MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA tells the story of the last days of the wealthy and powerful Mannon family of New England in the days following the Civil War. Between patriarch Ezra Manning (Raymond Massey), his wife, Christine (Katina Paxinou), their daughter, Lavinia (Rosalind Russell) and their son, Orin (Michael Redgrave), there are more than enough dark secrets, concealed crimes and truly perverse family relationships to make even Tennessee Williams blush and look away.
The screenplay was adapted from Eugene O'Neil's play, which in turn was based on the Greek legend of Oresteia by Aeschylus. The director was Dudley Nichols. Although this intense and somewhat overwrought film was not a popular or financial success, it did win Oscar nominations for Rosalind Russell for Best Actress and Michael Redgrave for Best Actor. Russell won a Golden Globe and Redgrave won a National Board of Review award.
Here is a small sample of the dialogue as spoken by Orin Manning late in the film:
"I hate the daylight. It's like an accusing eye. We've renounced the day in which normal people live. Or rather it's renounced us. I find artificial light more appropriate for my work. Man's light, not God's. Man's feeble striving to understand himself, to exist for himself in the darkness. A symbol of his life: a lamp burning out in a room of waiting shadows."
Also starring Leo Genn, Henry Hull, Kirk Douglas and Nancy Coleman.
Can't say I have ever seen this flick, but that Orin Manning quote pretty well sums up my mindset while basking in the glow of the movie monitor during the wee hours.
ReplyDeleteI was always curious about this film because the title is so strange. That cheerful little quote is just one example of the darkness that permeates the story. It didn't occur to me that he may have been talking about watching television!!
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