The Human Comedy (film)
Encyclopedia
The Human Comedy is a 1943 drama film
directed by Clarence Brown
and adapted by Howard Estabrook
. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan
novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and published it just before the movie was released. It starred Mickey Rooney
, Frank Morgan
, James Craig
, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter
, Ray Collins
, Van Johnson
, Donna Reed
and Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins
. Robert Mitchum
and Don DeFore
appear uncredited as buddies of a soldier Barry Nelson
with a night off from training, trying to meet girls and take in a movie.
The film is a largely plotless story of the teenaged Homer Macauley (Rooney) in high school, working part time as a telegram delivery boy, in the fictional town of Ithaca, California, during World War II. The effects of the war on the "Home Front
" over a year in Homer's life are depicted in sentimental scenarios involving himself, his family, friends, and neighbors, and acquaintances encountered. The storyline is directed by a narrator, Homer's deceased father (Ray Collins).
, head of MGM, who suggested that this was his favorite film, also suggest a very definite "MGM house style".
and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role
(Mickey Rooney), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
, Best Director
and Best Picture
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown
Clarence Brown was an American film director.-Early life:Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to a cotton manufacturer, Brown moved to the South when he was 11. He attended Knoxville High School and the University of Tennessee, both in Knoxville, Tennessee, graduating from the university at the age of...
and adapted by Howard Estabrook
Howard Estabrook
Howard Estabrook was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stage actor in New York. He made his film debut in 1914 during the silent era, and would go on to appear in several...
. It is often thought to be based on the William Saroyan
William Saroyan
William Saroyan was an Armenian American dramatist and author. The setting of many of his stories and plays is the center of Armenian-American life in California in his native Fresno.-Early years:...
novel of the same name, but actually Saroyan wrote the screenplay first, was fired from the movie project, and quickly wrote the novel and published it just before the movie was released. It starred Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan
Frank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
, James Craig
James Craig (actor)
James Craig was an American actor.After graduating from the Rice Institute, Craig began appearing in films in 1937, most often in B-movies and serials...
, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter
Fay Bainter
Fay Okell Bainter was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress...
, Ray Collins
Ray Collins (actor)
Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason.- Biography :...
, Van Johnson
Van Johnson
Van Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
, Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
and Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins
Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins was an American child actor, who had a brief film career during the 1940s.Born Jack Dudley Jenkins in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Doris Dudley, Jenkins made his film debut at the age of six in The Human Comedy as Jack Jenkins after an MGM talent scout saw...
. Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
and Don DeFore
Don DeFore
Donald John DeFore was an American actor who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Life and career:...
appear uncredited as buddies of a soldier Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
with a night off from training, trying to meet girls and take in a movie.
The film is a largely plotless story of the teenaged Homer Macauley (Rooney) in high school, working part time as a telegram delivery boy, in the fictional town of Ithaca, California, during World War II. The effects of the war on the "Home Front
Home front
Home front is the informal term commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system of their military....
" over a year in Homer's life are depicted in sentimental scenarios involving himself, his family, friends, and neighbors, and acquaintances encountered. The storyline is directed by a narrator, Homer's deceased father (Ray Collins).
Production
Saroyan wrote a movie treatment and a screenplay that he was asked to direct. He was paid off and removed from the project when his film proved to be more than two hours long. Saroyan was not at all happy with the film as completed by Brown, and he wrote his novel from the script he produced. The novel was published at the same time as the film's release with the intent of countering the film version of the story. There are noticeable differences between the film and the novel, including a stronger characterization of Ulysses, the small boy, in the novel and far fewer scenes of sentiment than were incorporated into the film by Estabrook and Brown (social criticism is also much blunter in the novel). Louis B. MayerLouis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
, head of MGM, who suggested that this was his favorite film, also suggest a very definite "MGM house style".
Awards
It won the Academy Award for Best StoryAcademy Award for Best Story
The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1957, when it was eliminated in favor of the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, which had been introduced in 1940.-1920s:...
and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Mickey Rooney), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
, Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
and Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
Cast
- Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
- Homer Macauley - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
- Willie Grogan - James CraigJames Craig (actor)James Craig was an American actor.After graduating from the Rice Institute, Craig began appearing in films in 1937, most often in B-movies and serials...
- Tom Spangler - Marsha Hunt - Diana Steed
- Fay BainterFay BainterFay Okell Bainter was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Charles F. Bainter and Mary Okell. In 1910, she was a traveling stage actress...
- Mrs. Macauley - Ray CollinsRay Collins (actor)Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason.- Biography :...
- Mr. Macauley - Van JohnsonVan JohnsonVan Johnson was an American film and television actor and dancer who was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios during and after World War II....
- Marcus Macauley - Donna ReedDonna ReedDonna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
- Bess Macauley - Jackie 'Butch' JenkinsJackie 'Butch' JenkinsJackie 'Butch' Jenkins was an American child actor, who had a brief film career during the 1940s.Born Jack Dudley Jenkins in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Doris Dudley, Jenkins made his film debut at the age of six in The Human Comedy as Jack Jenkins after an MGM talent scout saw...
- Ulysses Macauley - Dorothy MorrisDorothy MorrisDorothy Morris is a former American film and television actress known for her "girl next door" persona.- Early life and career:...
- Mary Arena - John CravenJohn Craven (actor)John Craven was an American actor, and the son of noted character actor Frank Craven. He appeared in almost 50 films, numerous plays, and many TV roles, but was best remembered for originating the role of George Gibbs in the original stage version of Our Town, where his father played the role of...
- Tobey George - Anne Ayars - Mrs. Rose Sandoval
- Mary NashMary Nash-Early life:Nash was born on August 15, 1884 in Troy, New York, to parents Philip Nash, who worked for B. F. Keith Vaudeville Circuit, and Ellen Frances MacNamara. She was educated at the Convent of St. Anne in Montreal and trained for acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts...
- Miss Hicks - Henry O'NeillHenry O'NeillHenry O'Neill was a film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:...
- Charles Steed - Katharine AlexanderKatharine AlexanderKatharine Alexander was an American actress. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951.She was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and died in Tryon, North Carolina. She was one eighth Cherokee Indian...
- Mrs. Steed - Alan Baxter - Brad Stickman
- Darryl HickmanDarryl HickmanDarryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
- Lionel - Barry NelsonBarry NelsonBarry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
- Norman - Rita Quigley - Helen Eliot
- Clem BevansClem BevansClem Bevans was a character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men.Bevans had a very long career, starting in vaudeville in 1900 in an act with Grace Emmett. He progressed to burlesque, Broadway, and even light opera, before making his film debut at the age of 55 in Way Down...
- Henderson - Adeline De Walt Reynolds - Librarian
- Don DeForeDon DeForeDonald John DeFore was an American actor who played "the regular guy" and "the good, ol' boy next door" in many films in the 1940s and 1950s.-Life and career:...
- Texas from N.J.(uncredited) - Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
- Horse from Texas (uncredited)
External links
- The Human Comedy at TVGuide.com