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Rewind: Chayefsky's writing a gift to share
[Times files]
Actor Peter Finch, left, who won a posthumous Oscar for this performance in Network, plays TV newscaster Howard Beale, discussing his show with the head of the network news division, played by William Holden. |
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 1, 2002
Paddy Chayefsky was the finest writer to emerge from television's Golden Age and go to work in the movies.
Chayefsky died of cancer on this date 21 years ago, leaving behind an impressive list of screenplays, adapted and original. He also added at least two phrases to the national lexicon: "Whaddaya wanna do tonight?" from Marty and, most memorably, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" from Network.
More often, Chayefsky's characters expressed themselves in long, expository monologues that actors coveted. You can judge who best handled Chayefsky's gift by revisiting these home video selections:
As Young as You Feel: Chayefsky's first screen credit, in 1951, was for his story (scripted by Lamar Trotti) about a 65-year-old man (Monty Woolley) pulling a ruse to avoid forced retirement. It's nothing special, except for the too-brief appearances by an ingenue named Marilyn Monroe. Marty: The teleplay that made television grow up in 1953 became the best picture Oscar winner of 1955 and earned Chayefsky his first of three Academy Awards. Ernest Borgnine is magnificent (and an Oscar winner) for his role as a lonely butcher courting a wallflower schoolteacher (Betsy Blair). The Catered Affair: A young, struggling couple (Debbie Reynolds, Rod Taylor) expect a small wedding until her parents (Borgnine, Bette Davis) turn it into a lavish ceremony. Chayefsky's stage play was adapted by Gore Vidal. The Bachelor Party: Five co-workers get drunk and confess how they really feel about each other. Don Murray is very good as the increasingly reluctant groom, and Carolyn Jones was Oscar-nominated for her supporting role. The Goddess: Kim Stanley is superb as a small-town girl turned movie star, a thinly veiled account of Monroe's legend made while she was alive. Chayefsky's screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. The Americanization of Emily: Before the D-Day invasion, a wiseacre soldier (James Garner) falls in love with an Englishwoman (Julie Andrews) and accepts a senseless mission to become the first victim at Normandy Beach. This sharp, cynical satire flopped in 1964 because moviegoers expected Andrews to be Mary Poppins again. Paint Your Wagon: Chayefsky adapted the Lerner and Loewe musical, a bawdy gold rush comedy that starred Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood as mining partners married to the same woman (Jean Seberg). Yes, the tough guys sing -- poorly -- but that's part of the appeal of a movie that always stops my channel surfing. The Hospital: Forget Patton. George C. Scott should've won the Oscar (then turned it down) for his fiery portrayal of a hospital director under personal and professional siege. The scene where Scott rails against the medical system, comparing it with his impotence, is a classic. Chayefsky's screenplay won an Oscar. Network: A newscaster loses his sanity and makes more sense than anyone else in Chayefsky's satire of television ethics. Peter Finch became the first posthumous best actor Academy Award winner for his portrayal of Howard Beale, a ratings bonanza who gets too truthful, therefore too dangerous, for executives William Holden and Faye Dunaway (Oscar winner) to keep alive. Chayefsky's best screenwriting and his third Oscar winner. Altered States: William Hurt made his debut in 1980 as a scientist obsessed with finding evolution's missing link. Chayefsky adapted his novel but was credited using the pseudonym Sidney Aaron after a feud with director Ken Russell. The writer didn't like the way Russell was rushing the actors through his dense, ultratechnical dialogue. Chayefsky disowned the movie and held a grudge until his death the next year.
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