And that would be the slightly "abridged" feeling to the final courtroom scene and the very last shot.
Director Negulesco's beautiful pacing and handling as he builds the tender relationship between Jane and Lew Ayres is a wonder to behold. Ditto the carefully wrought interaction between them, Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead, which unfolds naturally and with complete conviction (the sign of an excellent script, also).
Great cinematography and production design, and Max Steiner's colorful and expertly crafted score.
However, after so much beauty and perfection in the dramatic shape of the film, I felt it needed about another 5-6 minutes to build tension and resolution near the end: leading up to the trial, the trial itself, and just a tad more time for us to all relax, rejoice, and revel in the very final moment. And I think this problem is reflected in the very last measures of Max Steiner's score. Steiner THOROUGHLY understood the way in which the PACE and TEMPO of his music could affect the emotional impact of a scene; why, I wonder, did he choose to ACCELERATE the tempo of his lovely main theme as the carriage headed for the new home in the last shot? This speed-up definitely seemed to work AGAINST the sense of joy at the end; if anything, the music should have slowed down a bit and become more GRAND as "THE END" appeared on screen. Something seems too hurried and almost casual.
This is a fairly common structural problem with film scripts: emotionally compelling films that are designed with great care and detail, which then seem somewhat hurried toward the end, thus undercutting the big emotional payoff we're all waiting for.
Another example: "Roman Holiday" which spends TONS of time getting to the actual holiday, only to leave us feeling a bit shortchanged in the developing love between Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, so necessary to the heartbreak of the final scene.
Two films that get it absolutely RIGHT in terms of the pace and shape of the script, totally justifying the flood of emotion at the end: "It's a Wonderful Life" and Disney's "Pollyanna" (1960).
All of this is, of course, my own opinion and, considering the overall greatness of "Johnny Belinda" as a film, is a relatively minor complaint.
A wonderful film. LR
Director Negulesco's beautiful pacing and handling as he builds the tender relationship between Jane and Lew Ayres is a wonder to behold. Ditto the carefully wrought interaction between them, Charles Bickford and Agnes Moorehead, which unfolds naturally and with complete conviction (the sign of an excellent script, also).
Great cinematography and production design, and Max Steiner's colorful and expertly crafted score.
However, after so much beauty and perfection in the dramatic shape of the film, I felt it needed about another 5-6 minutes to build tension and resolution near the end: leading up to the trial, the trial itself, and just a tad more time for us to all relax, rejoice, and revel in the very final moment. And I think this problem is reflected in the very last measures of Max Steiner's score. Steiner THOROUGHLY understood the way in which the PACE and TEMPO of his music could affect the emotional impact of a scene; why, I wonder, did he choose to ACCELERATE the tempo of his lovely main theme as the carriage headed for the new home in the last shot? This speed-up definitely seemed to work AGAINST the sense of joy at the end; if anything, the music should have slowed down a bit and become more GRAND as "THE END" appeared on screen. Something seems too hurried and almost casual.
This is a fairly common structural problem with film scripts: emotionally compelling films that are designed with great care and detail, which then seem somewhat hurried toward the end, thus undercutting the big emotional payoff we're all waiting for.
Another example: "Roman Holiday" which spends TONS of time getting to the actual holiday, only to leave us feeling a bit shortchanged in the developing love between Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, so necessary to the heartbreak of the final scene.
Two films that get it absolutely RIGHT in terms of the pace and shape of the script, totally justifying the flood of emotion at the end: "It's a Wonderful Life" and Disney's "Pollyanna" (1960).
All of this is, of course, my own opinion and, considering the overall greatness of "Johnny Belinda" as a film, is a relatively minor complaint.
A wonderful film. LR