Street scene / directed by King Vidor ; produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Vidor, King, 1894-1982, director.

Goldwyn, Samuel, 1879-1974, producer.

Music Video Distributors, Inc., publisher.

Series:

Academic Video Online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rice, Elmer, 1892-1967. Street scene--Film adaptations.

Rice, Elmer.

Tenement houses--New York (State)--New York--Drama.

Tenement houses.

Jews--New York (State)--New York--Drama.

Jews.

Adultery--New York (State)--New York--Drama.

Adultery.

Women social workers--New York (State)--New York--Drama.

Women social workers.

Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.)--Drama.

Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.).

Genre:

Fiction films.

Feature films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (80 minutes)

Place of Publication:

Pottstown, PA : Music Video Distributors, 1931.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

One of the great stage-to-screen adaptations of the early sound film era, Street Scene (1931) presents a New York City tenement melting pot, boiling over with summer heat, resentment, and longing. Independent producer Samuel Goldwyn acquired the rights of the Pulitzer Prize winning and hit Broadway play by Elmer Rice, who also penned the screenplay. Under the direction of King Vidor, the relatively simple set (building, sidewalk, street) becomes a canvas of human emotion, achieved through dynamic camerawork and powerhouse performances by Sylvia Sidney, Estelle Taylor, and Beulah Bondi--a member of the original Broadway cast who made her film debut as the busybody Mrs. Jones. Composer Alfred Newman's score offers musical cues carefully timed to character dialogue, along with a Gershwin-esque theme that Newman reused during his long career at 20th Century-Fox. The film's restoration allows us to fully experience the power of Street Scene, seeing and hearing in vivid clarity as Anna Maurrant (Taylor), her daughter Rose (Sidney), and neighbor Sam Kaplan (William Collier, Jr.) open their hearts and crash against the limitations of their environment.

Participant:

Sylvia Sidney, William Collier, Jr., Estelle Taylor, Beulah Bondi, David Landau, Matt McHugh, Russell Hopton, Greta Grandstedt, Eleanor Wesselhoeft, Max Montor, Walter Miller, T. H. Manning, Conway Washburne, John M. Qualen, Anna Kostant, Adele Watson, Lambert Rogers, George Humbert, Allan Fox, Nora Cecil, Margaret Robertson, Helen Lovett, Richard Powell, Jane Mercer, Walter James, Monte Carter, Harry Wallace.

Notes:

Adapted for the screen by Elmer Rice from his Pulitzer prize play.

Title from title screen (viewed January 03, 2025).

Related Work:

Motion picture adaptation of: Rice, Elmer, 1892-1967. Street scene.

OCLC:

1484958406