Figure 1.--Here is Brandon DeWilde as John Henry in "Member of the Wedding". He wears bib-front shorts. Pictured with him is Julie Harris and Ethel Waters.
|
Figure 1.--Here is Brandon DeWilde as John Henry in "Member of the Wedding". He wears bib-front shorts. Pictured with him is Julie Harris and Ethel Waters. |
This film was based on a play by Carson McCullers which was Broadway hit. It is about a family planning a wedding. Frankie Addams is a tomboy. She is also a still innocent, but very articulate 12-year-old. She is not very happy. She has trouble with other girls because she is a tomboy. She stays at home with the family maid, Bernice, who looks after her. There is also a younger boy who lives next door-- John Henry. She is devoted to her older brother Jarvis who is about to marry Janice. Frankie somehow imagines that she can come along on their honeymoon. The film end with Frankie beginning to come to terms with the fact that she is becoming a young woman. The cast is nothing short of brilliant. The black maid is beautifully played by Ethel Waters. The chemisdtry between her and the two children is uncanny. Brandon De Wilde, the boy in Shane, plays the part of John Henry which he played on the Broadway stage. The story unfolds on a very hot day in the South and he wears bib-front shorts. Near the end, in a charming scene, he puts on his sisters dress. On in all a superb performance by Brandon . His performances brought him considerable national attention and undoubtedly landing him the unforgetable role of Joey in Shane. This film also helped start the impressive career of Julie Harris, a truly great actress. She went on to play Saint Joan Lillian Hellman's adaptation of Jean Anouilh's "The Lark" (1956). After her long career Harris remembers the set of this film very well. An interviewer reports that the film holds a special place in her heart. Harris relates, "... I could remember Miss Walters. (A little tear here. "Ethel Waters was like my mother. She was beautiful. And that little boy, Brandon de Wilde, we were so close." [Crews, p. C8.]
Crews, Chip. "Actress Julie Harris's toughest lines," THe Washington Post (February 12, 2005), p. C1, 8.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main "Me-Ml" movie page]
[Return to the Main alphabetical movie page]
[Return to the Main movie dance scene page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Theatricals]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]