In De-Lovely, both director Irwin Winkler (Life as a House) and writer Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York) had no limitations from the Porter estate on the story, and they were determined to tell the story that Cole Porter himself wanted told back in 1946. Porter was quoted as saying about the original script in 1945, "It was as if I was reading about someone I know slightly. None of it is true." Instead Cocks has chosen to focus on the intensity of Cole Porter. Mr. Cocks has had an obsession with the lyrics to "In The Still of The Night" since he was twelve and says, "I wanted that to be the dramatic backbone. I remember seeing the lyrics printed on the page..They were nakedly honest and overwhelmingly intense. He wasn't ironic. It's just beautiful."
Although this film promises to be more factually accurate and stylistically different than the original, it has a similar intent - To keep the songs of Cole Porter alive for a current generation of music fans. To accomplish this feat they have brought in some of the music industries hippest artists such as Robbie Williams, Alanis Morrisette, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, and Diana Krall. "It was not just finding good singers," says Producer Rob Cowan, ¿It was finding people who understand the craft of good songwriting."
In fact, the original film had similar aspirations of enlisting Porter favorites and some of the biggest musical performers of the Forties, like Fred Astaire, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and Ethel Merman. Cost overruns and script delays led to just one Porter veteran, Mary Martin, appearing in the film.
The unique component of the new film is that these songs were sung live on set and not lip-synched to a prerecorded track like most movie musicals. Mr. Winkler and Mr. Kline felt that the live performances add an intimacy and authenticity to the film. Those associated with the current project hope the subversive nature of the lyrics connect with young audiences. "It's all there in his lyrics," Kline says about "Live and Let Live." "That song's about, 'Don't judge me and I won't judge you' - a kind of coded message." And Alanis Morrisette shares a similar sentiment, "I just loved how subversive and sarcastic he is in his lyrics. And, now I know more, there are so many things you can read between the lines."
Showcasing some of Porter's greatest songs was the only thing Night and Day accomplished with its release in 1946. Cole Porter biographer William McBrien writes, "At least the film that was made kept a revue of his songs before the public." The script was the biggest issue with rewrites and changes being done for over two years. It was even a problem all the way into filming. The Unit Production Manager was quoted as saying, "They do not know how the end of this picture is going to be done. They have been writing this story for two years, and it is still not on paper." And the critics were equally scathing in their reviews and panned the film upon its release in 1946. "The dialogue is an attempt to recreate conversation of clever and intelligent people," wrote one Life magazine film critic, "bravely made by a script writer who seems to have never associated with them." On top of a bad script, director Michael Curtiz and star Cary Grant disagreed on everything from script to cuff length on his wardrobe. Grant was overheard saying upon leaving the set one night,"If I am ever stupid enough to be caught working with you then you'll know I'm either broke or I've lost my mind."
Although Jack Warner felt his studio had a hit movie on their hands, the finished film was marred by the multitude of production issues. A critic for the San Francisco News wrote, "This is no more the story of Cole Porter's life than a two cent stamp is of Washington." This is the exact reaction Winkler and MGM are hoping to avoid this time around with their remake. "I thought of this as a theatrical biography with music," say Mr. Winkler, "I also thought that if Cole Porter were lucky enough to have his last moments framed as a dramatic device, how would he live it? He would live it as a musical." Will the new quasi-fantastical, musical biography style work better for Cole Porter's life a second time around? Based on my viewing of the droll style of 1946's Night and Day, I would have to say, just as Cole Porter would, "It's All Right By Me."
TCM viewers will have a chance to compare both versions this summer when De-Lovely opens at theatres across the country in July and Turner Classic Movies airs Night and Day at 11:30 am (ET) on Friday, August 27th during our all day Cary Grant tribute; it's part of our August theme, "Summer Under the Stars."
by Tom Cappello
