R.I.P. Ruth Hussey

She was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Philadelphia Story. She makes such an impression in that film, doesn’t she? Isn’t it just a wonderfully warm (in a kind of cold way) and funny piece of acting? Miss Imbrie understands men, she doesn’t try to play them, she also doesn’t try to put herself above them (like Tracy does). Miss Imbrie is down in the muck and mess of life with the guys. She maintains no pretenses, she sees right through things, she has no illusions left. Because of her more realistic outlook about male-female relationships, you can tell that this woman has been hurt. She maintains no fairy-tale facade, she’s been around the block. But the beauty of this performance (and why I think it was nominated for an Oscar, and also why it holds up under the test of time – it is still funny and touching and real to today’s audiences) – is that she is NOT just a wise-cracker. Because that would be boring. There would be no depth there. Ruth Hussey was able to subtly let us know that a living breathing woman with hopes and dreams of her own lay hidden beneath that sarcastic exterior. It’s just that Elizabeth Imbrie would never let you in on her secrets, she would never show you her soft underbelly. Life’s too rough, man, you gotta protect yourself.

Her boyfriend, Macauley Connor (Jimmy Stewart) is one of those failed artists who has let his own failure make him bitter, and superior. He thinks if you have money you have sold out. One of THOSE obnoxious types. I love their meeting with their boss, Sydney Kidd.

Connor rails at his boss: No hunter of buckshot in the rear is cagey, crafty Connor. Un-quote. Close paragraph.

Imbrie, knowing that they are about to be fired, comments wearily and fatalistically: Close job. Close bank account.

I love her work in that film – as much as I love the work of the three principles. Sure, there are three “leads” in the movie – but I always thought of Ruth Hussey’s character as a fourth lead.

Ruth Hussey died on April 19, at the age of 93. My friend Alex (of course) is the one who alerted my attention to this. Here is her beautiful little post about this wonderful actress.

To illustrate what I mean about the character she created in Philadelphia Story (and you know what? I’ve seen this production on stage a number of times as well, and I have NEVER seen a modern-day actress really nail this character. Either she comes off as just a bitter bitch, OR – the modern actress is blatantly doing an imitation of Ruth Hussey. Hussey put her indelible mark on that character. If I were cast in that role, I know I would have a difficult time making it my own, because to me, she IS that woman.) …

Anyway. There’s the FUNNY scene where Macauley Connor (Jimmy Stewart) is trashed and shows up at CK Dexter Haven’s house in the middle of the night.

“Ohhh. CK Dexter HAAAAAAAVEN…”

Cary Grant appears at the door, bemused, in his dressing gown, and lets Stewart in. High comedy follows. (One note: Jimmy Stewart is so convincing as a drunk that you pretty much could use just THAT performance as an example to actors as How to Play Drunkenness. That’s it. It doesn’t get any better than that.)

Finally, after a long night … Elizabeth Imbrie shows up at the door, to pick up her wasted boyfriend. Cary Grant opens the door, and you can hear Jimmy Stewart in the background, still inside the house, blabbing on and on and on.

Miss Imbrie, with this face – this flat face that somehow can convey so much – strolls by Cary Grant in the doorway, and calls out, “Where’s my wandering parakeet?”

Now listen. I don’t want to make too huge a deal about this teeny moment, but you know – that’s me. I make huge deals out of teeny moments.

Why we love Miss Imbrie, and why she is the perfect match for Jimmy Stewart (and why Tracy Lord most definitely is NOT) is in that moment. Her boyfriend has fallen off the rails. He is keeping her in a state of indecision. He won’t marry her. He’s a snob. Etc. But because she’s probably had a lot of boyfriends, because she has no illusions about men, there are no Prince Charmings, she wouldn’t be interested in a Prince Charming anyway … because of all of that, she doesn’t treat Jimmy Stewart with contempt, or scorn. In her heart, she might be in a rush to get married, but she keeps her heart to herself. His failings and foibles she treats with deadpan humor. She’s not going anywhere. She stands by him. She makes sarcastic remarks the entire time, but she stands by him. Another woman might have shown up at CK Dexter Haven’s door and bitch-slapped her boyfriend: “Where have you been? Sober up! You’re embarrassing me!” Not Miss Imbrie. She strolls into the house, hearing his hysterical ramblings somewhere inside, calling, “Where’s my wandering parakeet?” Not THE wandering parakeet. But MY wandering parakeet. She’s loyal. And you love her for it. He needs a loyal woman. He just doesn’t know it yet. And she is willing to wait.

Think about the scene where CK Dexter Haven asks Ruth Hussey why she doesn’t force him to marry her. She’s on the stairway going up to bed, member that scene? It’s about 6 o’clock in the morning, and CK Dexter Haven has driven her back to the Lord mansion, after she typed out his big story. She’s exhausted. Okay, one small actor moment to notice: Miss Imbrie is in a long formal gown, left-over from the party the night before. And just in her body language, actress Ruth Hussey is able to convey so convincingly what exactly it feels like to wear high heels for 10 hours straight. It is not comfortable. You cannot wait to get the damn things off. Your feet ache, pinch. Watch how she takes off her shoes in that scene. Just watch. That’s ACTING. After all, the actress Ruth Hussey has not been dancing at a party all night long, and then racing around after her drunk boyfriend. Actress Ruth Hussey, in that taking-off-shoes moment, is just pretending. But it’s real. It’s that kind of detail that makes a performance great. Good performances abound, but many miss those small moments of reality. Every time I see that scene, my own feet remember the pinch of high heels. I’m not exaggerating.

There’s this exhausted camaraderie between CK Dexter Haven and Miss Imbrie in that scene. You understand why Miss Imbrie probably has a ton of male friends. They may all want to sleep with her, but they accept second-best: her friendship. She does not condescend, she does not flirt, she treats men straight-up – in a frank and friendly way. Even though she’s hard-bitten in some way, and she’s tough – she is NOT unforgiving. THAT’S what is special about this performance. She is actually the essence of the forgiving female. Yet she’s not a doormat.

(See why actresses usually can’t pull this role off? It’s a very tough balancing act. If you don’t have BOTH elements, and only nail ONE, then you aren’t doing a good job.)

CK Dexter Haven, in that 6 a.m. truthful energy, asks her why she doesn’t marry Macauley.

I cannot remember her exact line, but it’s something like: “He has a lot of growing up to do. And I don’t want to stand in his way.”

Beautiful. She is willing to wait.

And her face, the next morning, when she realizes that Macauley and Tracy have had some kind of kissy-kiss thing happen. You see this flash of deep true sadness on her face. Her eyes. The pain in those eyes. But she doesn’t flip out, or accuse Tracy or Macauley … she holds her counsel. She doesn’t involve the whole crowd with her sadness, she bears it on her own. (Again, this is all really subtle. That’s why it’s so good. Nothing is belabored or hammered over our head.)

Later, as things are working themselves out … Tracy (self-consumed up until this moment) suddenly realizes what she has actually done to Miss Imbrie. Miss Imbrie becomes real to Tracy, in that moment. Tracy runs over to Miss Imbrie, takes her hands, and says, “Oh, Liz, I am so so sorry.”

Miss Embrie’s reply (to the woman who made out with her boyfriend just hours before) is: “Oh it’s all right Tracy. We all go haywire at times and if we don’t, maybe we ought to.”

This is not bull shit, or false pride, or keeping a stiff upper lip. Miss Imbrie REALLY means this. Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you just love her? It can’t be easy for her, because she can’t allow herself any illusions … but still. The rewards for having that sort of generous and forgiving stance towards the foibles of humanity must be very very great.

I have gone on long enough, but I just wanted to blather on about one of my favorite performances ever, and to take a moment and remember Ruth Hussey at the time of her passing. A beautiful and warm actress, she gave a performance that will live forever.