The Fountainhead (1949)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Ayn Rand (screenplay)
Ayn Rand (novel)

Release Date:

2 July 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

No Man Takes What's Mine !

Plot:

An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.

Plot Keywords:

Architect | Visionary | Individualism | Jackhammer | Personal Vision

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Howard Roark
Patricia Neal	...	Dominique Francon
Raymond Massey	...	Gail Wynand
Kent Smith	...	Peter Keating
Robert Douglas	...	Ellsworth M. Toohey
Henry Hull	...	Henry Cameron
Ray Collins	...	Roger Enright
Moroni Olsen	...	Chairman
Jerome Cowan	...	Alvah Scarret

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #13358) | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The film's failure was largely attributed to Gary Cooper, who at 47 was much older than his twenty-something character and was considered by many critics to be unconvincing playing a man with high ideals.

Goofs:

Continuity: Howard shatters Dominique's slightly damaged fireplace slab with a chisel and says, "Now it's broken and has to be replaced." When Dominique asks Howard if he can replace it, the next shot of Howard shows him kneeling in front of the not-yet shattered marble slab.

Quotes:

Dominique Francon: I'll marry you. Don't you want to ask me any questions?
Gail Wynand: No.
Dominique Francon: Thank you. You're making it easier for me.
Gail Wynand: Whatever your reason, I shall accept it. What I want to find in our marriage will remain my own concern. I exact no promises and impose no obligations. Incidentally, since it is of no importance to you, I love you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bright Leaves (2003)

Too unique to dismiss

Gary Cooper is much too mature for the role of the idealistic architect, but everyone else in the cast is fine. Cooper and Patricia Neal were supposedly involved in a passionate off-camera romance at the time, and some fans of this movie insist they can detect the sparks on-screen, too. I don't, but then I find Cooper such a bore as an actor that it's hard to tell if he's breathing, let alone excited. His performance here almost ruins what could have been a brilliant adaptation of Ayn Rand's ambitious novel. Howard Roark, the architect who refuses to conform to another man's ideals (or lack of them), does not strike me as an "Aw' shucks" kind of guy, but that's pretty much the way Cooper plays him. Roark will build anything--a public housing project, a townhouse, even a gas station--as long as it's built according to his vision. He will not compromise. Cooper just doesn't possess the fire that this character requires. When he becomes impassioned ("A man who works for the sake of others is a slave"), you can almost see the cue cards reflecting in his eyes. Certainly, he doesn't feel Rand's words in his gut. On the plus side, King Vidor's visual style is imaginative, and despite a lot of pompous sermonizing and Cooper's miscasting, this is a worthwhile film simply because there are so few Hollywood productions that emphasize ideas and a man's philosophy. In a curious way, it brings to mind "Network," and other Paddy Chayefsky films.