Commentary
It’s just another peaceful August. Maui was devastated by a fire, British Columbia has been blazing, and California was hit by a hurricane. The media may distract you from the crises, but it certainly won’t lift your spirits or make you forget your troubles. My favorite diversion during hard times is a classic movie.
Today’s moment of movie wisdom is from “It Happened to Jane” from 1959. It takes place 100 minutes into this 123-minute film. Widowed lobster merchant Jane Osgood (Doris Day) gets in a huge fight with tyrannical railroad owner Harry Foster Malone (Ernie Kovacs) when he refuses to reimburse her for a shipment of lobsters whose death he caused. When Jane’s demand for justice makes Malone stop all railroad service to her hometown, her neighbors turn on her at the town meeting. After she leaves in tears, her childhood friend, George Denham (Jack Lemmon), reproaches the townspeople for betraying Jane and their town’s values with their selfish behavior.
The Film
Jane Osgood lives in the charming town of Cape Anne, Maine, with her young son, Billy (Teddy Rooney), and daughter, Betty (Gina Gillespie). Just as her business is getting started, a shipment of three hundred lobsters is returned to her on a slow freight train, dead. Jane is devastated, realizing that her live lobsters died because there were no train station employees to unload the shipment due to the railroad’s economizing measures. Her friends and neighbors advise her not to fight the railroad’s tyrannical owner, Harry Foster Malone, but Jane demands justice.Jane enlists the legal assistance of her close friend and casual sweetheart, George, a small-town lawyer who hopes to replace Cape Anne’s longtime first selectman, Aaron Caldwell (John Cecil Holm), the town’s chief elected official. As Jane’s story hits the front pages, New York newspaperman Larry Hall (Steve Forrest) arrives in Cape Anne to interview her. George becomes extremely jealous as he sees that the handsome stranger is very interested in Jane. Even with the help of her friends, lots of publicity, and public sympathy, Jane fights an uphill battle to get what she deserves from “the meanest man in the world.”
The Scene
This scene takes place during a meeting in Cape Anne’s historic town hall. It’s mentioned several times that this New England town is one of the only places left in the United States where true democracy is practiced, since every adult citizen votes on every issue. At this particular meeting, the people are voting for first selectman, as well as on other issues. Jane arrives during the meeting and is greeted as a celebrity, since her fight with Malone has made her and Cape Anne famous around the country. However, Caldwell reveals that Malone just cancelled all train service in and out of the town to get even with Jane. Realizing how much this will impact Cape Anne’s economy, the citizens begin growing angry, goaded on by Caldwell.
After Jane leaves in tears, Denham demands to be given the floor. Pacing back and forth on the platform, he incredulously says, “I don’t understand it. I’m sorry. I just do not understand you people.” He remonstrates them for silently siding against Jane, rather than acknowledging Malone as their enemy. “Where am I? I’m not in Cape Anne? You remember Cape Anne in 1949 in the big hurricane? All you people, you took 104 survivors off the Atlantic Ocean right into your homes. And I don’t remember any talk then about the almighty dollar or ‘what’s in it for me’ or ‘oh, my problems,’ not then! ... What is the matter with you people? Don’t you know where you are? Don’t you realize? You’re in a town meeting. And this is one of the last places on this sweet earth where the democratic process is still going on. This is really America. Or was. And the very soul of our system is the dignity of the average American. The dignity and the inalienable right to stand up and fight for what he believes in.”
Its Significance
This scene is a high point in the film for George, who spends most of the story struggling with his confidence. He’s been in love with Jane his whole life; he proposed to her when they were eleven, but she ended up marrying Hank Osgood because he was more persuasive and self-assured in courting her. Now that she’s a widow, he remains a close friend of her family, but he is hesitant about expressing his feelings.George is also the perpetual runner-up in his professional life, since he has been the defeated candidate for first selectman of Cape Anne several years in a row. Everyone knows that Aaron Caldwell has been basically automatically reelected as far back as anyone can remember, but George keeps trying. Jane is frustrated with his timidity as a candidate, since he is unable to speak as passionately about his desire to help the community at a rally as at her kitchen table.
In this scene, George is fired up for the first time in the movie. He couldn’t fight for his own cause or defend himself, but he is fearless when it comes to defending someone he loves. After watching Caldwell dominate the whole meeting with stubbornness and sarcasm, he’s fed up but resolved to the fact that the town doesn’t want anything better. However, he can no longer remain silent after Aaron mockingly twists a vote of confidence over Jane’s fight with Malone into a cruel accusation of the principled woman. Not only loyalty but chivalry and patriotism motivate George to finally have the confidence to speak his mind.
Inspiring Patriotism
This movie is outside the usual period I cover (1934-1954), when the Motion Picture Production Code ensured decency and wholesomeness in all Hollywood movies. However, “It Happened to Jane” has all the qualities of a Code film. The acting from Doris Day, Jack Lemmon, and Ernie Kovacs is very dramatic, and the use of real New Englanders as extras adds charm and authenticity.The town meeting scene is one of the most dramatic performances Jack Lemmon gave in his early career. Years before he would be acclaimed as a serious actor rather than a comedian, he proved his range of emotions and intensity in this scene. His impassioned speech, uninterrupted and unaccompanied by scoring, is a stirring reminder of what patriotism means.
