Valiant Is the Word for Carrie

VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE (Paramount, 1936) directed by Wesley Ruggles is a sadly neglected screen adaptation based on the novel by Barry Benefield that stars Gladys George in her only Academy Award nominated performance. Though the theatrical trailer lists this as Gladys George's movie debut, she did appear in earlier movies, some during the silent screen era (1919-1921) and talking debut in STRAIGHT IS THE WAY (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1934) starring Franchot Tone before her initial starring performance came along. As much as there were other "tough dames" who might have played Carrie such as non-top marquee names as Marjorie Rambeau, Betty Compson or Pert Kelton, Gladys George, who might have been difficult to cast for a leading role, certainly shows her fine presence alone makes this production worth viewing.

Set outside in a small Louisiana town, Carrie Snyder (Gladys George) lives a lonely life in her white cottage surrounded by a wooden fence. Coming inside her property is a 12-year-old boy named Paul Darnley (Jackie Moran) on his way home from fishing to ask her for a drink of water while in reality wants to find out why this lady is such an outcast to the community. Spending some time with her finds Paul liking Carrie enough to address her as a fine woman. When one of Carrie's few friends, Paul Yonne (Harry Carey), stops by for a visit, he tells Paul to leave and never return. Upon his exit, Paul is spotted by a bearded man (George Hayes) on his horse and buggy. He heads over to town to tell the boy's father, George (John Wray), a hardware store owner whose bedridden wife (Janet Young) lives upstairs. Even though he feels he didn't do anything wrong, Paul is confronted by his father and given a severe whipping. Learning about the punishment from Ellen Belle (Hattie McDaniel), to prevent any more trouble, Carrie discourages Paul by telling him never to come back. Because the city council feels Carrie a bad influence to the community, Ed Moresby (William Collier Sr.), a newspaper publisher, advises Carrie to sell her home and leave town. Before she does, Carrie has Lon (Lew Playton), the town taxi driver, to keep her informed about Paul. After the death of his parents, Paul is sent to live with his uncle. With five kids of his own, he doesn't get the love and attention he deserves. Paul runs away, seeking refuge with Nick (Don Alfonso-Zelda), the fisherman before resorting on his own stealing to survive. A train wreck by which a little girl called Lady (Charlene Wyatt) survives has Paul looking after the child the best way he knows. Carrie learns the whereabouts of Paul with intentions of taking him home with her. Instead, she finds herself the unwed mother with two children. Following their move to New York City, Carrie forms a successful business. Life becomes more complex for Carrie after Paul (John Howard) and Lady (Arline Judge) become adults. Other members of the cast include Dudley Digges. Isabel Jewell, Maude Eburne, Grady Sutton and Helen Lowell.

For a story divided into two parts, naturally the first half proves more interesting than its second half. On the whole, it's both moving and involving in character study. Had VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE been an MGM production, chances are Mickey Rooney and Virginia Weidler would have played the children. Jackie Moran, a forgotten name among child actors, does a splendid job as the young Paul while Weidler would have made a better Lady than Wyatt. With the past of Carrie is never mentioned, her scarlet reputation is very much left to the imagination of its viewers.

Of the many classic movies distributed on video cassette since the 1980s and cable television such as American Movie Classics, CARRIE was largely ignored, which is a shame. It did, however, show on commercial television in the 1960s and 70s but that's where it ends. There's a DVD edition that can be purchased from a private collector but in spite of limited availability, remains an overlooked item in need of rediscovery.

Regardless of its 110-minute length, mostly everything about the story works. Thanks to her very fine performance, valiant is the word for Gladys George. (***)

The year before Gladys George played the self-sacrificing mother covering up her terrible past, she starred in Valiant is the Word for Carrie, as a self-sacrificing mother covering up her terrible past. For the 1936 melodrama she was nominated for an Oscar; for the 1937 melodrama she was nominated for a Rag.

While the two movies are relatively similar in premise, the actual stories aren't the same. In this one, Gladys starts off a fallen woman, although because of the Production Code, what made her fall is never actually mentioned. She befriends an adorable young boy, Jackie Moran, who's terribly mistreated at home. When at last Jackie's abusive father dies, he asks Gladys to adopt him. Along the way, they pick up the stray waif Charlene Wyatt, and they leave town, change their names, and enjoy a fresh start.

You know these types of movies, don't you? The fresh start only lasts so long, and Gladys's past comes back to haunt her. Plus, as the adorable children grow up, they run into problems and make their poor mother suffer. But, if you want to see a solid Gladys George performance, try to find yourself a copy.

Well the previous comment certainly covers the major plot elements of this little gem.

The copy I have is a little rough but OK. Although there are a few sudden editing shifts, that could be my copy and not the way the film was made. Still VALIANT is a solid soaper that is well shot and atmospheric.

Gladys George is excellent as Carrie and deserved her Oscar nomination. Although the actress was plagued by a drinking habit, she still managed to turn in several super performances in the 30s and 40s. This and MADAME X are her two best. By the end of the 30s she had slipped to supporting roles.

As Carrie, George brings a toughness to the role that seems very real. Her voice and accent (think of Thelma Ritter) set her apart from the "ladies" and make her "earthiness" very appealing. She has a marvelous little scene with Hattie McDaniel on the porch of her cottage.

The kids are pretty good (Jackie Moran and Charlene Wyatt) and not sticky cutesy. Harry Carey as her "legal friend" is also good but hasn't much to do. After she takes the kids away we get a couple good scenes of them in New York.

The Automat scene is a riot. The kids don't know it's a restaurant and think you win prizes by putting coins in the slots. The boy comes back with four slabs of pie and when Carrie starts yelling about vegetables he yells back they're all different flavors. Later in their apartment she feels a mighty urge to go out and party, but the girl gets out of bed and reminds Carrie of her new life.

The kids grow up into John Howard and Arline Judge (looking kinda fat).By then Carrie has bought and worked up a small shop into a chain of shops and they are rich. He wants to work for a publishing outfit and she is waiting for him to notice her. He gets involved with an unscrupulous woman (Isabel Jewell) after he causes a subway accident, and Carrie then gets involved in an attempt to save him from her.

Dudley Digges is the publisher. Maude Eburne is the secretary. John Wray is the cruel father. Helen Lowell is the "do-gooder," and Gabby Hayes is the old gossip. Grady Sutton is the suitor.

But Gladys George is the whole show here. She plays here the kind of part Bette Davis excelled at a decade later. VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE is hard to find but it's well worth the effort. And Gladys George certainly deserves to be remembered for the wonderful actress she was.