When a studio wanted to make “The Fountainhead”, Ayn Rand drove a hard bargain. She demanded to be the screenwriter and that not a word of the final work would be changed. That is why the movie is more like the book than any others.
That's also why it was a terrible movie.
She needs an editor, a 100 page speech by John Galt, hell the 10 pages of Roark's speech at his second trial was bad enough. To describe her writing as 'turgid' is giving her credit. "We the Living" is the best written book she's done where I suspect she had an editor.
I loved how in South Park, when officer Barbrady learned to read he thought it was great, until someone gave him a copy of "Atlas Shrugged" then it sucked *ss and swore to never read again.
An excellent (but unauthorized by Rand) film version of We the Living was produced in Italy during WWII. The producers thought it would be effective anti-Soviet propaganda, but the Germans realized it would be equally effective anti-Nazi propaganda and banned it.
One of both Cooper’s and Massey’s finest performances. Also one of Vidor’s better films, too.
Its also amazing who shows up in secondary and bit roles, too. Ray Collins, (Lt. Tragg on “Perry Mason”) is terrific as Roger Enright, Kent Smith as the suitably befuddled and incompetent Peter Keating, Robert Douglass as the suavely evil Ellsworth Toohey, and Henry Hull as the once-great but now forgotten Henry Cameron.
FYI, it was Patricia Neal’s very first film and rumor has it she and Gary Cooper had a torrid affair while it was filmed.
Oh, Max Steiner’s score is magnificent.