[Ed. Note: Here are Part I and Part II of this series.]

I’ve seen John Ford’s Young Mr. Lincoln at least a dozen times, but screening it here at Hillsdale College made me see the film in an entirely new light.

In one of the most lyrical passages of the movie, Young Abe, played by the young Henry Fonda, studies a book of law and comes to a revelation:

“By jing, that’s all there is to it. Right and wrong.”

But his revelation is only complete when Ann Rutledge, Pauline Moore, appears on the scene.

John Ford was deeply rooted in Catholicism and Ann’s appearance has an almost divine quality.

We see only the briefest glimpse of their courtship. There’s an ellipses and abruptly Ann is dead.

Young Abe visits Ann’s grave where he carries on a conversation with her spirit. And then the grief-stricken Abe allows Ann to decide the direction of his life—and by implication the fate of the country.

The laws of man, Ford seems to be saying, can only be known when we recognize G-d.

Take a look at the clip:

Dan Ford, John Ford’s grandson, an assistant director, production manager and producer who was active in live television for over 25 years, delivered a fine, unsentimental lecture.

The year 1939 was not only a great year for Hollywood, but that was the year in which John Ford established himself as the premier director in America with: Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, and The Grapes of Wrath.

Dan observes:

Without taking away from the magnitude of John’s accomplishment, it should be said that three of these films—Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, and The Grapes of Wrath—were studio projects, films made on that marvelously efficient and immensely profitable assembly line called Twentieth Century Fox. The real story behind these three works is not so much John’s genius as an auteur director as his ability to work within the confines of the studio system and his volatile and sometimes quarrelsome relationship with Darryl Zanuck.

Dan Ford recognizes that Hollywood movies are a series of endless collaborations. But some collaborations yield more than others.

Dan Ford elaborates:

Judged by any standard, Zanuck was one of the most important figures in John Ford’s life. Zanuck steered him toward his greatest work, created an atmosphere that was supportive and creative, and brought the fine edge of discipline to his films. Perhaps more than any other man (and certainly more than John himself) he understood the kind of films that John was really good at. Yet, there was a considerable amount of tension in their relationship.

Zanuck insisted on a crisp pace and frequently recut Ford’s films, eliminating the slapstick humor and the broad sight gags of which Ford was so fond. Ford liked to dwell on little bits of business that slowed the pace of his films, while Zanuck, with bulldog tenacity, insisted on sticking to the storyline and maintaining a forward velocity.

Both men were stubborn and egocentric and their creative tensions yielded some of John Ford’s best work.

Dan Ford’s book, Pappy, The Life of John Ford, is a clear-eyed view of the life and work of his talented, cantankerous grandfather.  Highly recommended.

When not screening great movies and listening to erudite lectures, I had the opportunity to explore Hillsdale College and its lovely, historic campus.

I spent at least fifteen minutes gazing at this Civil War memorial.

From the Hillsdale website:

A higher percentage of Hillsdale students enlisted during the Civil War than from any other western college. Of the more than 400 who fought for the Union, four won the Congressional Medal of Honor, three became generals and many more served as regimental commanders. Sixty gave their lives.

Joe Cella, one of the many generous and courteous staff members responsible for inviting Big Hollywood to Hillsdale, took me aside and asked if I’d like to shoot trap.

Turns out that Hillsdale, which already has an excellent athletics program, is also building a world-class outdoor firearms education facility.

At Hillsdale, students put the Second Amendment into practice.

From a prospectus prepared by Hillsdale College:

In the Constitution of the United States of America, the Founding Fathers set forth the rights and responsibilities of self-government. They knew, however, that future Americans would enjoy those freedoms only as long as they understood and defended their underlying principles. Many Americans today have forgotten—or worse, have never even learned—the high ideals behind the country’s founding. Fortunately, there remain educated citizens who are aware of the subtle threats to the self-determination that is the right of every American.

The beautifully crafted shotguns were donated by Beretta to Hillsdale College.

Hillsdale College is one of only four colleges or universities in this country that require each student to take a course on the Constitution. Hillsdale students examine the Federalist Papers, read the Declaration of Independence, and study the Constitution in the context of important historical events in U.S. history. They learn that the Amendments are mutually supporting, thereby making the Constitution a “whole document” rather than a “living document.” They discover the reasoning and perspectives of the men who ratified the Constitution, giving them a deep understanding of the founding.

Here is your faithful screenwriter observing the Hillsdale College range, getting ready to shoot trap for the very first time.

Hillsdale College received an estate gift for the establishment of a world-class outdoor firearms education facility. This project creates exciting new opportunities not only to host shooting events, but also to present seminars on the Constitution to participants. This is a singular opportunity to help young people discover, and concerned adults rediscover, their rights and responsibilities as free people. Hillsdale College faculty and guest lecturers, who are among the finest constitutional scholars in the country, will teach these seminars. This initiative will help shooters and concerned citizens to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the philosophical and historical foundations of their country.

I’m using a Beretta 12 gauge shotgun. The clay flies at about 40 mph, and the range is approximately 50 yards. You can see the shell ejecting from the gun. Of about 20 shots, I only hit the clay three times. It is very difficult.

Movies and firearms. It’s a wonderful life.

Stay tuned for my next installment of, Hillsdale College: The Films of 1939.

For the next few days I will screen some landmark films from, arguably, Hollywood’s greatest year, and attend lectures by distinguished film scholars.

First impressions: Hillsdale is sort of like a set for a Frank Capra film.

Hillsdale College Campus.

About an hour from Detroit, Hillsdale is in the middle of flat farmland where white-tailed deer graze in golden fields.

Most of the buildings are informed by peaked roofs and references to classical Greek and Colonial architecture. The school is situated on 200 acres, has  100 full time faculty members and approximately 1,300 students.

Refusing all Federal dollars, Hillsdale is one of the few Conservative American colleges—Claremont and Grove City are two others that spring to mind—thus the school is truly independent, not shackled by government grants or political headwinds.

Hillsdale, a co-educational, liberal arts college, established by Freewill Baptists on Dec 4, 1844, was the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex. In the 1970s Hillsdale refused, on principle, to “submit Assurance of Compliance forms mandated by Title IX” of Affirmative Action programs, on the grounds that its own policies were  less discriminatory than those of the federal government.

The Constitution and our American freedoms are taken very seriously by administration and students alike.

Over the next few days I’ll report on Hillsdale College, and the Films of 1939.

Here’s my schedule:

Sunday, March 7, 2010

4:00 p.m. Showing of “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” (dir. Sam Wood)

8:00 p.m. “Hollywood in 1939”
David Thomson
Author, “Have You Seen…?” A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films

Monday, March 8, 2010

4:00 p.m. Showing of “Young Mr. Lincoln” (dir. John Ford)

8:00 p.m. “John Ford: Chronicler of America”
Dan Ford
Author, The Life of John Ford

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

4:00 p.m. Showing of “Ninotchka” (dir. Ernst Lubitsch)

8:00 p.m. “The Art of Ernst Lubitsch”
Scott Eyman
Palm Beach Post
Author, Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

“John Ford”

Lecture by John Marini

Claremont McKenna College, Professor of Political Science

4:00 p.m. Showing of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (dir. Frank Capra)

8:00 p.m. “Capra as Director”
Peter Bogdanovich
Director and Film Historian

Thursday, March 11, 2010

11:00 a.m. Faculty Roundtable

I need to keep track of three time zones: dual time piece displays (top) California, (bottom) New York. The second watch shows the local time. I know, I know, New York and Michigan are in the same time zone. What can I tell you. The redundancy is reassuring. If one watch quits, I have the second as back-up.

I have to tell you, I hate traveling. I hate being in new places. I hate not sleeping in my own bed. And I really hate being separated from the love of my life, Karen.

Look, when you’ve been in love with the same woman since age nine—I never said I was normal—being away from said woman induces a kind of inner chaos. It’s like, I’m gone for a few days and oh-oh, now she’s going to get wise to how easy life can be without yours truly always kvetching about everything under the sun.

Let’s face it, I’m a high maintenance husband.

Another reason I hate to travel, even to see great films, is because I always end up in some random corner of the universe—Japan, China, Kansas—where kosher food is not only unavailable, but not even a rumor.

But I have to hand it to Hillsdale. They have done everything possible to accommodate my religious observance.

Hillsdale’s Joe Cella, who assisted in promoting this film forum and invited me to attend, listened patiently over the phone and said:

“I’ll run the traps for some kosher food.”

I was like, “Huh?”

I felt like I was talking to Grizzly Adams.

Finally, Joe explained that running the traps is Midwestern talk for, y’know, getting stuff done.

So: I’ve got a refrigerator and microwave in my room. Tons of fresh fruit and salad, and of course all the food Karen packed for me.

Note to self: In the future, do not pack the diet Ginger Ale. The can explodes like a grenade at 30,000 ft.

I’ve been up for about sixteen hours.

Must get some sleep.

Stay tuned for further posts over the next few days.

Strolling along the Hillsdale campus, I discovered this statue of Margaret Thatcher. Be still my heart.

P.S. I am fuh-reezing.

It’s a truism among fans of classic movies that 1939 was the Hollywood cinema’s greatest year. But if it has become something of a cliche to say so, it’s only because it’s so undeniably true.

It’s really rather amazing to consider how many classic or transcendentally classic films were released during that annus mirabilis. Among the most highly praised then and in the ensuring years were the following:

• Gone with the Wind
• The Wizard of Oz
• Stagecoach
• Beau Geste
• Goodbye, Mr. Chips
• Gunga Din
• The Women
• Wuthering Heights
• The Roaring Twenties
• Love Affair

Those would be enough for a great year in itself, but there was so much more–such as Ninotchka, Only Angels Have Wings, Drums Along the Mohawk, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Allegheny Uprising, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Stanley and Livingston, The Man in the Iron Mask, Dark Victory, Of Mice and Men,Young Mr. Lincoln, The Rains Came, Midnight, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Union Pacific, Babes in Arms, The Little Princess, Another Thin Man, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, The Hardys Ride High, Golden Boy, Dodge City, Gulliver’s Travels, The Light That Failed, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Old Maid, Son of Frankenstein, Destry Rides Again, and many, many others of like quality.

And from overseas: The Rules of the Game, The Four Feathers, The Stars Look Down, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, and others.

And perhaps even more impressive is the high quality of even the year’s lower-budget films, such as Code of the Secret Service and Secret Service of the Air, both starring Ronald Reagan. What all the Hollywood films mentioned here shared was the industry’s ability at the time to alternate scenes of grandeur and intimacy with consummate skill and confidence.

The Hollywood movie factories had been perfected by the mid-1930s, and the studios were amazingly adept at turning out greatly entertaining movies that reflected and reinforced the values of their audience. Although the stars and other filmmaking principals were paid amazing sums of money then as they are now, the industry did not then reflect the elitism now rampant in Hollywood.

The studio moguls, who were largely self-made and from humble origins, enthusiastically accepted the nation’s founding values and made sure that their product reflected those notions.They did so both for patriotic reasons and because they knew that was the best way for them to make money.

Thus while MGM head Louis B. Mayer was a staunch Republican and the Warner Bros. were supporters of FDR, all shared a strong patriotic love for their nation and shared their audience’s values.

Also important was the more conservative social values that arose during the Depression 1930s after the social excesses of the Roaring Twenties. Audiences preferred movies to reflect values such as personal responsibility, long-term thinking, the value of hard work, personal sacrifice for the good of others, modesty, and the like. Hollywood was voluntarily under the authority of the Production Code, which set moral standards for the industry and protected the studios from a race to the moral bottom and an unbridled pursuit of sensationalism.

The Production Code was clearly not a straitjacket on creativity, given the impressive films made while it was in place during the 1930s through the 1950s. Contrary to the claims of many critics (and the Wikipedia entry cited here), the Production Code Administration was willing and in fact eager to work with producers to ensure that films could be as creative as possible without undermining the nation’s morals.

Refraining from undermining people’s morals may seem rather a quaint notion to many people today, but it indicates a sense of honor, decency, and humility that is sorely lacking among all to many purveyors of cultural products today.

Of course, there’s no sense in hoping for a return of the Production Code, but a greater sense of responsibility on filmmakers’ part would certainly be welcome. It would benefit the movies both morally and esthetically.