GRC 311- Austria in Hollywood



Syllabus: Spring, 2005 Lost your Syllabus? Download a pdf version. WEEK 1: January 18, 20 TU Introduction to the Course: logistics, texts, films, requirements Hollywood Immigrants and the Problem of Cultural Transfer: Why Austria? RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND: An Empire of Their Own, Chapters 1- 5 (on studio heads) TH Forced into Exile: Hollywood and the Second World War READ: City of Nets (Chapter 1) An Empire of Their Own, Part 2 (Chapters 6, 7 - studio lifestyles) German Hollywood: http://www.germanhollywood.com/ Austrians in Hollywood: http://www.germanhollywood.com/cinebook-AiH.html CLASS DISCUSSION: What does it mean to migrate for a person working in a cultural field? What kinds of identity politics can you engage in? PART 1: Politics and Stereotyping: World War II and Hollywood WEEK 2: January 25, 27 TU How Immigration Lead to Politics: The WW II Backlash READ: City of Nets, Chapter 2-6 (on the politics of refugees, their political situations, and the culture they generated) Schnauber, Hollywood Haven (passim; recommended) CLASS DISCUSSION: How a culture of immigration generated the most American of stereotypes TH Austrian Film Stereotypes: Before and After WW II The Great Waltz (Bio-Pic of Johann Strauss, II, the "Waltz King") The Emperor Waltz ("an American in Vienna") The Sound of Music (Austrians and Germans: packaging Nazis) READ: "Where are they now?: The Sound of Music" http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical010.html http://www.germanhollywood.com/som_main.html CLASS DISCUSSION: What representations of Austria (or Europe in general) exist? How do they change before and after the Second World War? WEEK 3: February 1, 3 TU Austria and the Politics of the Second World War: Victims READ: An Empire of Their Own, Chapters 8 and 9 (two generations of immigrants) City of Nets, Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11 (political backlash) CLASS DISCUSSION: Generations, the field of cultural production, and domestic politics: how Europe became unwelcome in the US TH The Third Man READ: excerpts from Drazin, In Search of The Third Man Kemp, "Retrospective: The Third Man" McFarland, "The Third Man: Context, Text and Intertextuality" CLASS DISCUSSION: The Third Man is one of the great thriller movies. What images of Europe and Vienna does it provide to the US? Who are "good guys" and "bad guys," and why? PART II: Exporting Actors and Celebrity: Casting, Marketing, & Career WEEK 4: February 8, 10 TU The Case of Hedy Lamarr: Shady Ladies and Vamps with Accents The Image: Ecstasy Algiers Comrade X READ: http://www.germanhollywood.com/lamarr.html On the Problem: City of Nets, 11-13 Pratt, "'O, Lubitsch, Where Wert Thou?'" On the Solution: "Female Inventors: Hedy Lamarr" Edison, "Interview with Hedy Lamarr" Kenneth Chang, "Hollywood Star's Wartime Secret" Weissberg "Calling Hedy Lamarr" Vogt, "Mystery in Palm Springs" CLASS DISCUSSION: How are these films designed to capitalize on Lamarr's established screen persona and real situation? What weaknesses are the films designed to cover up, from the point of view of the US audience? TH Klaus Maria Brandauer: Leading Man Becomes the Character Actor Mephisto Never Say Never Again Out of Africa READ: Thomas, "Brandauer's Career Accelerates" Jaehne. "Talking Heads: Out of Austria" (Interview w/ KMB) CLASS DISCUSSION: Brandauer is Austria's equivalent of a great Shakespearean actor. Mephisto was an Academy-Award-winning film that established him as an international star of sorts. What kind of international star is that? If you were his agent, what would you point to? Brandauer then gets a key small role in a Meryl Streep-Robert Redford extravaganza, and a seriously silly role as one of the great Bond villains. What kind of career moves does this represent? WEEK 5: February 15, 17 TU The Case of the "Gubernator": How to Use Celebrity Pumping Iron Conan the Barbarian READ: Christy, "The Great Life" (Schwarzenegger on Conan) Busch. "Mass Appeal" Woodman, "Meet Mr. Iron Will" Hibbert, "Take Me to Your Lederhosen" CLASS DISCUSSION: Why would a grown man do this? Find examples of or speculate on Arnold's calculations. Précis 1 Due: Comparing stereotypes, Third Man to Sound of Music TH From Terminator to Gubernator True Lies READ: http://www.schwarzenegger.com/en/index.asp http://www.germanhollywood.com/arnoldS.html Bruck, "Letter from California: Supermoderate!" "Historians Dispute Schwarzenegger's Convention Comments" "Briefmarke: Arnie zum 'Aufpicken'" (Arnie has a stamp!- picture) "Zum Ablecken: Arnie jetzt als Briefmarke" Seeßlen. "Arnold Schwarzenegger" CLASS DISCUSSION: What's different from his earlier personae? What does celebrity bring to politics? WEEK 6: February 22, 24 TU Celebrity's Afterlife: The Case of Alma (Mahler Gropius Werfel) Bride of the Wind READ: Tom Lehrer, "Alma" (song- listen, too!!) (download mp3) text Biography: Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel at http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.m/m038216.htm CLASS DISCUSSION: What is gendered about celebrity? Is it easier or harder for women to translate their celebrity across national lines? How do stereotypes function across lines? TH Exam 1 FIRST ONLINE QUIZ CLOSES AT NOON, FRIDAY (pick one basic film) PART III: Billy Wilder, Meta-Director: Adaptations and Cultural Boundaries WEEK 7: March 1, 4 TU Sex, Lies, and Politics: Sending Up the US and Its Industries One, Two, Three (Note: from a play by Ferenc Molnár) READ: Dassanowsky-Harris, "Billy Wilder's Germany" (both parts) http://www.germanhollywood.com/bwilder.html CLASS DISCUSSION: How does this picture bridge the gap between Europe and America? What stereotypes are at play? How are the Cold War and the "Coca-Colonization" of Marshall Plan Europe dealt with? TH Making Marilyn Some Like It Hot READ: Excerpts from Sikov, On Sunset Boulevard CLASS DISCUSSION: This film was made after the Production Code went in, censoring the contents of movies with respect to sex and violence. How far did Wilder actually go? That is, what images did he craft for Monroe and Lemmon particularly, and how "American" are they? WEEK 8: March 8, 10 TU The Meta-Picture: Transacting Hollywood History Sunset Boulevard READ: Finish excerpts from Sikov, On Sunset Boulevard CLASS DISCUSSION: Wilder knew his Hollywood history, and so peopled this film with luminaries from older generations of filmmaking, especially in figures like Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Cecil B. de Mille, and the card-playing comedians. Even more interesting, however, is the way in which the visual styles surrounding the characters alters. Up for discussion: what looks and sounds modern or old-fashioned in the film? Consider this film with respect to City of Nets, and as a "film noir." TH Everything Old is New Again: Scripts with Legs Ace in the Hole Mad City CLASS DISCUSSION: Costa-Gavras remade this classic Wilder script about the effects of publicity, even though "Ace in the Hole" has not been re- released, arguably because it is the nastiest movie Wilder ever made. Compare the careerist newsmen. SPRING BREAK: March 12-March 20 SECOND ONLINE QUIZ CLOSES AT NOON, FRIDAY, OF SPRING BREAK (pick one Wilder film) PART IV: "Translation," "Adaptation," and "Remakes": Boundary-Crossings WEEK 9: March 22, 24 TU Adapting Europe for the Rubes: "The Lubitsch Touch" as Satire Ninotchka To Be or Not to Be READ: http://www.germanhollywood.com/gotmail.html Melehy, "Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be" Gemünden, "Space out of Joint: Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be" CLASS DISCUSSION: Lubitsch is famous for the elegance and wit of his cinema technique -- how telling gestures and a light touch can be used to make extreme points. These two films use comedy in the midst of political tragedies (the Nazi era and Soviet-era political repression). What does the audience "learn" about politics from these comedies? TH The Politics of Adaptation READ: Lefevere, Translation, Rewriting, and the Manipulation of Literary Fame Chapter 1, "Prewrite"; Chapter 2: "The System: Patronage" CLASS DISCUSSION: "Translation" or adaptation (especially with remakes) requires awareness of a source and a target -- two frames of reference, each including a culture's sense of stereotype, genre, etc., and an audience with a specific set of viewing habits. The challenge for an adaptor is to make the source material fit the target. What kinds of issues must be dealt with in moving materials across national, audience, language, or time boundaries? WEEK 10: March 29, 31 TU Entertainers (Hookers?) with Heart: One Theme, Three Generations Irma La Douce Sweet Charity Moulin Rouge (and never forget Gigi, the musical off a French short story) CLASS DISCUSSION: What kind of stereotype do these women play, and why do hookers need to play in musicals? Compare Shirley McLaine and Nicole Kidman. What other elements of the filmmaking are borrowed from Wilder's Irma? (Look particularly at the visual and dance styles.) Précis 2 due: Lubitsch's Politics TH Film Showing: Wilder, The Matchmaker (dir. Anthony) THIRD ONLINE QUIZ CLOSES AT NOON, FRIDAY (pick one Lubitsch film) WEEK 11: April 5, 7 TU Case Study: Urban Decadence, Vienna 1900 and Manhattan 1990 READ: Arthur Schnitzler, "Dream Story" CLASS DISCUSSION: What's relevant to today in this novella? What seems dated? What does the novella say about the relations between men and women? TH The Remake: Changing Audiences and Nations Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut (note: parts very r-rated; fast forward is good) CLASS DISCUSSION: Argue for or against EWS as successful adaptation. Consider Kubrick's preservation of the original's themes; what had to be changed to make the topic work for today's audience. (Note that Schnitzler has been adapted repeatedly. The most familiar case is his play Reigen (Hands Around, La Ronde, or Rondeley), which turned into Max Ophüls' classic film, La Ronde (1950), Tom Stoppard¹s Dalliance (1986), and David Hare¹s The Blue Room (1998), which starred Kidman on Broadway.) WEEK 12: April 12, 14 TU The Plot Thickens: Adaptations READ: Oxenford, A Day Well Spent READ: Thornton Wilder, Merchant of Yonkers and Matchmaker CLASS DISCUSSION: Wilder did not get his material directly from Oxenford, he got it off of Johann Nestroy's Einen Jux will er sich machen (A Night Out, or He Wants to Have a Lark, Vienna, premiered 1842 and published 1844). The matchmaker figure emerges in Nestroy as somewhat more important than in Oxenford. What changes are necessary to update a play over a century? Check particularly what stands in the way of the marriages, as keys to social values. TH Merchant of Yonkers to The Matchmaker to Hello, Dolly The Matchmaker (with Shirley Booth) Hello, Dolly READ: http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/albm69.html Dunne, "Dolly's Dilemma" Hirschorn, "In the Picture" Kelly, "Directing Dolly" CLASS DISCUSSION: These are two theater pieces transformed into films (one play, one musical). Compare the characterizations especially of the matchmakers, Streisand and Booth, especially in light of casting decisions and the need for "bankable" stars." GROUP PROJECT DUE: Wilder's Subversions WEEK 13: April 19, 21 TU The Dark Side of Adaptation: From Play to Musicals Liliom (by Fritz Lang, another Austrian!!) Carousel READ: Ferenc Molnar, Liliom http://www.germanhollywood.com/metrop_1.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel_(musical) http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical013.html CLASS DISCUSSION: This is another set of adaptations, but this time it's one play, one film of the play, and then a musical. Compare the descriptions of the male-female relationships in them. TH Film showing: Lubitsch, Merry Widow WEEK 14: April 26, 28 T What Directors Do: Adapting Visual Grammars Lubitsch, Merry Widow Wilder, Emperor Waltz READ: Isaacs, "Lubitsch and the Filmed-Play Syndrome" On Lehar and The Merry Widow: http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.l/l371666.htm http://www.musicals101.com/widowhist.htm http://www.musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/lehar/index.html On Emperor Franz Joseph (the Emperor of the film): http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.f/f677824.htm CLASS DISCUSSION: What elements do or do not look like US movies to you? How literal are these cameras? TH Adapting Action Heroes: Michael Kertez/Curtiz Der junge Medardus Captain Blood The Heir: Master and Commander READ: http://www.germanhollywood.com/casabl_curtiz.html http://www.germanhollywood.com/casabl.html Cordingly, Under the Black Flag, excerpts CLASS DISCUSSION: What makes a directorial "fingerprint"? How original was Michael Curtiz? Remember he's also responsible for Casablanca and a lot of other Hollywood classics, including White Christmas. PART V: "Mit Schlag": Adapting Creampuffs from the Austrian Theater WEEK 15: May 3, 5 T From Vienna to Early Broadway to the Big Screen: Adapting Genre Early Musical Greats: Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald Sweethearts New Moon Rosemarie Meta Comments: Kiss Me, Kate READ: websites on operetta, stars, and major composers (cruise them) Operetta: http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.o/o444055.htm Broadway versions: http://www.musicals101.com/ Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald http://www.maceddy.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Eddy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanette_MacDonald http://www.reeljewels.com/eddy/ http://www.dandugan.com/maytime/ http://www.musicals101.com/who6c.htm#MacDonald http://www.musicals101.com/who2d.htm#Eddy Johann Strauss: http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.s/s910222.htm Rudolf Friml http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=11702 http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=104 http://nfo.net/cal/tf6.html#Friml http://www.musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/friml/friml.html Victor Herbert http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8949 http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2002/03/herbert1.htm http://nfo.net/cal/th8.html#Herbert http://www.musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/herbert_victor/victorherbert.html Sigmund Romberg http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=8686 http://nfo.net/cal/tr5.html http://www.musicaltheatreguide.com/composers/romberg/romberg.html CLASS DISCUSSION: Lubitsch's Merry Widow is a filming of a classical Viennese operetta. These came over to Broadway before World War I as the start of the American musical, with European-born or -trained composers like Victor Herbert (Babes in Toyland), Rudolf Friml, and Sigmund Romberg (Desert Song, Student Prince). What looks to you like musicals, and what doesn't? TH Some Conclusions: The Persistence of Europe in Hollywood CLASS DISCUSSION: Final exam preparation: what still remains of the Austrian and European heritage in Hollywood? Consider styles, genres, influential directors, and a cultural locus. Who from Europe is "immigrating" today? FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, 18 May, 9 to 12 noon FOURTH ONLINE QUIZ CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM (on an adapted film) This page was last updated: 10 January 2005 Website maintained by: webmaster [Accessibility Information][website established July 15, 2004]

Syllabus: Spring, 2005