James Agee Movies

Adapted from James Agee's posthumously published, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Death in the Family is set in Knoxville, TN, in 1915. The death of husband and father Jay Follett (John Slattery) in a car accident has profound and long-reaching effects upon his wife, Mary (Annabeth Gish), and his sensitive, seven-year-old son, Rufus (Austin Wolff). At the core of the crisis is Mary's prickly relationship with her own family, exacerbated by her late husband's unwillingness to "go with the flow" in terms of religion and race relations. The kindly intervention of Mary's free-spirited artist brother, Andrew (David Alford), enables her and her son to go on with their lives. Told from Rufus' point of view, the novel version of Death in the Family had previously served as the source for the Broadway play and film All the Way Home. This production, filmed on-location in Tennessee, was telecast by PBS on March 25, 2002 as part of Masterpiece Theatre's "American Collection." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A seven year old and his mother cope with his father's death in an auto accident. His grieving mother is in denial, and the rush of well-meaning relatives fails to help the situation. The boy observes the reaction of adults to the death of his father, taking refuge in the world and games of children to escape the sadness. Mary (Jean Simmons) slowly accepts her husband's death and begins to adjust to the devastating loss. The story is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by James Agee. Robert Preston plays the friendly, ill-fated husband whose brother Ralph (Pat Hingle) is the local undertaker in this dramatic tear jerker. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This colorful if somewhat truncated biopic of the legendary Mongol leader was filmed in the Philippines. Manuel Conde (the film's producer) stars as Temujin, the peasant later to be known as Genghis Khan. In rapid-fire order, Temujin fights a rival tribe over the rights to water hole, avenges the murder of his father, and claims the heroine (Elvira Reyes). Originally filmed in the Tagalog language, Genghis Khan was released in the US with a narration spoken by film critic/screenwriter James Agee. This all-but-forgotten film bears the distinction of receiving two reviews in the trade paper Variety; The first time for its Philippine debut, in 1952, and the second time for its American distribution by United Artists in 1953. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After years of wooing director John Huston via good reviews, film critic James Agee was given a chance to write the screenplay for a Huston picture. Adapted from a novel by C.S. Forester, The African Queen stars Humphrey Bogart in his Oscar-winning portrayal of Charlie Allnut, the slovenly, gin-swilling captain of a tramp steamer called the African Queen, which ships supplies to small East African villages during World War I. Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, the maiden-lady sister of a prim British missionary, Rev. Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley). When Germans invade and Samuel dies, Allnut offers to take Rose back to civilization. She can't tolerate his drinking or bad manners; he isn't crazy about her imperious, judgmental attitude. However it does not take long before their passionate dislike turns to love. Together the disparate duo work to ensure their survival on the treacherous waters and devise an ingenious way to destroy a German gunboat. The African Queen may well be the perfect adventure film, its roller-coaster storyline complemented by the chemistry between its stars. The profound difficulties inherent in filming on location in Africa have been superbly documented by several books, including one written by Katharine Hepburn. Screenwriter Peter Viertel (who worked, on an uncredited basis, on the script of this film - assisting with some of the dialogue) incorporated some of the African Queen anecdotes in his roman a clef about a Huston-like director/adventurer, White Hunter, Black Heart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi