{"id":19658,"date":"2019-09-21T10:49:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-21T14:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=19658"},"modified":"2019-09-21T10:49:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-21T14:49:33","slug":"br-wild-in-the-country-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=19658","title":{"rendered":"BR: Wild in the Country (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Film<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>:\u00a0 Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong> Twilight Tme<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong> All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0 August 20, 2019<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Drama<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong> A troubled young man on probation experiences strong feelings for his court-appointed psychiatrist in small town America.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0 Isolated Stereo Music Track \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by film historian Mike Finnegan \/ Theatrical Trailer \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available exclusively from www.twilighttimemovies.com<\/a> and www.screenarchives.com<\/a>.
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Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warning: this review contains spoilers galore!<\/em><\/p>\n

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Perhaps due to the success of King Creole<\/strong> (1958) and G.I. Blues <\/strong>(1960), Elvis may have had some leverage and was able to star in two dramas to prove his acting chops, but the resulting films didn\u2019t gel with audiences and critics, causing a return to a long series of light n’ fluffy comedies packed with more than enough songs to fill ongoing soundtrack albums.<\/p>\n

Flaming Star<\/a><\/strong> (1960) showed Elvis had far more depth than critics may have suspected, and although a traditional western, it didn\u2019t propel him to the kind of straight dramatic roles he sought, as intended in Wild in the Country<\/strong> (1961), an adaptation of J.R. Salamanca\u2019s novel The Lost Country<\/strong>. The core story follows (presumably) late teen \/ early twenties Glenn Tyler (Presley) as he\u2019s sentenced to community service under his uncle\u2019s wing after a nasty fight, and although Glenn keeps his goals simple and economically humble, working a straight gig and taking one day at a time, his creative writing catches the attention of Irene Sperry (Hope Lang), the psychiatrist whom the court appointed for weekly mental health sessions.<\/p>\n

In a plot grabbed from the premise of Elvis\u2019 hit musical Jailhouse Rock <\/strong>(1957), a subsequent accidental death has him re-arrested, tried, and potentially charged for manslaughter, but a twist saves the troubled lad from jail and enables him to begin a new life as a student of literature, thanks to the kind shrink who acted as coach, mentor, and miracle worker.<\/p>\n

Part of the production\u2019s trivia includes an aborted ending in which the rumours of an illicit affair among judgmental townsfolk forces Irene to commit suicide, but the filmed twist was scrapped in favour of a happier finale that didn\u2019t bring the two autumn & spring characters together, but had them reset on new life paths.<\/p>\n

As a provocative melodrama flowing through an insular community, Wild<\/strong> is packed with the similarly lurid behaviour of Peyton Place<\/a><\/strong> (1957), one of producer Jerry Wald\u2019s big hits for studio Fox: the lad whom Glenn is accused of killing, Cliff Macy (Gary Lockwood), is the son of Irene\u2019s former lover Phil (John Ireland), who\u2019s more than willing to divorce his rich wife if Irene would agree to the marriage he\u2019s wanted for decades.<\/p>\n

Glenn\u2019s uncle Rolfe Braxton (delightfully vile William Mims) is a sleazeball who agreed to help his nephew only because he wants hot & bothered daughter and single mother Noreen (Tuesday Weld) to marry her cousin, and stop posing as a pregnant war bride. Although Noreen has had the hots for Glenn since childhood, Glenn\u2019s heart is for Betty Lee Parsons (Fox starlet Millie Perkins, fresh from The Diary of Anne Frank<\/a><\/strong>), the polite, refined daughter of wealthy townsfolk who want a better grade of man for future grandkids, like rich boy Cliff.<\/p>\n

Even with the reshot ending, there\u2019s enough material to give Elvis room to breathe life into sort-of, late-term teenager Glenn, but Wild<\/strong> had a long pre-production history with different casting choices \u2013 Bradford Dillman and Margaret Leighton were originally sought for Glenn and Irene \u2013 and when Wald snagged Philip Dunne, who\u2019d directed the teen pregnancy drama Blue Denim<\/a> <\/strong>(1959), the latter\u2019s choice was to cast Presley and Simone Signoret, the French actress who\u2019d played the sexy older woman in the British drama Room at the Top<\/strong> (1959). Signoret was a decent choice, but a change in production executives and salary demands led to Hope Lang being cast as Irene, a peculiar decision given the actress was barely 2 years older that Presley.<\/p>\n

Perhaps because of what feels like careful if not fortuitous grooming by Wald and studio Fox, Lang had evolved from the young woman in Peyton Place <\/strong>to the tear-pulling mother in The Young Lions<\/a> <\/strong>(1958), and tackled the important character maturation in the classic The Best of Everything<\/a> <\/strong>(1959) with special aplomb, playing a university grad who eventually becomes a top publishing exec in a sexist world.<\/p>\n

Lang pulled off that arc because her character was the friend, consul, and saviour to her two roommates, and with the hairdo and business suit of her former mentor, her character closes the film walking away from the camera a tough but fair executive \u2013 which is pretty close to Wild<\/strong>\u2019s Irene. With a modest hairdo and chic but never flashy clothes & colours, Lang is convincingly transformed into an older woman from her first scene.<\/p>\n

Clifford Odets\u2019 script isn\u2019t especially good \u2013 the veteran playwright was reportedly canned prior to filming, leaving Dunne to finish the screenplay and perhaps tighten material. Wild<\/strong> is dramatically sound and moves at a brisk pace, but the early sessions in which Irene chisels away at Glenn\u2019s iron wall and slowly earns his trust are flat. Scenes that crucial to extracting truths, emotions, and backstories have a dullness, arguably causing viewers to dilute their attention and focus on set details, such as the modern art, mid-century furniture, and modern stereo neatly arranged in Irene\u2019s otherwise rustic house. (Her cultured, forward-thinking home \/ office is contrasted by the Braxton\u2019s grimy loft which rests above the smelly booze factory below, and the specious yet sterile home of wealthy Phil Macy.)<\/p>\n

Where the film finally clicks is in the delicately handled seduction scene which is exceptionally long and beautifully choreographed by Dunne. A sudden (what else?) rainfall mandates a hotel stopover; separate rooms prove agonizing for the gravitating couple; and their physical connection is handled with unusual care.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure Presley was especially proud of the sequence, and it\u2019s a tragedy the film\u2019s oomph happens so late in the drama, and after several horribly contrived bits in which Presley has to sing to sell the soundtrack album: a tune in the pickup truck with a frowning Betty pulls us into a clich\u00e9d studio musical, and a quiet staircase strum with Noreen feels forced; the short sing-song between Glenn and Irene before rainfall is cute, and may be the only moment when Glenn\u2019s singing feels spontaneous.<\/p>\n

Fox and Presley\u2019s manipulative manager Col. Tom Parker undoubtedly wanted some music to come from this steamy tale, perhaps as insurance in case the star\u2019s yearning for drama hampered the film; the trailer is strategically cut, telling audiences \u2018Elvis Sings!\u2019 and showcases just the songs to infer Wild<\/strong> is a musical with little dramatic bites \u2013 hardly the production that Dunne and Presley had worked hard to create.<\/p>\n

One may expect Wild<\/strong> to be a dud or a mess, but in actuality it\u2019s an interesting misfire due to a variety of factors that make it a compelling, attractive work. Fans almost<\/em> get the actor Presley wanted to be, but Wild<\/strong> leaves us saddened, because unlike Frank Sinatra, Presley was too micro-managed and controlled by greedy manipulators. Sinatra earned an Oscar Award for his straight role in From Here to Eternity<\/strong> (1953), giving the former song & dance man and recording star hard credit and power to determine his career.<\/p>\n

With Presley\u2019s next film being Blue Hawaii <\/strong>(1961), it\u2019s unsurprising he was plopped into formulaic musicalized stories; Follow That Dream <\/strong><\/a>(1962) seems to offer rare chunks of dramatic meat in what\u2019s ostensibly a comedy-drama.<\/p>\n

Hope Lang should\u2019ve progressed to bigger, edgier roles, but after two co-starring vehicles with Glenn Ford \u2013 Pocketful of Miracles<\/strong> (1961) and Love is a Ball <\/strong>(1963) \u2013 Lang moved to TV, enjoyed the safety of The Ghost & Mrs. Muir<\/strong> (1968-1970) \u2013 and between 1965-1980, made just three feature films: Jigsaw<\/strong> (1968), I Love You\u2026 Good-bye <\/strong>(1974), and Death Wish <\/strong>(1974).<\/p>\n

Tuesday Weld appeared in myriad TV productions before co-starring in several classics and cult films, including The Cincinnati Kid <\/strong>(1965), Pretty Poison <\/strong>(1968), Looking for Mr. Goodbar <\/strong>(1977), and Thief<\/strong> (1981).<\/p>\n

Twilight Time\u2019s Blu-ray features a sharp transfer of a slightly worn but clean print, and as a special bonus an isolated stereo track of Kenyon Hopkins\u2019 previously unreleased score. Hopkins, who also scored Fox\u2019s Wild River<\/strong> (1960 and The Hustler<\/strong> (1961), was a very underrated composer, and Wild<\/strong> is one of his best works, often pulling audiences back from the faux musical injections to the real drama.<\/p>\n

His handling of the hotel seduction is especially discrete. It’s a careful flow between thematic components, and the music never becomes lurid or teasing, but underscores the serious implications of the pair\u2019s attraction and their genuine affection which (originally) led to tragic circumstances. It\u2019s a great score of restraint, colour, and precision, and a real treat the music can be enjoyed uncompressed on Blu.<\/p>\n

The mixed film soundtrack is in true if not subtle stereo, whereas the isolated stereo track has some nice bonuses beyond complete source and jukebox cues: because of licensing, we get the instrumental backing of Presley\u2019s title track (featuring a hasty and not quite pleasant clarinet solo), the truck tune, and a longer version of Hopkins\u2019 closing cue that starts at the train station and continues with full orchestra over the cast recap. (In the film mix, the recap features a sombre version of Presley\u2019s title track.)<\/p>\n

The trailer reinforces the creative fight and career leap which Presley lost in trying to make a straight drama and convince fans of his expansive talent; the poster art gracing the booklet\u2019s rear features a smiling Presley and infers a swell country romp instead of a sordid, painful love affair.<\/p>\n

Mike Finnegan\u2019s essay shores up the film\u2019s position as a \u2018What if\u2019 project that might have yielded more diverse films for Presley had the meddling, mishaps, and rigid preference of his fans not aided in curtailing what should\u2019ve been a stronger career in movies. There\u2019s also deserved praise for then-newcomer Gary Lockwood who graduated from uncredited parts (Warlock<\/a><\/strong>) to bigger roles, including another Presley vehicle, It Happened at the World\u2019s Fair<\/strong> (1963), and his best-known parts in Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before <\/strong>(1966), and 2001: A Space Odyssey <\/strong>(1968).<\/p>\n

J.R. Salamanca\u2019s novel Lilith<\/strong> (1964) was made into a film by Robert Rossen. Clifford Odets\u2019 screenplays include The General Died at Dawn<\/strong> (1936), Deadline at Dawn<\/strong> (1946), Humoresque<\/strong> (1946), Sweet Smell of Success<\/strong> (1957), and Wild in the Country <\/strong>(1961). He also wrote & directed None But the Lonely Heart <\/strong>(1944), and The Story on Page One<\/strong> (1959) for producer Jerry Wald.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2019 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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