I've always admired people who try something new late in life. One of personal favorite stories I've written for newspapers was a piece I did on people who became artists in their 30s, 40s and even beyond.
Frank McCourt wrote his first book, "Angela's Ashes," in his mid-60s. Norman MacLean published "A River Runs Through it" at age 75. Perhaps it's not happenstance that they were both autobiographical works, written by people with long teaching careers. And both were made into movies.
"The Whole Wide World" is another in that vein. The 1996 film is based on a memoir, "One Who Walked Alone," written by Novalyne Price Ellis in the 1980s about her friendship and brief romance with Robert E. Howard in the 1930s.
If Howard's name doesn't ring a bell, I'm not surprised. He's one of the most famous authors whom nobody knows.
Howard was a pulp fiction writer whose work mostly appeared in magazines and cheap paperback compilations. During his short life he wrote most every type of fiction -- dramas, Westerns, sports stories, you name it. But he's best known for his work in the nascent sword-and-sorcery genre. He created Conan the Barbarian, whose mighty legs strode the literary and cinematic worlds.
Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger were mostly unknown youngsters back in 1996, although D'Onofrio had a few more high-profile roles ("Full Metal Jacket," "Ed Wood") under his belt than she did, pre-"Jerry Maguire."
D'Onofrio is known to be a scenery-chewing performer, but it fits for this outsized role as a man who lived (and died) by his own rules. Howard rejected conformity and eschewed middle-American values -- and yet he lived with his parents his entire life, and doted on his mother (Ann Wedgeworth).
There's a great scene where Novalyne sees Bob Howard in town with his mother, and you can see the envy in her eyes as she witnesses how considerate and gentlemanly he is around his mother -- exactly unlike the brooding, boasting figure he strikes during their on-again, off-again dating.
One of the most interesting things about the portrayal of Howard is that he wrote his lusty, blood-spattered Conan stories banging away at his typewriter while yelling his prose out loud, like a mad shaman spinning tales of yore. In another scene, Novalyne asks Bob to describe Conan, and he pulls the car over, jumps out in front of a cornfield and proceeds to deliver a thunderous, passionate rendering of an anti-hero who "takes it from no one."
Having read all of Howard's Conan books and knowing a little about him, it's clear that the author saw himself in these stories -- or at least how would like to have been. Of course, it's easier to be an iconoclast when you're swinging a sword against monsters, instead of a chubby outcast in Depression-era Texas.
Directed by Dan Ireland from a script by Michael Scott Myers, "The Whole Wide World" starts out as a mesmerizing portrait of Robert E. Howard that slowly loses steam as the movie's focus shifts over to Novalyne. Part of that reflects the historical record -- Howard and Price never could keep any kind of momentum going in their romance, and they grew farther apart the nearer his death grew.
(I should point out his suicide at age 30 had nothing to do with losing her. Upon hearing that his mother, who had long been in decline with tuberculosis, would never wake again, he walked out to his car and shot himself. He lived a few more hours, and his mother died the next day.)
But the bigger challenge is that making a movie about an amazing, bigger-than-life personality is much easier to do than one about the person who was inspired by them. The half-crazy artist is always going to be more interesting than the ordinary friend or relative who had to put up with them. They don't make movies centering on Vincent Van Gogh's brother or Shakespeare's wife.
3 stars
"I should point out his suicide at age 30 had nothing to do with losing her. Upon hearing that his mother, who had long been in decline with tuberculosis, would never wake again, he walked out to his car and shot himself. He lived a few more hours, and his mother died the next day."
ReplyDeleteActually, current thinking on Howard's suicide is that there were many contributing factors. Howard displayed all the hallmarks of clinical depression from as young as 16. He certainly talks about it in his letters.
Indeed, rather than killing himself in despair over losing his mother, it's more likely that Hester was the only thing keeping him on this mortal coil in the first place. He spoke much of his sense of responsibility for looking after her, with his father away for weeks at a time and nobody else to care for her. Once it was clear Hester wouldn't wake up, Howard had no outstanding responsibilities, and thus no reason to keep on living.
One could suggest that if Price and Howard were still together things might've been different, but that's in the realm of speculation. Certainly it's no more speculative than the theory of Howard killing himself in despair over his mother's impending death, which is only due to a simplistic application of perceived cause and effect.
Also:
ReplyDelete"Having read all of Howard's Conan books and knowing a little about him, it's clear that the author saw himself in these stories -- or at least how would like to have been."
I don't know how you could come to that impression if you indeed know only a "little" about him. Howard's Conan stories only account for about 5% of his entire literary output: any psychological evaluation of the man based on such a shallow reference pool is bound to be incomplete.
If Howard saw much of himself in Conan - well, what of it? Conan was designed to be a strong, powerful protagonist who could believably survive his adventures, and there's the old adage "write what you know."
"Of course, it's easier to be an iconoclast when you're swinging a sword against monsters, instead of a chubby outcast in Depression-era Texas."
Howard regularly kept fit, built up his physique, and was an enthusiastic amateur boxer. The adjective "chubby" gives the impression of some sad lonesome nerd who never experiences physical exertion more strenuous than tapping a typewriter.
All that aside, an interesting review of the film. I hope it leads you to read more of Howard's work, as well as more on his life. I recommend "Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard" by Mark Finn.
This is totally a side issue but perceptions of masculinity/toughness have certainly changed over the years. Big beefy guys like REH were considered pretty tough guys in the past. Just using an extreme, guys "chubbier" than REH like Alan Hale Sr. AND Jr. are tough guys. AH Sr. played "Little" John in the best Robin Hood movie. Errol Flynn had to use his brain to knock him off the log, it was understood AH Sr. was a strong guy. The Skipper was the toughest guy on the island. Pretty Boy Professor didn't stand a chance in even a mock fight (sure, you remember that episode!).
ReplyDeleteSure, looking at the surviving photos of REH you see a guy by (especially) today's standards who lacks definition, muscle tone, a six pack etc. But Howard biography, L. Sprague de Camp was right in his book, Dark Valley Destiny. REH built himself from a slight youth into a solid figure of mostly muscle.
Thanks for the great responses and insights! Best comments I've had in a good long while.
ReplyDeleteHoward was indeed prolific -- 12 Conan books (although the last two or three were compiled from incomplete writings or notes). I've encountered a few other of his writings from other genres, but know him mostly from the exploits of the Cimmerian.
As to references about Howard seeing himself in his work, I'm referring more to the movie here than the historical record, which as my visitors have noted, is far from complete. In the film, he's depicted as a dreamer who had little use for, or patience with, regular society and its conventions.