Miss Sadie Thompson
Encyclopedia
Miss Sadie Thompson is 1953 American musical 3D film starring Rita Hayworth
, Aldo Ray
, José Ferrer
, and released by Columbia Pictures
. The film is based on the W. Somerset Maugham
short story Miss Thompson (later retitled Rain). Other film versions include Sadie Thompson
(1928) starring Gloria Swanson
, Rain
(1932) starring Joan Crawford
, and Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
, a 1946 race film.
and Salome
so Columbia
gave Miss Sadie Thompson an "A" film budget. 3-D film
s had become a fad, with some 3-D films drawing huge crowds in major cities, so it was used as well. Exteriors were filmed on the island of Kauai
, Hawaii
and interiors on the Columbia lot.
The original story of sin and redemption was sanitized to appease the Production Code
and several musical numbers were inserted to spice up the tepid reworked plot. As with her previous films, Hayworth's singing was dubbed, this time by Jo Ann Greer
. By the time of the premiere on December 23, 1953, interest in 3-D had died down considerably. After a two-week run, all 3-D prints were pulled. The film was given a national release "flat", in other words, in regular prints, minus the 3-D.
. To conform with censors' dictates, the character of Sadie Thompson was changed from a prostitute into a nightclub singer with a past. She was accused of being a prostitute by Alfred Davidson; he was changed from a morally corrupt and sadistic minister to an unaffiliated religious zealot (to avoid offense to any specific religious group). The film still drew criticism. Lloyd T. Binford
, the 85-year-old head of the Memphis Board of Censors, said, "It's rotten, lewd, immoral, just a plain raw dirty picture;" described "The Heat Is On" as a "filthy dance scene;" and believed the film should be banned. Several state censorship boards banned the film outright.
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray was an American actor.-Life and career:Ray was born in Pen Argyl, PA, to an Italian family of five brothers and one sister. His brother Mario lettered in football at USC in the years 1952-54...
, José Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
, and released by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. The film is based on the W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
short story Miss Thompson (later retitled Rain). Other film versions include Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson
Sadie Thompson is an American silent film that tells the story of a "fallen woman" who comes to Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila to start a new life, but encounters a zealous missionary who wants to force her back to her former life in San Francisco. The film stars Gloria Swanson, Lionel...
(1928) starring Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, Rain
Rain (1932 film)
Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama film directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson and Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform Sadie, but whose own morals start decaying...
(1932) starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, and Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. is a 1946 race film directed by Spencer Williams and produced by Sack Amusement Enterprises.-Plot:Gertie LaRue is a nightclub entertainer from the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. She arrives on the Caribbean island of "Rinidad" to perform as the headliner in...
, a 1946 race film.
Plot
A bar girl from Hawaii, a religious zealot and a love-struck Marine struggle with sin and salvation during World War II while Sadie Thompson kicks out several songs, including the Oscar-nominated "Blue Pacific Blues".Production
This was Rita Hayworth's third film after her marriage to Prince Aly Khan had kept her off screen for four years. The public eagerly welcomed her return in two previous films Affair in TrinidadAffair in Trinidad
Affair in Trinidad is a film produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation, released by Columbia Pictures, and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It is notable as Hayworth's "comeback" film after four years away from Columbia, as a re-teaming of the Gilda co-stars, and for a fiery opening...
and Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
so Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
gave Miss Sadie Thompson an "A" film budget. 3-D film
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
s had become a fad, with some 3-D films drawing huge crowds in major cities, so it was used as well. Exteriors were filmed on the island of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and interiors on the Columbia lot.
The original story of sin and redemption was sanitized to appease the Production Code
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
and several musical numbers were inserted to spice up the tepid reworked plot. As with her previous films, Hayworth's singing was dubbed, this time by Jo Ann Greer
Jo Ann Greer
Jo Ann Greer had one of the most distinctive and elegant voices, yet least-known faces of all the successful jazz and pop singers in show business....
. By the time of the premiere on December 23, 1953, interest in 3-D had died down considerably. After a two-week run, all 3-D prints were pulled. The film was given a national release "flat", in other words, in regular prints, minus the 3-D.
Censorship
Miss Sadie Thompson was produced during the era of the production codeProduction Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was the set of industry moral censorship guidelines that governed the production of the vast majority of United States motion pictures released by major studios from 1930 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the Hays Code, after Hollywood's chief censor of the...
. To conform with censors' dictates, the character of Sadie Thompson was changed from a prostitute into a nightclub singer with a past. She was accused of being a prostitute by Alfred Davidson; he was changed from a morally corrupt and sadistic minister to an unaffiliated religious zealot (to avoid offense to any specific religious group). The film still drew criticism. Lloyd T. Binford
Lloyd Binford
Lloyd Tilgham Binford was an American insurance executive and film censor who was the head of the Memphis Censor Board for 28 years. The son of an infantry colonel, Binford left high school at 16 for a job as a railway postal clerk...
, the 85-year-old head of the Memphis Board of Censors, said, "It's rotten, lewd, immoral, just a plain raw dirty picture;" described "The Heat Is On" as a "filthy dance scene;" and believed the film should be banned. Several state censorship boards banned the film outright.
Reviews
- Variety: "She catches the feel of the title character well, even to braving completely deglamorizing makeup, costuming and photography to fit her physical appearance to that of the bawdy, shady lady that was Sadie Thompson".
- The Village Voice: Although its Hays Code sanitizing is mitigated somewhat by the glorious extravagances of 1950s cinema (it's a Technicolor, 3-D star vehicle with musical numbers), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) is a scoured version of Rain (1932).
- Bosley Crowther of The New York Times: "The character of Sadie is drained of considerable point by the prudence of the producers. And Miss Hayworth is left with a role in which she is able to inject very little, outside her own particular brand of appeal".
Availability
- A dual projection polarized 3-D print of Miss Sadie Thompson was screened at The World 3-D Expo 2006 September 10, 2006 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Ca.
- The trailer (2D version can be seen here courtesy of Sabu Cat Productions.
- A VHS full screen edition of Miss Sadie Thompson was released in 1994 but is no longer available.
- A DVD full screen edition of Miss Sadie Thompson was released in 2001 but is no longer available.
- Another edition of the DVD is available as part of "The Films of Rita Hayworth" 5-disc box set.