Customer Reviews

Member of the Wedding [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't even know where to begin - this film is just plain brilliant in so many ways...
1) The story: Remember when you were a child, you were caught in that awkward stage where you are too old to be a child, and too young to be an adult. You want desperately to fit in, but you don't. That is the focal point of the story, and it is told honestly and sadly thru the eyes of Frankie. That is the plight of Frankie Adams, played brilliantly by Julie Harris - one of the truly great performances I've seen.
2) The cast: Julie Harris I mentioned, and Ethel Waters as Bernice. I start to call her the maid, but that would be a huge dis-service. This is the first movie to portray a black character as more than just a maid in the background with one or 2 lines. She is a lead character in every sense, and her performance is perfect.
3) The direction: Most all the action takes place in one room, yet the closeups at just the right moment, and the magnificent music score add so many textures, it is a clinic on how to direct and film in Black and white.
4) The south: If you ever wanted to visit a small Georgia town in the 50's to see what it was like - this movie will take you there. The race relations of the time, the awful sticky heat, the small town attitudes, all are captured here with honesty and subtlety just below the surface of the main story.
Rarely have I ever seen such an honest film, this is especially remarkable given when it was made and the subject matter it tackled.
Some people think it is a sad movie, and perhaps it is in ways, but it is dealing with the rite of passage that all of us must make, and very few of us make it easily.
Best of all, it leaves you with a feeling of sadness and joy at the same time - the final scene sees the various characters take the paths which they must take - And they can be sad or happy depending on how the character chooses to live their role in life !

Member of the Wedding was another deeply moving and beautifully written classic by the underappreciated Carson McCullers. She got dream casting in Ethel Waters, Julie Harris and Brandon de Wilde, on stage and in the film. Waters and Harris, two of the four or five greatest actresses ever to grace a Broadway stage, give timeless performances as Berenice Sadie Brown and Frankie Addams. Waters' performance was a breakthrough in black movie history. Although she played the maid in the house, she was every bit as much an individual as the white characters, with her character just as carefully delineated and portrayed. She fought to avoid the stereotypes, and she fought successfully. Her singing "His Eye is on the Sparrow" is one of those great movie moments you can never forget. The psychological insights into adolescence, race relations, the feeling of being lost or left behind, the idea of inclusion and exclusion in certain groups, are all brilliantly and movingly explored. It's not an action movie, but it's a gem of dialogue, acting and "loveliness and feelings" as Waters put it. Because of technicalities (no one could decide if Waters, whose name was above the title, should be nominated as Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress), Waters missed her chance for a second Oscar nomination. Had she been nominated, she might well have won the Oscar. It's a shame that once again the powers that be passed on the chance of honoring one of our greatest actresses. Julie Harris was nominated for her intense and pitch-perfect performance as Frankie. The Broadway run of this play was legendary,and we can only be grateful that these great performances were captured for all time on film.

This film adaptation of Carson McCullers' coming of age story features a fine performance by Julie Harris, and an excellent supporting cast. Instead of summarizing the plot scenario, as other reviews here have done, I'll just say that this is a poignant and excellent film that depicts a portion of everyone's life that we need not to forget, if not for ourselves, for those in the throes of it, now and to come. And if you like the film, read the novel, too. McCullers was a fine, fine writer.

Someone, PLEASE, remaster this excellent film and release it on DVD!

Perhaps Julie Harris was a bit old to play this role, but she has definitely channeled her remarkable resources to create one of the finest interpretations ever immortalized on film. An established stage personality, Julie re-created her Broadway role (as did Brandon de Wilde & Ethel Waters), and the ensemble re-creation is mystifying and powerful.Fred Zinnemann's direction kept pace, genuine care and generous close-ups of the constant intimacy of the bittersweet procedings. Ms. Harris received an Oscar nomination for this, her first film. The next year she made "I Am a Camera" (the basis for "Cabaret") where she played Sally Bowles with vigor and aplomb. Wow! In '55 she played Abra in Elia Kazan's "East of Eden", which was James Dean's film debut. Everyone said she was too old to play that role. Julie plays well in black & white, transcending any semblence of age. "Eden" was in color, and it just wasn't the same. This was also Brandon de Wilde's film debut, and the following year he received a nomination for "Shane". Those were the only nominations Julie & Brandon ever received. No question they were great performers. Mr. de Wilde couldn't seem to go on to adult roles, and the result was unfortunate. Knowing all this, and watching "The Member of the Wedding" tonite on TCM, I'm craving a DVD of this wonderful, heart-felt film. It was remade in 1997 with the wonderful Jena Malone, but the gut-reaction simply wasn't the same. There's so much garbage on DVD, I wish someone would realize that there's a serious waiting public craving quality. Anyone else agree?

Julie Harris stars as Frankie, a 12 year old girl trying to figure out where she fits in. Rejected by her peer group, she decides she will join her brother and his future bride on their honeymoon and go with them forever. The family housekeeper, Bernice, played by Ethel Waters, tries to convince her otherwise, but Frankie is strong willed and won't be deterred. Julie Harris gives an intense, painfully honest performance as the struggling adolescent, hitting all the emotional peaks and valleys with such feeling and truth. As Frankie's pseudo-mother, Waters is equally impressive, delivering a charismatic, deeply felt performance that provides the film's emotional centre. The film definitely betrays its stage origins, with a lot of dialogue and little change in scene or action. The film is about characters and the human drama, and although it's hardly uplifting, anyone who can remember the feelings of their youth and wanting to fit in, will understand what it is trying to say.

This is where Ethel Waters sang her famous "His Eye is on the Sparrow." The movie just aired on TCM, and I loved it all over again. I will buy it for Ethel Waters' performance alone. And I echo a previous reviewer... THIS FILM SHOULD BE ON DVD! Please!

When I first saw this film I couldn't believe Julie Harris was in her twenties. Her performance is incredible and heart stopping at times. I loved the book, where every page has a quotable line that is alive with summer, youth and heartache, and the movie does a fine job with adapting McCuller's vision.
When you are watching it, you feel like you're sitting in their balmy kitchen and listening to the frenetic outcries of Frankie and her longing to be a member of her brother Jarvis's wedding, in person. This film is truly unforgettable due to the actors' strong performances.

A tender, sensitive and perceptive play has been admirably brought to the screen. The director and cast bring true pathos to the trials and tribulations of adolescence - the alienation, the confusion, the wistfulness and disillusionment. It would be hard to imagine a better screen adaption of the play than this. Discerning film viewers will want more of this sort of thing but there isn't enough around. To all potential scriptwriters......See it!!!!

I can't believe this classic has not been released as a DVD, while all manner of junk has been. Ridiculous. This is a classic all the way around - source material by Carson McCullers, direction by Fred Zinneman, wonderful performance by Ethel Waters, and a legendary one by Julie Harris!

Pre-teenage angst at its best. For anyone, like myself that was a bit tomboy-ish and had major hero worship for an older brother, this story and movie hit awfully close to home. Julie Harris deserves at least three Oscars for her performance as does Ethyl Waters. If you are mesmerized by Deep-Southy in the fifties this will do it for you. This is a great, great movie made from filming the original stage players at their work. I hope it will soon be on an affordable DVD so I can watch it again and again and again. Oh, and by the way, I was not a member of the wedding of my brother, but he did ask me to serve the cake. JUNE 1, 2009--I recently re-viewed this movie and must mention that I was so impressed by a young Brandon de Wilde's performance. We possibly remember him best from SHANE, but he is so good in "Member." I wanted to "Be there right in that movie and get to know him." It is very hard to get this movie on DVD, but it is in the Stanley Kramer Collection of five movies and I highly recommend it. I have been Googling for more Brandon de Wilde movies I might like to view. He is no longer amongst us as he died as a result of a motorcycle accident in '72, but boy howdy did he shine in his childhood roles.