The Manchurian Candidate, Gentleman’s Agreement

From The Manchurian Candidate.

Stockwell is barely in this one, has maybe 3 lines – but then a big ol’ closeup in that final scene (seen above), where his world crashes around him. That’s a star closeup. The camera has moved in on him slowly – it’s all in one unbroken take – but he saves the “money” intensity til the camera is closest. He’s modulating whats happening in him, holding back the good stuff – until he knows it can be seen. I love crap like that, obviously – it’s the unsung great moments of people just doing their job.

Stockwell doesn’t like a lot of things. He doesn’t like to rehearse, he doesn’t like to do research, he doesn’t like to talk about the scene beforehand – he doesn’t like a lot of talk. What he DOES like is to know what camera lens will be used, how the shot is set up, how the camera will move – and other technical issues – because he needs to know how he will fit in to all of THAT. He said that this has been the case since he was a little kid, and an old pro by the age of 9.

On Gentleman’s Agreement – when he was 8 years old – Elia Kazan, the director, came up to him before a big crying scene. Stockwell, as a kid, dreaded crying scenes. He would get a new script, and flip through it looking for any tears he would have to shed – and if there were tears, he would worry about it and dread it for the entire shoot. So he had to cry in Gentleman’s Agreement. Kazan pulls him aside and starts giving him pointers, saying, “Maybe you should think about, you know, a puppy you loved who died … anything that makes you sad …” Stockwell, a CHILD, nodded at Kazan, whatever – easier just to agree with those who are so much LARGER than you. “Yeah, uh huh, I’ll think of a puppy, sure, dead puppy …” Then right before the scene, he rubbed his eyes as hard as he could for about a minute, until they were good and irritated and full of tears – and played the scene with the remnants of the tears in his eyes, that had NOTHING to do with emotion and everything to do with IRRITATED EYEBALLS.

He’s the best thing in that movie, with John Garfield running a close second. Young Stockwell sure acts Gregory Peck off the screen. I like Gregory Peck, but he is a self-righteous wooden YAWN in Gentleman’s Agreement. Yes, it’s how the part is written, but still, doesn’t make it any more watchable.

It doesn’t matter whether or not Stockwell’s tears were “real”. If it seems like they are, to us, we will be moved.

“Yeah, Kazan, dead puppy, whatevs … I know you’re Mr. Actors Studio Marlon Brando METHOD man, but I got my own method, pal, even though I’m EIGHT and I’ll just rub my eyeballs out of their sockets to get some good tears, mkay? ACTION!”

Stockwell has said he didn’t know why “they” wanted him in Manchurian Candidate – but I would imagine Demme (also director of Married to the Mob) wanted to surround the main characters with a solid supporting cast of great character actors – to give the film weight, and reality – and you can see them everywhere (also, you can see a lot of Demme regulars, if you look closely) – like, Bill Irwin (wonderful actor) plays the Boy Scout troupe leader – he has 2 sentences of dialogue – that’s IT – he’s a glorified extra but he just NAILS it. Stockwell plays one of the big-wigs at Manchurian Global – whose entire life and career depends on Shaw being elected. He has propped up the campaigns of Eleanor Prentiss Shaw – she can pretty much thank the company personally for keeping her elected.

Stockwell also has said that acting with Meryl Streep – being in a scene with her – was a revelation of just what a damn genius she really is.