Cinema Revisited: Pittsburgh (1942)
Directed by Lewis Seiler. Starring John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, Frank Craven, Thomas Gomez, Louise Albritton, Shemp Howard. Released December 11, 1942. Running time: 87 minutes
Early in 1942, John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich, and Randolph Scott starred in "The Spoilers," a top drawer western. By the end of the year, these three actors were teamed again for the drama "Pittsburgh," which is offbeat for each of them, fairly predictable, and still one of the most entertaining movies any of them made.
Wayne and Scott play coal miners who both vie for Dietrich whom they initially take for a classy lady of refinement, but discover she comes from the same sort of background as either of them. Although he is billed third (the other two actors had been stars longer, and likely had contracts regarding their billing), John Wayne is the main figure in the narrative. Wayne plays the title character, "Pittsburgh" Markham, an enterprising man who rises from the coal mines to being a top level executive. Markham's massive ego and quest for power causes him to sacrifice romance, friendships, and his own ideals. His relationship with Scott's character, Cash Evans, is layered and complicated, but it's the sort of friendship that we realize will somehow sustain the many conflicts.
The story is predictable enough, and the underlying theme about the country's greater good being more important than an individual's wealth and power is typical for wartime cinema. Director Lewis Seiler had been helming potboilers like "Dust Be My Destiny" and "You Can't Get Away With Murder" for Warner Brothers, so his first for Universal shows his ability to get a good melodrama out of his stars, despite a generally standard narrative. He holds his shots to allow for the dialog to strengthen the character development. He effectively uses montage and flashbacks to enhance the plot development. And the film movies very quickly, telling a lot its 87 minutes, but sometimes sacrificing any real development among the characters outside of the three leads (Louise Albritton, a good actress, has little time to make an impact, even in a rather pivotal role). But the performances of the three leading stars give the movie its purpose. The climactic fight between Wayne and Scott is a good culmination and a particular highlight. So is Dietrich's tragic free fall into a coal mine due to a faulty elevator.
John Wayne is a noted screen icon for his heroic roles, mostly in westerns made during the post-war era. His earlier films allowed him to branch out and explore characters that were decidedly not heroes. In "Pittsburgh," he rises with carefree manipulation, maintaining a cheerful presence even when at his most overbearing. When he first skips out on a party in his honor, we see the first aspects of success going to his head. The response from Dietrich and Scott in their supporting roles (billing notwithstanding) are strong in their own right, but the spotlight is on John Wayne. The scenes without him (albeit very few) are less interesting.
The supporting cast is filled with the familiar faces of Universal wartime releases, including Frank Craven, Louise Albritton, Thomas Gomez, Ludwig Stössel, Samuel S. Hinds, and Nestor Paiva. But it is Shemp Howard, best known as one of the Three Stooges, who resonates in a role that now only supports a pivotal scene, it is more a character part than a comedy cameo.
The soundtrack features Carroll Gibbons' 1929 composition "A Garden in the Rain," as the main musical theme, effectively backing up a number of dramatic scenes.
"Pittsburgh" is one of the least known films for each of the three lead actors. But it shows how their talent can not only respond to a standard narrative, they can elevate it to a strong, entertaining drama. Of all the movies John Wayne made during the war years, "Pittsburgh" is both the most offbeat as well as one of his best.