America America (1963)

My reviews have slowed because of a big project I'm doing (unrelated to movies). For this reason, it was an especially bad time to receive a 174-minute disc. Nevertheless, I was a bit curious to see Elia Kazan's favorite of his own oeuvre—realizing that it was less so for quality than for personal relevance as the history of his uncle.

The plot's actually rather plain: In the late 1890s, young man Stavros, like many other Europeans, wants to move to the U.S. But unlike in other such stories I've seen, he takes an awfully long time to acquire enough money for a third-class ticket. One disadvantage he has is in being a Greek in Turkey. Most of his comrades either don't want or can't hope to leave, but after witnessing some of the Armenian genocide and realizing the Greeks might be next, Stavros won't accept his dad's plan for him to gradually pay the family's way to Constantinople.

Baby Doll (1956)

I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to see a Tennessee Williams story about a young woman regarded as immature if not babyish. When I learned that it was controversial, I expected something along the lines of Lolita. Fortunately, I soon confirmed that the title character (Carroll Baker), who never uses her real first name, married as a virgin at 18 -- less than half the apparent age of her husband, Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden), but that wasn't the scandal.

The Meighans have had a deal not to do something unspecified until her upcoming 20th birthday; from his eagerness, it's not hard to guess what. Understandably, she doesn't share his eagerness, not least because he hasn't been the great businessman she was led to believe. In desperation for success, Archie secretly sabotages the industry of rival Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach) and then tries to talk him into a merger, leaving Baby Doll to entertain him for a while. Things get mighty suggestive between her and Vacarro, tho it's not the conquest he chiefly has in mind....

Viva Zapata! (1952)

After watching, I thought I should have saved this for Friday. Further research told me that Cinco de Mayo commemorates an event nearly 50 years before the Mexican Revolution, depicted herein. In fact, Porfirio Díaz, one of the heroes of the Battle of Puebla, is pretty much a villain this time around. It must be hard to remain in the good graces of the common people after 35 years as president.

The focal new hero is Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando), one of many peasants whose land has been stolen and who find Díaz unhelpful in their quest not to starve. He becomes a general of the rebellion that ushers in a new president. But the movie's only about half over before he and his brother, Eufemio (Anthony Quinn), find something a greater challenge than war: peace. If "peace" is the right word.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

This has to be the first movie I've seen because of the title appearing in a Warner Bros. cartoon, albeit on a copy of the book. Despite its high praise, it took a long time to become an option on Netflix, which made me wonder if it hadn't aged well. Now the only major negative I can think of is director Elia Kazan's history of getting people blacklisted during the Red Scare, which might hinder distribution of all but his most popular works.

At first, with young protagonist Francie and her brother swiping and pawning goods, I mistook the setting for the Great Depression, but it turns out to have been an even harder period for some: the early 1900s. The main family includes at least one person who remembers Ireland, and the father (James Gleason in an award-winning role) likes to play up his heritage with jolly songs like "Molly Malone"...and getting "sick" too often for comfort, as his wife likes to put it to the children. Such a setup for a two-hour drama got me thinking I'd best do something else while half-watching and mostly listening. Mercifully, as the title hints, the story doesn't settle into despair. Not for long, anyway.