The Corn is Green (1945)

Synopsis:

In the late 1800s, teacher Miss Moffat (Bette Davis) is determined to do something about the appalling living conditions in a Welsh mining town. Against the objections of a powerful landlord (Nigel Bruce, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), Moffat builds a school in the village. She eventually discovers that a young man (John Dall, Rope) has great potential and helps him study for a scholarship.

Reaction & Thoughts:

“… when I walk in the dark, I can touch with my hands where the corn is green.”

The Corn is Green is an adaptation of Emlyn Williams’s acclaimed semi-autobiographical stage play of the same name. While professionally crafted and finely acted, this prestigious Warners production is lacking in some key areas.

The movie has an impressive pedigree. The script was written by Frank Cavett (Going My Way) and Casey Robinson (Kings Row). Irving Rapper (Now, Voyager) directed the movie. The music was composed by Max Steiner (Gone with the Wind), and Oscar-winning cinematographer Sol Polito (Sergeant York) shot the film.

The studio clearly pulled out all the stops to bring Williams’s play to the screen, and perhaps that was a mistake. Star Bette Davis complained that the story had been “Hollywoodized” to the nth degree, and there is some truth to that. For example, the sets are amazing, but they are all wrong for the movie — you never get the feeling that this is a poverty-stricken community. Some rough edges were needed here.

What is more, Davis isn’t all that convincing in the starring role. She isn’t bad, but it isn’t one of her best efforts. Then-thirtyish Davis lamented that she was too young to play sexagenarian Moffat, but I don’t buy that excuse. She had played older characters in The Old Maid (1939) and Mr. Skeffington (1944) convincingly. Anyhow, Davis’s Moffat is ladyish and standoffish when she should have been warm and earthy.

The film really belongs to the supporting cast. John Dall, in his first big movie role, hits all the right notes as the poor but proud and arrogant young coal miner. Dall makes a believable transition from brutish teen to sensitive scholar. Joan Lorring (Three Strangers) provides the film with its bite as the troubled young woman who nearly destroys Dall’s life. Lorring makes the most of a showy role. Dall and Lorring received well-deserved Oscar nominations for their respective roles.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

Despite its flaws, I did like The Corn is Green. However, I thought the 1979 TV remake, with Katharine Hepburn (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) as Miss Moffat, was a tad better. Bette Davis did get a second crack at the story. In the early 1970s, she played Moffat in a stage musical version of the play. Unfortunately, Davis fell ill and the show closed down after a few performances. B&W, 115 minutes, Not Rated.

Theatrical Trailer: