Come and Get It (film)
Encyclopedia
Come and Get It is a 1936 American drama film
directed by Howard Hawks
and William Wyler
. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Jules Furthman
is based on the 1935 novel of the same title by Edna Ferber
.
), who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal as he rises in rank from lowly lumberjack
to the head of the logging
industry in 19th century Wisconsin
. His determination to succeed eventually leads him to end his relationship with saloon singer Lotta Morgan (Frances Farmer
) and marry Emma Louise Hewitt (Mary Nash
), the daughter of his boss Jed Hewett (Charles Halton
), in order to secure a partnership in his business.
Two decades later, Barney and Emma Louise's son Richard (Joel McCrea
) strongly objects to his father's practice of destroying forests without planting new trees. Barney visits his old friend Swan Bostrom (Walter Brennan
), who married Lotta when Barney rejected her. Swan is now a widower raising a daughter, also named Lotta (also played by Frances Farmer), who bears a striking resemblance to her mother. Barney finds himself attracted to the girl and, foolishly hoping to recapture the love he abandoned as a young man, offers to finance her education. Complications arise when Richard meets Lotta and takes a strong interest in her, which is reciprocated, much to Barney's displeasure and jealousy.
paid $150,000 for the screen rights to the Edna Ferber novel, who sold it to him confident he understood she had intended it to be "primarily a story of the rape of America . . . by the wholesale robber barons
of that day." Goldwyn was attracted to the melodrama
tic Barbary Coast
-like aspects of the story, which prompted him to hire that film's director, Howard Hawks
, to bring Come and Get It to the screen. He also was intrigued by the fact Hawks' grandfather had served as the basis for the character of Barney Glasgow. Ferber had approved Jane Murfin's script, which Hawks found wanting, and he persuaded her and Goldwyn to allow him to bring in Jules Furthman
to work on a rewrite.
Goldwyn announced Miriam Hopkins
would play the dual roles of Lotta Morgan and Lotta Bostrom, but Hawks was not happy with his choice. He looked at numerous screen tests of aspiring starlet
s and finally settled on Andrea Leeds
, who previously had played minor or uncredited roles in a handful of films. Eventually he replaced her with the even less experienced Frances Farmer
and cast her in the supporting role of Ewie Glasgow, Richard's younger sister, instead. Goldwyn tried to borrow Spencer Tracy
from MGM
for the lead role of Barney Glasgow, but Louis B. Mayer
refused to let him work for his chief rival, so contract player Edward Arnold
was assigned the role.
Soon after filming began, Goldwyn underwent two major surgeries that incapacitated him for a lengthy period of time, keeping him away from the studio and the daily rushes
. Hawks took advantage of the situation and allowed Furthman to change completely the tone of Ferber's original story; cast slender Walter Brennan
as Swan Bostrom, a man Ferber had described as "the strongest man in the North woods;" and arrange a shooting schedule and budget Goldwyn never would have approved.
Upon returning to the studio, Goldwyn viewed a rough cut of the film and was shocked to discover Hawks had shifted the focus from the unbridled destruction of the land to a love triangle in which brawling Barney Glasgow and Swan Bostrom vied for the affections of lusty Lotta Morgan. The character of Richard Glasgow, intended to be the second lead, barely was in the film, which was cluttered with Hawks-like improvised bits of business. When the director refused to comply with Goldwyn's demands for major changes, the producer fired Hawks from the project.
William Wyler
had begun post-production work on Dodsworth
when he was summoned to Goldwyn's home and told he would be completing Come and Get It. Wyler was loath to take over a film started by someone else, but Goldwyn threatened him with suspension if he refused to accept the assignment. He did so reluctantly, and in later years he recalled, "I was talked into doing it, and I've been sorry about that ever since. The picture wasn't very good." Wyler spent two weeks filming what amounted to about the final third of the completed film. He strongly objected to Goldwyn's desire to give him sole directing credit, and preferred his name not be attached to the film at all. He finally relented but only when Goldwyn agreed to give Hawks top billing. Wyler never considered Come and Get It a part of his filmography and disowned it whenever he could, although it greatly pleased Ferber, who praised Goldwyn "for the courage, sagacity, and power of decision" he demonstrated by "throwing out the finished Hawks picture and undertaking the gigantic task of making what amounted to a new picture."
Exterior scenes were filmed along the North Fork Clearwater River
in Idaho
.
The soundtrack includes "Aura Lea" by George R. Poulton
and W. W. Fosdick
and "The Bird on Nellie's Hat" by Alfred Solman and Arthur J. Lamb
.
Edward Arnold reprised the role of Barney Glasgow in two radio adaptations of the Ferber novel. The first aired on Lux Radio Theater
on November 13, 1937, and the second was broadcast by The Screen Guild Theater
on March 15, 1942.
British Channel 4
observed, "It's a minor Hawks, to be sure, and the action does tend to lag at times, but the fine performances from Farmer, Brennan and McCrea are what make it."
. Edward Curtiss was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing but lost to Ralph Dawson
for Anthony Adverse
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
and William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman was a magazine and newspaper writer before working as a screenwriter.Born in Chicago, Illinois, during World War I he wrote under the name "Stephen Fox." Furthman wrote screenplays for a number of important or popular films, including: The Docks of New York , Thunderbolt , Merely...
is based on the 1935 novel of the same title by Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
.
Plot
The story focuses on ruthless Barney Glasgow (Edward ArnoldEdward Arnold (actor)
Edward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
), who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal as he rises in rank from lowly lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
to the head of the logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
industry in 19th century Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. His determination to succeed eventually leads him to end his relationship with saloon singer Lotta Morgan (Frances Farmer
Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
) and marry Emma Louise Hewitt (Mary Nash
Mary Nash
-Early life:Nash was born on August 15, 1884 in Troy, New York, to parents Philip Nash, who worked for B. F. Keith Vaudeville Circuit, and Ellen Frances MacNamara. She was educated at the Convent of St. Anne in Montreal and trained for acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts...
), the daughter of his boss Jed Hewett (Charles Halton
Charles Halton
Charles Halton was a stern-faced American character actor who appeared in over 180 films.One of his most memorable portrayals was as Carter, the bank examiner in It's a Wonderful Life...
), in order to secure a partnership in his business.
Two decades later, Barney and Emma Louise's son Richard (Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
) strongly objects to his father's practice of destroying forests without planting new trees. Barney visits his old friend Swan Bostrom (Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
), who married Lotta when Barney rejected her. Swan is now a widower raising a daughter, also named Lotta (also played by Frances Farmer), who bears a striking resemblance to her mother. Barney finds himself attracted to the girl and, foolishly hoping to recapture the love he abandoned as a young man, offers to finance her education. Complications arise when Richard meets Lotta and takes a strong interest in her, which is reciprocated, much to Barney's displeasure and jealousy.
Production
Samuel GoldwynSamuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
paid $150,000 for the screen rights to the Edna Ferber novel, who sold it to him confident he understood she had intended it to be "primarily a story of the rape of America . . . by the wholesale robber barons
Robber baron (industrialist)
Robber baron is a pejorative term used for a powerful 19th century American businessman. By the 1890s the term was used to attack any businessman who used questionable practices to become wealthy...
of that day." Goldwyn was attracted to the melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
tic Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast (film)
Barbary Coast is a period film directed by Howard Hawks. Shot in black-and-white and set in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era, the film combines elements of crime, Western, melodrama and adventure genres, features a wide range of actors, from good-guy Joel McCrea to bad-boy Edward G...
-like aspects of the story, which prompted him to hire that film's director, Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
, to bring Come and Get It to the screen. He also was intrigued by the fact Hawks' grandfather had served as the basis for the character of Barney Glasgow. Ferber had approved Jane Murfin's script, which Hawks found wanting, and he persuaded her and Goldwyn to allow him to bring in Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman was a magazine and newspaper writer before working as a screenwriter.Born in Chicago, Illinois, during World War I he wrote under the name "Stephen Fox." Furthman wrote screenplays for a number of important or popular films, including: The Docks of New York , Thunderbolt , Merely...
to work on a rewrite.
Goldwyn announced Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
would play the dual roles of Lotta Morgan and Lotta Bostrom, but Hawks was not happy with his choice. He looked at numerous screen tests of aspiring starlet
Starlet
Starlet may refer to:*Toyota Starlet, car*Corby Starlet, airplane*The Starlet, reality TV show*Starlet sea anemone, a species of sea anemone native to the east coast of the United States...
s and finally settled on Andrea Leeds
Andrea Leeds
Andrea Leeds was an American film actress. A popular supporting player of the late 1930s, Leeds was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Stage Door...
, who previously had played minor or uncredited roles in a handful of films. Eventually he replaced her with the even less experienced Frances Farmer
Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
and cast her in the supporting role of Ewie Glasgow, Richard's younger sister, instead. Goldwyn tried to borrow Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
from MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
for the lead role of Barney Glasgow, but Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
refused to let him work for his chief rival, so contract player Edward Arnold
Edward Arnold (actor)
Edward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
was assigned the role.
Soon after filming began, Goldwyn underwent two major surgeries that incapacitated him for a lengthy period of time, keeping him away from the studio and the daily rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
. Hawks took advantage of the situation and allowed Furthman to change completely the tone of Ferber's original story; cast slender Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Swan Bostrom, a man Ferber had described as "the strongest man in the North woods;" and arrange a shooting schedule and budget Goldwyn never would have approved.
Upon returning to the studio, Goldwyn viewed a rough cut of the film and was shocked to discover Hawks had shifted the focus from the unbridled destruction of the land to a love triangle in which brawling Barney Glasgow and Swan Bostrom vied for the affections of lusty Lotta Morgan. The character of Richard Glasgow, intended to be the second lead, barely was in the film, which was cluttered with Hawks-like improvised bits of business. When the director refused to comply with Goldwyn's demands for major changes, the producer fired Hawks from the project.
William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
had begun post-production work on Dodsworth
Dodsworth (film)
Dodsworth is a 1936 American drama film directed by William Wyler. Sidney Howard based the screenplay on his 1934 stage adaptation of the 1929 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis...
when he was summoned to Goldwyn's home and told he would be completing Come and Get It. Wyler was loath to take over a film started by someone else, but Goldwyn threatened him with suspension if he refused to accept the assignment. He did so reluctantly, and in later years he recalled, "I was talked into doing it, and I've been sorry about that ever since. The picture wasn't very good." Wyler spent two weeks filming what amounted to about the final third of the completed film. He strongly objected to Goldwyn's desire to give him sole directing credit, and preferred his name not be attached to the film at all. He finally relented but only when Goldwyn agreed to give Hawks top billing. Wyler never considered Come and Get It a part of his filmography and disowned it whenever he could, although it greatly pleased Ferber, who praised Goldwyn "for the courage, sagacity, and power of decision" he demonstrated by "throwing out the finished Hawks picture and undertaking the gigantic task of making what amounted to a new picture."
Exterior scenes were filmed along the North Fork Clearwater River
North Fork Clearwater River
The North Fork Clearwater River is a major tributary of the Clearwater River in the U.S. state of Idaho.From its headwaters in the Bitterroot Mountains of eastern Idaho, it flows southwest, north, then again southwest, and is dammed by the Dworshak Dam just above its mouth at the Clearwater in...
in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
.
The soundtrack includes "Aura Lea" by George R. Poulton
George R. Poulton
George R. Poulton was a musician and composer. best known for composing the tune to "Aura Lea".He was born in Cricklade, Nr Cirencester, , England in 1828. He was baptised in St. Mary's Church and was raised in the town until the age of seven when his parents, Charles and Hannah Poulton, emigrated...
and W. W. Fosdick
W. W. Fosdick
William Whiteman Fosdick was a American poet, writer and song lyricist, primarily remembered today as the one who wrote the original lyrics to the song Aura Lea to a melody composed by George R. Poulton. Fosdick was as a native of Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Transylvania University in...
and "The Bird on Nellie's Hat" by Alfred Solman and Arthur J. Lamb
Arthur J. Lamb
Arthur J. Lamb was a British lyricist best known for the 1897 song "Asleep in the Deep" and the 1900 song "A Bird in a Gilded Cage". He collaborated with many song-writers, including Albert Von Tilzer, Harry Von Tilzer, Henry W. Petrie and Kerry Mills.-Selected works:* "Asleep in the Deep" m....
.
Edward Arnold reprised the role of Barney Glasgow in two radio adaptations of the Ferber novel. The first aired on Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
on November 13, 1937, and the second was broadcast by The Screen Guild Theater
The Screen Guild Theater
The Screen Guild Theater was a popular radio anthology series during the Golden Age of Radio, broadcast from 1939 until 1952, with leading Hollywood actors performing in adaptations of popular motion pictures such as Going My Way and The Postman Always Rings Twice.The show had a long run, lasting...
on March 15, 1942.
Cast
- Edward ArnoldEdward Arnold (actor)Edward Arnold was an American actor. He was born on the Lower East Side of New York City as Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider, the son of German immigrants Carl Schneider and Elizabeth Ohse.-Acting career:...
..... Barney Glasgow - Frances FarmerFrances FarmerFrances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
..... Lotta Morgan/Lotta Bostrom - Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
... Swan Bostrom - Joel McCreaJoel McCreaJoel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
..... Richard Glasgow - Mary NashMary Nash-Early life:Nash was born on August 15, 1884 in Troy, New York, to parents Philip Nash, who worked for B. F. Keith Vaudeville Circuit, and Ellen Frances MacNamara. She was educated at the Convent of St. Anne in Montreal and trained for acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts...
..... Emma Louise Glasgow - Andrea LeedsAndrea LeedsAndrea Leeds was an American film actress. A popular supporting player of the late 1930s, Leeds was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Stage Door...
..... Evvie Glasgow - Charles HaltonCharles HaltonCharles Halton was a stern-faced American character actor who appeared in over 180 films.One of his most memorable portrayals was as Carter, the bank examiner in It's a Wonderful Life...
..... Jed Hewitt
Critical reception
Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times felt compressing Ferber's saga spanning fifty years into the story of a single generation "arrested the panoramic sweep of the story, converting it from a mural of the American scene into a vividly toned portrait of a man. But the transformation is readily excusable, for Barney was the heart of the novel and we felt it had stopped beating when he died." He added, "Although there is nothing new in the theme, it has been simply and powerfully expressed by a number of admirable performances, and it has been played against an interesting background. There are several extraordinarily graphic scenes of logging operations, the atmosphere of the late Eighties and early Nineties has been reproduced handsomely in the settings and costumes and . . . it never fails to reward your attention. There's nothing static about this one, thanks to Howard Hawks and William Wyler, the directors; to Gregg Toland's photography, and to the work of a uniformly fine cast." He concluded, "You won't find Come and Get It a thoroughly Ferber work, but enough of her has been retained and enough good Goldwyn added to make it a genuinely satisfying picture."British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
observed, "It's a minor Hawks, to be sure, and the action does tend to lag at times, but the fine performances from Farmer, Brennan and McCrea are what make it."
Awards and nominations
For his performance, Walter Brennan became the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. Edward Curtiss was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing but lost to Ralph Dawson
Ralph Dawson
Ralph Dawson was a film editor who also did some acting, directing, and screenwriting...
for Anthony Adverse
Anthony Adverse
Anthony Adverse is a 1936 American drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Sheridan Gibney is based on the sprawling 1,224-page novel of the same title by Hervey Allen.-Plot:...
.