Mourning Becomes Electra
by Dudley Nichols
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Actor: Katina Paxinou, Leo Genn, Michael Redgrave, Raymond Massey, Rosalind RussellDirector: Dudley Nichols
Brand: RUSSELL,ROSALIND
Cinematographer: George Barnes
Producer: Dudley Nichols
Writer: Dudley Nichols
Editor: Chandler House
Editor: Roland Gross
Producer: Edward Donahue
Writer: Eugene O'Neill
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 159 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-12-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Mourning Becomes Electra
DVD Review: A watered down and rather cold version of O'Neill's plays
Summary: 3 Stars
"Mourning Becomes Electra" is not simply Eugene O'Neill's updated version of the "Orestia" by Aeschylus. The ancient Greek tragedy, which has the distinction of being the first dramatic work to be performed a second time, was a celebration of the Athenian system of justice. But what O'Neill focuses on in turning the story of the House of Atreus after the Trojan War into the Mannon family of New England following the end of the Civil War, is the cycle of vengeance. O'Neill changes the precipitating event for the cycle, forgoing an Iphigenia-like figure to talk about a Mannon ancestor being a judge at the Salem Witch Trials and to reinvent Thyestes as a disinherited relative whose progeny comes back for revenge. Likewise, the uplifting ending of the "Orestia," where Orestes claims his right to be forgiven, is foregone to place the onus on ending the cycle squarely on the Electra-character. Furthermore, with a justice system in place the first murder results from an act of remission, while another is covered up as a robbery and a third become a suicide, all of which play against the original tale.
This black & white 1947 film, directed and scripted by Dudley Nichols, runs 173 minutes, but given that the original drama is really three plays, just like the "Orestia," this is reducing the scope of O'Neill's work by half. Adding insult to injury, there is was a 105-minute edited version at one point (the mind shudders to think of reducing O'Neill's epic to about the length of a single, long act). Titles appear to let the viewers now when we are moving from one part of the drama to the next. First, is "The Homecoming," in which General Ezra Mannon (Raymond Massey) returns home from the war. His doting daughter Lavinia (Rosalind Russell) is happy to see him, but Ezra's wife, Christine (Katina Paxinou) is not. She has been having an affair with Adam Brant (Leo Genn), a sea captain who is son of the disinherited Mannon and a servant girl. Ever since Ezra went away to war, taking her beloved son, Orin (Michael Redgrave) with him, Christine has been wishing for her husband's death. When he comes home seeking to reconcile with his wife, she refuses his advances and with her confessions bring on a heart attack, she does not give him his medicine. But before he dies, Ezra points an accusing finger at Christine and declares her "guilty" in front of Lavinia.
"The Hunted" begins with Orin returning home, having recovered from a head wound he received in the war. The beloved son of his mother, Lavinia has to convince her brother that Christine in responsible for the death of their father. Confronting Orin with proof of their mother's infidelity, Lavinia does not spur her brother to kill his mother, but rather to kill Brant. Getting way with the murder he tells Christine what he has done which drives her to suicide, leaving Orin crazed with remorse. The final part, "The Haunted," is where O'Neill diverge the most from Aeschylus. Instead of Orestes haunted by the Furies for slaying Clytemnestra and avenging Agamemnon, Orin's torment is entirely psychological. Meanwhile, Lavinia is being courted by Peter Niles (Kirk Douglas), who represents the possibility of a happy life freed from the Mannon curse. But instead of ending with a new notion of justice, "Mourning Becomes Electra" concludes with the symbolic end of the Mannon family.
The maritime background of O'Neill is present in these dramas, but more important is the Puritanism of his native New England. The curse on this family is entirely sexual in nature, from what happened with the servant girl before the current Mannon mansion was built to the sins of this generation. Even though Agamemnon brought home Cassandra from Troy as his concubine, Clytemnestra killed him because of the sacrifice of Iphigenia. But for O'Neill it is all about the sex, including having Brant talking Lavinia for a moonlight walk before settling on her mother as his conquest. The problem is that this is the sort of sex that is behind closed doors, the results of not only the inherent Puritanism of the characters but also the strictures of early 20th-century American theater and the Hayes office. The result is talking about it without really talking about it, and with a cold passion that is rather disconcerting.
Ironically, the stiff formality of the acting performances are more in keeping with ancient Greek drama than with modern American theater, which only serves to distance the drama from the audience. For me there is another intervening layer because I know that when RKO bought the rights to "Mourning Becomes Electra" Katharine Hepburn tried to put together a production in which she would play Lavinia and Greta Garbo would come out of retirement to play Christine. Once your eyes bug out at the thought of that casting it is hard to watch Russell and Paxinou without being disappointed at what might have been. The result is an odd and decidedly not "little" film that fails to do O'Neill justice.
Description of Mourning Becomes Electra
Near the end of the Civil War, the proud residents of Mannon Manor await the return of shipping tycoon Ezra Mannon (The Old Dark House?s Raymond Massey) and son Orin (Dead of Night?s Michael Redgrave). Meanwhile Extra?s conniving wife Christine (Rocco and His Brothers? Katina Paxinou) and daughter Lavinia (Auntie Mame?s Rosalind Russell) vie for the love of a handsome captain (Leo Genn) with a dark secret while well-meaning neighbor Peter (Academy AwardŽ winner Kirk Douglas) sets his sights on Lavinia. Poisoning, infidelity, gunshots and shocking family secrets explode in a haunting climax that will never be forgotten. Adapted from the classic play by Eugene O?Neill, this powerhouse classic is a tour de force of American cinema! This often censored drama features a dramatic all-star cast! Now presented in the longest restored version in existence!Bestsellers in DVD
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