Wikipedia

Delmer Daves

Delmer Lawrence Daves(July 24, 1904 – August 17, 1977) was an Americanscreenwriter,film directorandfilm producer.[1]He worked in manygenres,includingfilm noirandwarfare,but he is best known for hisWestern movies,especiallyBroken Arrow(1950),The Last Wagon(1956),3:10 to Yuma(1957) andThe Hanging Tree(1959). He was required to work exclusively on studio-based films after heart trouble in 1959, one of which,A Summer Place,was a huge commercial success.

Delmer Daves
BornJuly 24, 1904
San Francisco, California
DiedAugust 17, 1977(1977-08-17)(aged 73)
La Jolla, California
Occupation(s)Film director,screenwriter,film producer,actor

Daves worked with some of the best known players of his time including established stars likeHumphrey Bogart,Gary Cooper,Glenn Ford,James StewartandRichard Widmark.He also helped to develop the careers of up-and-coming players such asErnest Borgnine,Charles Bronson,Felicia FarrandGeorge C. Scott.

Life and career

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College and acting

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Born inSan Francisco,Daves graduated fromStanford University.[2]His first job in the film industry wasprop boyon theWesternThe Covered Wagon(1923), directed byJames Cruze,and then serving as atechnical advisoron a number of other films.[3]He tried his hand at acting and appeared in more than ten movies includingThe Night Flyer(1928) (produced by Cruze),The Duke Steps Out(1929) andGood News(1930).[1][3]

Screenwriting

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While he was acting, Daves was given the opportunity byMGMto collaborate onscreenplays.He began his career as a screenwriter by contributing to the early sound comedy filmSo This Is College(MGM; 1929), directed bySam Wood.Later, working for MGM and other companies, he wrote screenplays for films likeShipmates(MGM; 1931),Dames(Warner Bros;1934),The Petrified Forest(Warner Bros; 1936),Love Affair(RKO Radio;1939), andYou Were Never Lovelier(Columbia;1942).[1][3]Daves was particularly successful withLove Affairwhich, using his original script, was remade asAn Affair to Remember(20th Century Fox;1957).[4]

Direction

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In 1943, Warner Bros asked Daves to directDestination Tokyo,awartime adventurefilm starringCary GrantandJohn Garfield.Daves assisted with the screenplay and this became normal practice for him as a director.[1][5]He directed three more films during theSecond World War–The Very Thought of You(1944),Hollywood Canteen(1944) andPride of the Marines(1945), all for Warners. The first two of those were light-hearted but the latter, starring John Garfield andEleanor Parker,studied the difficulties faced by aUS marinewho had been blinded at theBattle of Guadalcanal.[1]All four of Daves' wartime films were commercially successful.[6]After the war, Daves turned tofilm noirand madeThe Red House(1947), starringEdward G. Robinson,forSol LesseratUnited Artists.[1]He returned to Warners where he wrote and directedDark Passage(1947), starringHumphrey Bogart,Lauren BacallandAgnes Moorehead.[7]He later directedTo the Victor(1948),A Kiss in the Dark(1949) andTask Force(1949). He also wrote the screenplay forTask Force,which starredGary Cooper.[1]

In February 1949, Daves signed a long-term contract at20th Century Fox.[8]He began by directing his firstWestern,the critically acclaimedBroken Arrow(1950) which starredJames Stewart,Debra PagetandJeff Chandler.[9]Chandler playedCochiseand the movie's success inspired the making of other films withNative Americanprotagonists.[1]Kim Newmanwrote that, by his dignified and heroic performance, Oscar-nominated Chandler established Cochise as "the 1950s model of an Indian hero".[10]Newman points out that the film inspired goodwill to other Native American chiefs such asSitting Bull,Crazy HorseandGeronimo– as a result, "it became fashionable for Westerns to be pro-Indian".[11]Other scholars warned that these "pro-Indian" movies proposed that peaceful co-existence between Natives and whites was achieved only through the loss of Indian identity. "Good" Indians would conform to white society, "bad" Indians would not.[12]

Daves decided to try other genres with the adventure filmsBird of Paradise(1951) andTreasure of the Golden Condor(1953), both of which he wrote and directed.[1]As director only, he madeNever Let Me Go(1953) for MGM andDemetrius and the Gladiators(1954) for Fox.[1]Never Let Me Go,starringClark GableandGene Tierney,was shot entirely in England and featured a supporting cast of well-known British actors.[13]

Daves became a freelance director in 1954 and returned to Warners to work onDrum Beat(1954), which he wrote, directed and also co-produced withAlan Ladd,who starred in the movie. One of Ladd's co-stars wasCharles Bronsonwho, then relatively unknown, gave an impressive performance as theModocchiefCaptain Jack.[1][14]By this time, Daves was fed up of the "pro-Indian" fashion that he had begun, andDrum Beatwas "pro-settler" with the hanging of Bronson's character in the final scene "restoring the balance".[15]Aleiss argued thatDrum Beatactually preached the same theme in his previous Westerns of good Indians conforming to white expectations while eliminating the bad Indian (Captain Jack).[12]Daves worked primarily on Westerns for the next five years.[5]

After writing the screenplay ofWhite Feather(1955) for Fox, Daves directed three highly-rated Westerns:Jubal(1956) for Columbia;The Last Wagon(1956) for Fox; and3:10 to Yuma(1957) for Columbia. He co-wrote the screenplay for the first two of these; Halsted Welles adapted3:10 to Yumafrom the novel byElmore Leonard.Felicia Farrhad a significant role in all three films.Glenn Fordwas the lead actor inJubaland co-starred withVan Heflinin3:10 to Yuma.Richard Widmarkstarred inThe Last Wagon.Ernest Borgnine,Charles Bronson andRod Steigerwere all inJubal;James Druryhad a small part inThe Last Wagon;Richard JaeckelandLeora Danahad significant parts in3:10 to Yuma.According to one review,3:10 to Yumawas a variation onHigh Noon(1952) as it "pits a farmer (Heflin) in a battle of wits with a captured killer" (Ford, cast against type as a villain) – it is a "psychological Western" that is generally considered a classic of the genre.[1]

FollowingCowboy(1958) which again starred Glenn Ford, this time with Felicia Farr's future husbandJack Lemmon,Daves decided on a switch of genre to directKings Go Forth(1958) a World War II drama for United Artists which starredFrank Sinatra,Tony CurtisandNatalie Wood.Daves returned to Westerns towards the end of 1958 when he madeThe Badlanders(1958) for MGM. This film was in effect a remake of noir classicThe Asphalt Jungle(1950), reset in the 1890s. It starred Alan Ladd and Ernest Borgnine.[1]

Daves then made his last Western,The Hanging Tree(1959) starring Gary Cooper,Maria SchellandKarl Malden,withGeorge C. Scottmaking his debut. This is regarded as another classic and Daves made full use of a stark landscape in which the only real feature was a makeshift gold camp.[16]The power of newly struck gold sends the community into a frenzy and they become, in Newman's words, "a wild collection of riotous scum".[16]

Daves suffered problems with his heart[17]during the making ofThe Hanging Treeand was forced to step aside for several days; Malden took over as director while Daves was absent. There has been speculation that health problems prevented Daves from continuing to work on Westerns, which were often physically demanding.[1]

Later films

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On medical advice, Daves decided to forgo Westerns and limit himself to studio-bound productions which were less strenuous.[17]He wrote, produced and directed a series of romantic dramas at Warners which all starredTroy Donahue:A Summer Place(1959),Parrish(1961),Susan Slade(1961) andRome Adventure(1962).[17]A Summer Placewas one of his biggest commercial successes. Based on the novel bySloan Wilson,it was controversial at the time for its treatment of adultery and pre-marital sex.[1][17]

Daves' final three films were all made at Warners.Spencer's Mountain(1963) starredHenry FondaandMaureen O'Hara.It was based uponEarl Hamner Jr'sautobiographical novel of the same name, and served as the basis for the later television seriesThe Waltons.[18]Daves then wrote, directed and producedYoungblood Hawke(1964) andThe Battle of the Villa Fiorita(1965). He retired afterVilla Floritawas released.[17]

Daves was married to actressMary Lawrencefrom 1938 until he died on August 17, 1977. He is interred at theForest Lawn Memorial Park CemeteryinGlendale, California.[19]

Legacy

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Kim Newmansays of Daves andAnthony Mannthat they were able to "ring changes" on seemingly familiar Western storylines by "playing up the psychologically acute reflections of their characters" in relation to the landscape as well as to each other. Daves, he says, achieved this in each ofBroken Arrow,The Last Wagon,3:10 to Yuma,andThe Hanging Tree.[20]

Despite several highly-acclaimed films,Dave Kehrconsiders Daves to be an under-rated and neglected filmmaker.[17]As a director, Daves first built his reputation on morally complex war films such asPride of the Marinesand socially progressive Westerns. For example,Broken Arrowhas been credited as one of the first to introduce the issue of racism in post-war American movies, and it is widely regarded as one of the first "pro-Native American" films.[17]Kehr views Daves' late period romances as sharing the same virtues as his earlier action films: "characters composed with the utmost integrity and respect; a gift for creating a detailed and convincing social background; and a strong, clear narrative style that allowed him to manage a large cast of characters and several simultaneous levels of dramatic events".[17]

Filmography

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Daves began his career as filmmaker in 1943, following a career working as an actor and scriptwriter. He is credited with making 26 films between 1943 and 1965, his most acclaimed being the 1957 film3:10 to Yuma.

Other work

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As actor

As writer

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijklmno"Delmer Daves".Edinburgh: Encyclopaedia Britannica.RetrievedMay 10,2021.
  2. ^"SERVICES TOMORROW FOR DELMER L DAVES (Published 1977)".August 19, 1977. Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2023.RetrievedMarch 6,2024.
  3. ^abcMcCann, Richard Dyer (March 11, 1958). "Delmer Daves Recalls His Route to the Top: Hollywood Letter".The Christian Science Monitor.p. 11.
  4. ^Vermilye, Jerry (1973).Cary Grant.New York City: Galahad Books. p. 123.ISBN978-08-83652-91-6.
  5. ^abTavernier, Bertrand (January 2003)."The ethical romantic".Film Comment.39(1). New York City: 42–49.
  6. ^Lusk, Norbert (January 11, 1944). "Daves Clicks as Director".Los Angeles Times.p. 8.
  7. ^"1940s Dispatches From the Land of Wynken, Blynken and Noir (Published 2016)".May 27, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2022.RetrievedMarch 6,2024.
  8. ^Schallert, Edwin (February 24, 1949). "Vera Ralston to Join John Wayne in 'Eagles;' 20th Signs Delmer Daves".Los Angeles Times.p. 21.
  9. ^Loynd, Ray (June 27, 1969). "Steigers Act Out Breakup of a Marriage: Breakup Acted Out by Steigers".Los Angeles Times.p. d1.
  10. ^Newman 1990,p. 70.
  11. ^Newman 1990,p. 71.
  12. ^abAleiss, Angela (2005).Making the White Man's Indian: Native Americans and Hollywood Movies.Praeger Publishers. pp. 90–96.ISBN978-02-75983-96-3.
  13. ^"Never Let Me Go".Turner Classic Movies.RetrievedJuly 12,2021.
  14. ^Scheuer, Philip K. (November 11, 1954). "'Drum Beat' Superior Frontier Melodrama ".Los Angeles Times.p. A13.
  15. ^Newman 1990,p. 72.
  16. ^abNewman 1990,p. 18.
  17. ^abcdefghKehr, Dave (January 26, 2009)."Critic's Choice – New DVDs: Romance Classics".New York Times.RetrievedMay 12,2021.
  18. ^Schumach, Murray (May 19, 1963). "Hollywood's Literary Set".New York Times.p. X7.
  19. ^"Delmer Daves, Motion Picture Executive, Actor".The Washington Post.August 19, 1977. p. C8.
  20. ^Newman 1990,p. xvi.

Bibliography

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