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''Daisy Kenyon'' is a 1947 American romantic-drama film by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
starring
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
,
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...
, and
Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
in a story about a post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
romantic triangle. The screenplay by David Hertz was based upon a 1945 novel of the same name by
Elizabeth Janeway Elizabeth Janeway (née Hall) (October 7, 1913 – January 15, 2005) was an American author and critic. Biography Born Elizabeth Ames Hall in Brooklyn, New York, her naval architect father and homemaker mother fell on hard times during the ...
. The film was directed and produced by
Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...
. Having opened to restrained reception, ''Daisy Kenyon'' has seen reappraisal, and now enjoys a minor
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
for its realistic treatment of a typically
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...
tic plot.


Plot

Daisy Kenyon is a
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
commercial artist having an affair with an arrogant, overbearing and successful
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
named Dan O'Mara, who is married and has two children. He breaks a date with Daisy one night, and she goes out with a widowed war veteran named Peter Lapham. O'Mara and his wife, Lucille, fight constantly, about his job, the upbringing of their two daughters, and his cheating. That same night, Dan takes his wife and 13-year-old daughter to New York's
Stork Club Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it was one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, ...
, where Daisy and Peter are waiting to be seated. Daisy and Peter leave immediately. At the end of the date, Peter announces that he loves Daisy and leaves. Peter stands her up for their next date, but he comes by later, unannounced, and proposes. Daisy realizes that he is still in love with his late wife. Although she is still in love with Dan, Daisy marries Peter after a brief and hesitant courtship. She supports Peter's postwar career. He is moody, sometimes quiet and withholding, sometimes wildly exuberant; he knows that Dan used to be in Daisy's life. Eventually, Daisy feels as if she has gotten over Dan. Finally fed up with Dan's cheating, Lucille wants a divorce, and she uses full custody of the children as leverage to hurt Dan. Dan asks Peter and Daisy to allow him to reveal the full details of his former relationship with Daisy during the divorce proceedings. Peter says that he will not stand in Daisy's way: When they first met, he needed her, but he no longer does: He leaves. The trial begins, but Dan can see how much it is hurting Daisy, so he stops the proceedings and asks Peter to sign divorce papers, though Daisy did not request them. Daisy goes to her house on Cape Cod to work. Dan calls from the train station to say he his bringing Peter to settle things. Panicking, Daisy flees. Her car skids on the icy road and rolls over. She walks 2 miles through the snow to the cottage, where Dan and Peter are playing cards. She wants both of them to leave. After a few words, Peter goes out to the waiting cab. Daisy is appalled to learn that Dan gave up the children to obtain his divorce and admits that she stopped loving him a long time ago. Dan goes out to the cab. Peter steps out, saying that he is going home, to his wife, and returns to the house, where he and Daisy toast their future and embrace.


Cast

*
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
as Daisy Kenyon *
Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
as Dan O'Mara *
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...
as Peter Lapham * Ruth Warrick as Lucille O'Mara *
Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...
as Mary Angelus *
Peggy Ann Garner Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress. As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...
as Rosamund O'Mara * Connie Marshall as Marie O'Mara * Nicholas Joy as Coverly * Art Baker as Lucille O'Mara's attorney Newspaper reporters
Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and ...
,
Leonard Lyons Leonard Lyons (born Leonard Sucher; 10 September 1906 - 7 October 1976) was an American newspaper columnist, best known for his ''New York Post'' column called "The Lyons Den." Background Leonard Lyons was born Leonard Sucher on September 10, 1906 ...
, and
Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To ...
, along with actor
John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...
, make
cameo appearances A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the film.


Production

The rights to Elizabeth Janeway's novel were purchased by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
for $100,000 in 1945. Joan Crawford had intended to buy the rights for herself, but failed to bid before Fox. An unfinished first draft of the screenplay was written in August by Margaret Buell Wilder and Ted Sills before Hertz was brought in to write a second draft. Ring Lardner Jr., who had written the script for ''Laura'', was hired to revise Hertz's draft in 1947. The
Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
administrators, with whom Preminger often sparred, took issue with the screenplay's "lack of regard for the sanctity of marriage." The studio was advised to avoid referencing explicit sexual intercourse, and to emphasize the moral wrongness of the relationship between the characters of Daisy and Dan. Preminger was also forced to work around the PCA's concerns over alcohol - characters pour alcoholic drinks in several scenes, but never drink them. The code administrators also suggested that the divorcing characters Dan and Lucille reunite at the end of the film. Gene Tierney, who had starred in Preminger's 1944 film ''Laura'', and
Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...
, who had been considered for Tierney's role in that film, were both considered for the part of Daisy Kenyon in 1945 and 1946, respectively, before Crawford was allowed to be "borrowed" from her contract with Warner Bros. The casting of Crawford was somewhat problematic, as she was 42, while the character of Daisy as depicted in the novel is 32. A make-up artist and shadowy cinematography were employed to disguise Crawford's age. Andrews and Fonda were not fond of the script, but completed the film to fulfill their contracts. Production of the film was completed without setback, two days ahead of schedule and only $100 over the set budget. Ruth Warrick stated that Preminger "carried himself like an army officer, and behaved like a general moving the troops." Warrick also commented on the amicable relationship of the director and his lead star, saying, "With Otto and Joan, we had two tyrants on the set, and that may have kept both of them in line." The only apparent problem on set was the maintenance of a temperature of 50 °F to ease Crawford's
hot flash Hot flashes (also known as hot flushes) are a form of flushing, often caused by the changing hormone levels that are characteristic of menopause. They are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, an ...
es. According to Warrick, "she was always in tennis shorts and a thin blouse because she was so hot, while I had to wear a fur coat to keep warm. Otto said not one word about the temperature." Crawford presented Andrews and Fonda with long underwear as appeasement.


Reception

Reviews at its release were generally positive, if dismissive. Otto Preminger himself stated that he forgot he had made the film. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
s review stated that the central "triangle, in which Dana Andrews and Henry Fonda fight it out for the love of Joan Crawford, is basically a shallow lending-library affair, but it's made to seem important by the magnetic trio's slick-smart backgrounds - plus, of course, excellent direction, sophisticated dialog, solid supporting cast, and other flashy production values." T. M. P. in the ''New York Times'' noted, "Miss Crawford is, of course, an old hand at being an emotionally confused and frustrated woman, and she plays the role with easy competence." Otis L. Guernsey, Jr. in the ''New York Herald Tribune'' commented, "Preminger accomplishes no mean feat in guiding these people in and out among the interweavings of their own complexes, and he does wonders in varying the action of similar scenes."Quirk, Lawrence J.. ''The Films of Joan Crawford''. The Citadel Press, 1968. Initial dismissal of ''Daisy Kenyon'' has given way to some critical reappraisal in recent years; it has earned a cult following, with some calling it a misunderstood
masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
and one of Preminger's best films.
Mike D'Angelo Mike D'Angelo (born April 9, 1968) is an American film critic. He has written reviews for '' The A.V. Club'', ''Las Vegas Weekly'' and ''Nerve'', and maintains a personal website, The Man Who Viewed Too Much. He lives near Los Angeles. One of t ...
, giving the film a grade of 99 out of a possible 100 points, hailed ''Kenyon'' as "the most bluntly realistic romantic melodrama I've ever seen." Dan Callahan of ''Slant'', awarding ''Daisy Kenyon'' three and a half stars out of four, called the film a "troubling and ambiguous portrayal of three real, unknowable characters (and actors) in constant flux", saying that the film "distilled oap operato its real life essence, until what's left is nothing more than the ultimate mystery of art." Fernando Croce, giving the film four and a half stars out of five, called the film "a scrupulously cooled romance and a portrait of a postwar nation, but first and foremost... a fluid chart of thorny personal spaces brushing against each other." Chris Fujiwara, in a 2015 study of Preminger's films, draws attention to the fact that ''Daisy Kenyon'' is "possibly the first Hollywood film to allude to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II." Dan, partly in an attempt to impress Daisy, takes a pro-bono case for a Japanese American war veteran whose land was confiscated while he was away fighting. Dan is physically attacked in the course of the case and ultimately loses it. The original screenplay had a scene depicting a racist judge, but the film censor
Joseph Breen Joseph Ignatius Breen (October 14, 1888 – December 5, 1965) was an American film censor with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America who applied the Hays Code to film production.Staff report (December 8, 1965). Joseph I ...
did not allow it. (See Fujiwara, ''The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger'', p. 97.) ''Daisy Kenyon'' holds a 100% rating on review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, with an average rating of 6.6/10, based on five reviews. Critics Roundup, a website that describes itself as "the first movie review aggregator to select reviews based on writing quality instead of popularity", also reports that 100% of 12 critics reviewed the film positively.


References


External links

* * * * {{Otto Preminger 1947 films 1947 romantic drama films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films 1940s English-language films Films about adultery in the United States Films about veterans Films based on American novels Films directed by Otto Preminger Films scored by David Raksin Films set in Massachusetts Films set in New York City 1940s American films