My Review of Mary Badham in the Little-Known This Property Is Condemned
Film: This Property Is Condemned (1966). Young Actress: Mary Badham, age 13.
This film is based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name, and every element typical of Williams comes out in full force here: a small Southern town, a sweltering summer heat wave, a dysfunctional family, sex, and alcohol. Set during the 1930's, the story begins as a handsome, mysterious stranger, Owen (Robert Redford, Pete's Dragon), arrives in the fictional railroad town of Dodson, Mississippi. He stays at a boarding house, where he immediately catches the eye of the owner's two daughters, Alva (former child star Natalie Wood, in her late 20's here) and Willie (Mary).
In the first and final scenes, Willie narrates the main story while wearing Alva's old dress and jewelry.
Beautiful, imaginative Alva is described as "the main attraction" at the boarding house. Her single mother Hazel (Kate Reid) bullies her into spending time with and accepting gifts from the male guests who fawn all over her. Alva has long dreamed of escaping her mother and getting out of Dodson, and she sees an opportunity to do so in Owen. The attraction between them is mutual, but Alva has been flirting with her mother's guests for so long that she doesn't know any other way to attract a man, and Owen wants something deeper.
Hazel focuses all her attention on Alva and ignores her younger, plainer daughter Willie. ("I was expected to be a boy," she explains of her name.) This Property Is Condemned was one of Mary's few film roles outside of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which she received an Oscar nomination, and Willie has a few things in common with Mockingbird's Scout. They're both tough tomboys who bookend their films as the narrator, and serve as observers of the adult storyline, even when they don't fully understand everything that happens - and Willie doesn't. When Alva enters their room crying one night, Willie (who still sleeps with a doll) doesn't really understand what her beautiful big sister, who gets so much attention, has to cry about.
Owen treats Willie to an ice cream cone on a walk through Dodson.
Owen is a rarity in Dodson: a kind, educated man who wears a suit, and Willie develops a crush on him immediately. She doesn't realize that he's interested in Alva, since he never makes passes at her like most men. Nor does she understand why her sister gets so angry when Willie tells Owen, "She said you're a smart aleck" or when she asks her privately, "Alva, how many times you done it?" Both sisters feel betrayed when Owen's reason for coming to Dodson is revealed: he's a "fink," sent there by the railroad company, where most men in town work, to begin layoffs.
Willie is a tough, interesting character with some strong early scenes, but as the love story between Owen and Alva takes over, she fades into the background. I wouldn't mind that so much if the film didn't fall apart in its third act. After Owen departs Dodson for New Orleans (where Alva eventually joins him), the pace drags to a crawl, and despite the good acting from Natalie and Redford, their characters just aren't very compelling. And if you've ever seen a movie adapted from Tennessee Williams, then you've seen them before. The film loses even more points for its abrupt ending, which feels very tacked-on and leaves a lot of loose ends. I recommend Mary's scenes only.
Willie looks on as Alva argues with their mother.
LINKS
Other reviews of Natalie's films: Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
A 2012 interview with Mary about working with Natalie is here.
Scnreecaps of Mary in the film here (made by me).
This film is based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name, and every element typical of Williams comes out in full force here: a small Southern town, a sweltering summer heat wave, a dysfunctional family, sex, and alcohol. Set during the 1930's, the story begins as a handsome, mysterious stranger, Owen (Robert Redford, Pete's Dragon), arrives in the fictional railroad town of Dodson, Mississippi. He stays at a boarding house, where he immediately catches the eye of the owner's two daughters, Alva (former child star Natalie Wood, in her late 20's here) and Willie (Mary).
In the first and final scenes, Willie narrates the main story while wearing Alva's old dress and jewelry.
Beautiful, imaginative Alva is described as "the main attraction" at the boarding house. Her single mother Hazel (Kate Reid) bullies her into spending time with and accepting gifts from the male guests who fawn all over her. Alva has long dreamed of escaping her mother and getting out of Dodson, and she sees an opportunity to do so in Owen. The attraction between them is mutual, but Alva has been flirting with her mother's guests for so long that she doesn't know any other way to attract a man, and Owen wants something deeper.
Hazel focuses all her attention on Alva and ignores her younger, plainer daughter Willie. ("I was expected to be a boy," she explains of her name.) This Property Is Condemned was one of Mary's few film roles outside of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which she received an Oscar nomination, and Willie has a few things in common with Mockingbird's Scout. They're both tough tomboys who bookend their films as the narrator, and serve as observers of the adult storyline, even when they don't fully understand everything that happens - and Willie doesn't. When Alva enters their room crying one night, Willie (who still sleeps with a doll) doesn't really understand what her beautiful big sister, who gets so much attention, has to cry about.
Owen treats Willie to an ice cream cone on a walk through Dodson.
Owen is a rarity in Dodson: a kind, educated man who wears a suit, and Willie develops a crush on him immediately. She doesn't realize that he's interested in Alva, since he never makes passes at her like most men. Nor does she understand why her sister gets so angry when Willie tells Owen, "She said you're a smart aleck" or when she asks her privately, "Alva, how many times you done it?" Both sisters feel betrayed when Owen's reason for coming to Dodson is revealed: he's a "fink," sent there by the railroad company, where most men in town work, to begin layoffs.
Willie is a tough, interesting character with some strong early scenes, but as the love story between Owen and Alva takes over, she fades into the background. I wouldn't mind that so much if the film didn't fall apart in its third act. After Owen departs Dodson for New Orleans (where Alva eventually joins him), the pace drags to a crawl, and despite the good acting from Natalie and Redford, their characters just aren't very compelling. And if you've ever seen a movie adapted from Tennessee Williams, then you've seen them before. The film loses even more points for its abrupt ending, which feels very tacked-on and leaves a lot of loose ends. I recommend Mary's scenes only.
Willie looks on as Alva argues with their mother.
LINKS
Other reviews of Natalie's films: Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
A 2012 interview with Mary about working with Natalie is here.
Scnreecaps of Mary in the film here (made by me).