The Fountainhead (King Vidor 1949)
Posted on August 29 at 13.51, 2006 by Eric Mahleb
For anyone other than Ayn Rand herself, the idea of bringing her tedious and radical 1943 novel to the screen would have seemed a gargantuan and impossible task.
Rand’s novel about the powers of egoism and reason as the ultimate tools of human happiness is a laborious and fascinating read that packs enough philosophical verbosity to make any screenwriter cringe. How does one effectively condense 700 pages of philosophical discourse into a less than 2 hours film and still manages to keep the cinema audience entertained? How do you lead your actors to act like the ultimate reasoning and rational egoists (and therefore, by all traditional standards, with a high degree of coldness) without resorting to dull and expressionless simulating (Brad Pitt attempting to play a blasé vampire for instance)?
King Vidor, one of early Hollywood’s most prolific and talented directors, does certainly everything in his power to keep the story moving at a strong pace. But the film nonetheless falls under the pretentiousness of its dialog and the stoicism of its acting. Rand can only turn her pages of philosophical substance into snappy one-liners, which, deprived of their context and elaborate background explanations, lose most of their meaning and end up sounding artificial and incredibly pedagogic. Gary Cooper, with his natural capacity towards sobriety of acting, may have seemed like the perfect choice to play Howard Roark, the architect who will compromise for no one, but he only looks more aloof than usual, as if unsure of the true meaning of the words that are coming out of his mouth.
Still, the film has an ‘over-the-top’ quality that makes it extremely entertaining, a melodramatic dimension that works in spite of itself, rather than as an intended effort by Rand who clearly believed in the dull seriousness with which her lines were delivered.
My vote: 
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One Response to “The Fountainhead”
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High Noon - Quiet Please - Film reviews by Eric Mahleb Says:
April 14, 2007 at 17.26[…] Yet, the marshal himself, by refusing to leave town and by accepting to face his destiny and his death with courage and dignity, also shows some good ole’ American values, ones that were dear to the American right of the 50’s. Cary Cooper, who plays the Marshall Will Kane, unless I am mistaken, was not a left wing man. And his determination and stubbornness in the face of sure death and a disintegrating and spineless community around him is a reminder of Howard Roark, the character he played in The Fountainhead. Ayn Rand might have been proud of Will Kane, or perhaps she would have suggested he leave town quickly and not bother with this disgraceful and cowardly community. […]