body language.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) ( X ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( X ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( X ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( X ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( X ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( X ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( X ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( X ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.


Name: Colleen McGovern  

Date:  9/30/13