Monday, August 5, 2013

Juno and the Paycock

Juno and the Paycock (1929) An Irish family copes with loss during the Irish Civil War

Notable cast/crew: Sara Allgood as Juno Boyle.  Edward Chapman as Captain Boyle.  Sidney Morgan as Joxer Daly.  John Laurie as Johnny Boyle.  Kathleen O'Regan as Mary Boyle.  John Longden as Charles Bentham.  Barry Fitzgerald as the Orator.

Running time: 96 minutes

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Plot: The Irish are at war with one another.  An orator rouses the crowd in the street, reminding them that when the Irish have stuck and fought together, they have never lost, but when they have been divided, they have never won.  But an ambush has been set, and men open fire on the gathered crowd from a window above.  Men scatter with Captain Boyle and his friend Joxer Daly hiding out in a pub.  After mooching drinks, they return to Boyle's residence for a cup of tea thinking the Captain's wife, Juno, is out.  She's in, and they lay it on thick discussing a phony work opportunity before she runs Joxer off.  It's quite clear that the Captain is a layabout who "develops" pain whenever someone mentions a job prospect, and Juno is his long-suffering wife who doesn't tolerate his nonsense.  Their son Johnny hangs about the place but is suffering from physical and mental torment from the war.
Is she listening?  Me leg's still achin' then

Their daughter, Mary, arrives with Charles Bentham who tells them that their relative has passed away and left them somewhere between 1500 and 2000 pounds.  They'll be able to leave their tenement housing in Dublin, and the Captain won't have to "look" for work any longer.  Mary begins to worry as they begin to spend money on frills like a victrola, but Juno assures her it's but a small thing with 2000 quid coming.

The second act shows more and more changes to the flat: finer clothes, new furniture, a new tea set.  Bentham comes to visit again, and the discussion of ghosts unnerves Johnny.  Joxer accompanies Mrs Madigan, the pub owner, to see the Boyles, and they hold an impromptu party to celebrate the Boyles' good fortune and soon departure.  Mary and Bentham are soon to be wed.  Johnny continues to be agitated at talk of a neighbor's son who was turned in to the police and killed.  He verges on breakdown upon hearing the funeral procession outside.  An IRA agent shows up demanding Johnny show up for questioning.  They suspect he's the one who ratted out the young man.  Johnny begs that he's lost an arm and use of one of his legs in the cause.  Hasn't he done enough for Ireland?  "No man can do enough for Ireland," is the reply.

The third act opens with the Captain at Bentham's office.  Bentham has made an error in drafting the will, and the Boyles are receiving nothing.  Word spreads quickly, and creditors soon come looking for payment.  They take away the Boyles' new possessions to pay their debts.  Juno arrives home, distraught.  Mary is pregnant, and Bentham has hightailed it to England having never married her.  The Captain considers kicking Mary out, but Juno says if Mary goes she goes, too.  The Captain then reveals to the family there's no inheritance.  Bentham screwed up the will leaving the property to the "cousins" instead of naming the specific heirs, and now they're coming out of the woodwork to make claims while the lawyers eat up the proceeds.  

Mary encounters her old suitor Jerry, who is anxious to take her back until he finds out she's with child.  While everyone else is dealing with the creditors, the IRA men show up and take Johnny out at gunpoint.  Juno and Mary return home to find the home empty and learn Johnny was killed by the IRA men.  Juno and Mary leave to identify the body, and they're not going to return.  They will leave the Captain to his own devices and stay with Juno's sister.  Juno's final soliloquy bemoans the endless violence and begs God's love and mercy.

MacGuffin: None

Hitchcock cameo: None

Hitchcock themes: None

Verdict: Released as The Shame of Mary Boyle in the US, Juno and the Paycock is a straightforward reproduction of the stage play by Sean O'Casey.  Hitchcock and O'Casey got on well, and O'Casey was the inspiration for the prophet of doom in the diner scene of The Birds.  The name derives from the Roman goddess of marriage, queen of the gods who was depicted with a peacock.  The Captain is several times compared to or called a peacock, and Aesop's fable of Juno and the Peacock has some bearing on the symbolism referenced:
The Peacock made complaint to Juno that, while the nightingale pleased every ear with his song, he himself no sooner opened his mouth than he became a laughingstock to all who heard him.  The Goddess, to console him, said, "But you far excel in beauty and in size.  The splendor of the emerald shines in your neck, and you unfold a tail gorgeous with painted plumage."  "But for what purpose have I," said the bird, "this dumb beauty so long as I am surpassed in song?"  "The lot of each," replied Juno, "has been assigned by the will of the Fates - to thee, beauty; to the eagle, strength; to the nightingale, song; to the raven, favorable, and to the crow, unfavorable auguries.  These are all contented with the endowments allotted to them."
The Boyles, instead of remaining content with living within their means, spend money they don't yet have, and it causes the destruction of their family.  Proverbs 19:4 is also illustrated: "Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor man deserts him."

The film marked the screen debuts of Barry Fitzgerald (the Orator) and Edward Chapman (Captain Boyle).  Fitzgerald originated the role of the Captain on the stage, and O'Casey wrote the opening scene specifically for the movie to be able to include Fitzgerald.  Sara Allgood originated the role of Juno on the stage and does fine work here.  There is a bit of Andy Capp and Flo in the Captain and Juno characters which I enjoyed.

This movie is not well regarded among Hitchcock enthusiasts because it really is not a Hitchcock film.  It's almost a word for word adaptation of the stage play.  People who come in expecting a typical Hitchcock film usually find this dull, and it doesn't help that the film copies floating around are mostly poorly copied public domain versions of the film.  Hitchcock himself was dismissive of it in later years referring to it as a "photograph of a stage play", but there are other sources which claim that he was fond of the play and enthusiastic to film it at the time.

The play was very popular at the time, and the movie was well received when it came out which was only a few years after the Irish Civil War.  It is at times very funny while also turning quite bleak at the end.  It's a serious film about a troubled people in a troubled time, and it strikes me as containing something quintessentially Irish.  It's not in the pantheon of "great Hitchcock films", but it deserves better than the indifference many regard it with.

Out of five bananas, I give it:



Next review: Murder!

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