#fred zinneman

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Grand Central Station, 1932.

Photo: Fred Zinneman via Invaluable Auctions

[margowendice]

"Some men think the earth is round, others think it´s flat. It is a matter of capable questions. But if it is flat, will the kings command make it round? And if it is round, will the Kings command flatten it? No. I will not sign."

A Man for All Seasons (1966).

director: Fred Zinnemann.

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On the surface, “A Man for All Seasons” is one of those stuffy British costume dramas from the 1960s, but I have such a soft spot for it. I first watched it when I got obsessed with the English Reformation when I was taking AP Euro. My first viewing happened to coincide with a prolonged, public saga my family was embroiled in with our Archdiocese at the time, so Thomas More being held up as an ultimate example of integrity in the Catholic Church was oddly reassuring. The irony also isn’t lost on me that the Church screwed over my family while the movie is about a man standing up for it. NB: For what it’s worth, the way the Church’s fucked over my family during this time was NOT, for a change, related to child sexual abuse.

I claimed to love the movie after my first watch. That was a huge fucking lie. There were a couple good parts but I found it stodgy and pretentious. Despite that judgment, the dialogue contained several nuggets that really resonated with me during that year from hell when we going up against the Church. It’s these jewels (as well as my since-continued fascination with the English Reformation) that motivated me watch it again and again over the next couple of years whenever it was on TCM.

In a script (and play) of absolute gems, the most famous line is probably More’s response to Rich’s perjured allegation against him: “It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Wales?” That’s the line i really responded to after my first viewing. My family were being victimized by people flooding the Archdiocese with cash and the Archdiocese was doing their bidding for that money. For the Arch, my family was Wales.

However, I now find myself find myself drawn to More’s hypothetical defense of the Devil after his son-in-law suggests that every law should be cast aside to go after him. More vigorously responds (I’m leaving some stuff out here):

And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws…Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down…do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

I was teen during those years and I was angry and wanted vengeance on the assholes who hurt my family. 15+ years later, I recognize the nuances of the entire situation; the person I initially perceived as the principal villain was just as much a victim himself (he was eventually punished with his own form of exile) while the main perpetrators, who I only learned about much later, have gone unaccountable with some going on to even greater and undeserved success. But More's defense of the Devil resonates with me because it tells us so much about the law and its purpose. Not to sound naive and like Pollyanna, if you cast it aside for even an instant, how can you trust that it won't be discarded when you truly need it. That's how it felt during that year when these people in power at the Archdiocese were discarding long-standing policy when it came to my family's situation. While they may not have been violating the law (may not- I wasn't privy to my parents' legal counsel), I can't help but laugh whenever that Archdiocese (or the Church in general) whines about legal judgment being served against them in any of the child sexual abuse cases. How can they lay down the laws and then expect them to be there for them when it's convenient. More's retort about selling your soul for so little ties in so nicely here. I didn't expect to go on and on about this. I just happened to put on the movie the in the background while I worked and wanted to say I don't think it gets the credit it deserves. However, I also understand the stuffy costume drama critiques bc they are definitely valid. I love the movie but that is still true. Paul Scofield's performance as More is such a grounded portrayal of integrity and principle. It seems like it should be impossible to embody that kind of ethic without grandstanding or pomposity but it's such a masterful turn and should be studied. Leo McKern is also fantastic and turns out such a droll, bitchy performance as an unapologetic henchman of Henry VIII. He's a delight every time he's on screen.

[boireuncoup]

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The six-day cycling race at the Madison Square Garden Velodrome, 1932.

Photo: Fred Zinneman via A New Yorker State of Mind

[newyorkthegoldenage]

New York city, the incomparable, the brilliant star city of cities, the forty-ninth state, a law unto itself, the Cyclopean Paradox, the inferno with no-out-of bounds, the supreme expression of both the miseries and the splendors of contemporary civilization, the Macedonia of the United States. It meets the most severe test that may be applied to definition of a metropolis—it stays up all night. But also it becomes a small town when it rains.

     —John Gunther

Photo: Rainy street, 1932. Fred Zinneman via Luminous Lint

[newyorkthegoldenage]

“The Great Depression: A Sign of the Times,” 1932. Elderly man carries a sign reading, “I demand my life savings $2950 from the Bankers Trust Co. 14 Wall St. NY.”

Photo: Fred Zinneman via Bridgeman Images

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Rainy day on Fifth Avenue, 1932.

Photo: Fred Zinneman via Les Doubles Six