Stanley Kramer Essay

2969 Words12 Pages
Stanley Kramer For my final paper, I chose to watch five films directed by Stanley Kramer. The films I watched were, “On the Beach”, “The Defiant Ones”, “Inherit the Wind”, “The Pride and the Passion”, and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”. In all these movies, Kramer portrays some sort of underdog idea or the idea of being an outcast. “On the Beach” is a dark, apocalyptic tale of what remains of civilization after nuclear war. The story generally centers itself around four major characters and their ability or inability to cope with their impending fate as they wait for deadly radioactive fallout to encompass the southern hemisphere. In this case Melbourne, Australia. Mary and Peter Homes are a young married couple with distinctly different coping mechanisms. Mary lives in a world of denial and refuses to face the reality that she and her family will be dead by September. Conversely, Peter, an Australian Navy man gives the reader the impression that he accepts his fate as he carries on with his day-to-day tasks while simultaneously preparing his family for the end. I would like to see Peter’s resolve and his wife’s obsessive tendencies carry over into the film version. Peter’s strength of character provides a good balance to his wife’s neurotic behavior. While Mary painstakingly tends to her garden and plans for her family’s future, Peter tries to be loving and supportive yet he silently harbors a sexist animosity towards his wife caused by her refusal to learn of the cyanide pills. Moria Davidson and Dwight Towers are also two essential characters in the story. Moria is a young, free spirit who accepts her fate but drowns her sorrows in alcohol. She lives her life in a robust manner as if each day she awakens will be her last. After meeting Dwight Towers, the American submarine captain, she learns to find comfort in his friendship rather than the
Open Document