THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Eliot's 'Murder in the Cathedral,' British-Made Film, Shown at Trans-Lux 60th St. (original) (raw)
THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Eliot's 'Murder in the Cathedral,' British-Made Film, Shown at Trans-Lux 60th St.
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- March 26, 1952
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Whatever literary merits T. S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral" may have and whatever strange dramatic virtues it may possess in performance on a stage, it is obvious that this stylized verse drama is not felicitous material for the screen. This fact was amply demonstrated at the Trans-Lux Sixtieth Street yesterday, where this two-year-old British-made picture had its American première.For, in spite of an excellent production and bold direction by George Hoellering and in spite of an eloquent recital by a virtually organ-voiced cast, Mr. Eliot's long poetic discourse on the preparation of Thomas a Becket for martyrdom completely eludes projection in cohesive and exciting visual terms.There are flashes of stark pictorial beauty in some of the somber scenes of prelates and noblemen and worshippers gathered in the Archbishop's Hall of Canterbury Cathedral, where the entire action of the play takes place. And some nods toward cinema dynamics are more or less effectively made in not too imaginative cutting for dramatic emphasis and flow.But, for the most part, Mr. Eliot's cold recounting of Becket's defiance of the King and his murder by helmeted assassins for insisting upon the Church's authority is conveyed in lengthy orations by individuals and choral groups, photographed in static poses and solemnly massed attitudes. Clashes of wills and personalities are played almost wholly in words, with gestures and shows of emotion conspicuously restrained. The consequence is a lot of talking for a matter of more than two hours, with virtually nothing happening that excites or informs the eye.Fortunately, the spoken words have richness as they flow off the cultivated tongues of handsomely costumed performers who, at least, look their medieval roles. Father John Groser, an English cleric, is grandly dignified and benign as the conscientious Archbishop who coolly calculates his martyrdom and Alexander Gauge is forceful as King Henry in a scene especially written for the film. Any number of other English actors are eloquent as Tempters, Priests and Knights, and Mr. Eliot quite effectively puts his own voice (but not his person) into one scene—the key scene, in which the Fourth Tempter persuades Becket to play for martyrdom.The ecclesiastical settings and ornaments are of the best, and the play is faithfully rendered. That is apparently what's wrong.
MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL, screen play by T. S. Eliot; directed and produced by George Hoellering. Released here by Classic Pictures, Inc. At the Trans-Lux Sixtieth Street Theatre.Thomasa Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury . . . . . Father John GroserKing Henry II . . . . . Alexander GaugeFirst Tempter . . . . . David WardSecond Tempter . . . . . George WoodbridgeThird Tempter . . . . . Basil BurtonFourth Tempter, spoken by . . . . . T. S. EliotFirst Priest . . . . . Donald BissetSecond Priest (Prior) . . . . . Clement McCallinThird Priest . . . . . Michael GroserFirst Knight . . . . . Mark DignamSecond Knight . . . . . Michael AldridgeThird Knight . . . . . Leo McKernFourth Knight . . . . . Paul RogersBishop Foliot . . . . . Alban BlakelockHerald . . . . . Niall MacGinnis
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