The Fountainhead (1949)
King Vidor's "The Fountainhead"
King Vidor's 1949 film "The Fountainhead" was written for the screen by Ayn Rand, who also wrote the 1943 novel of the same name. Rand was born in Russia in 1905 and raised by parents who were members of the bouregouis class. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Rand's life was upended and turned upside down by the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin. Because the Bolsheviks operated under the philosophies of collectivism and communism, they attacked the bourgeious class for its individualist perspective, believing that individualism erroded the fabric of unity and actively oppressed those below them in the economic ladder. Because of these philosophies by the new Soviet goverment, Rand's father's pharmacy was confiscated and the family fled Russia. These events happening at a very young age laid the foundation for the person she would be throughout her life. At university, she studied history and gravitated towards the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche. This education along with the tragic circumstances of her childhood helped created the philosphy and perspective that she would become world famous for during her lifetime and decades after. Rand came to the United States and found work as a Hollywood extra before venturing into the world of screenwriting. She had mild success as a screenwriter throughout the 1930s, even writing a courtoom drama that went on to become a successful stage play. During this time, tensions were heating up in Europe due to the rise of facism in German and the new authoritarianism in the Communist party of her homeland. These events greatly affected Rand's writing, as her work got more and more political - writing about dystopian futures of totalitarian collectivism and struggles between the individual and the state. During the many years writing screenplays, plays, and novellas, Rand was also spending her time working on her novel, The Fountainhead. Released in 1943, the novel focuses on the ideas of individualism vs collectivism. In it, a young and ambitious architect sets his own values and ideas for himself which alienates him from the architectual community. Tempted by that community, critics, and 'the herd,' the architect time and time again refuses to conform his work to what is expected and demanded of him - only working on the condition that his vision not be comporomised or changed in any way. Like the architect of her story, Rand informed Warner Brothers that her novel would only be allowed to adapted into a film if she got to write the screenplay. Not only this, the screenplay was not allowed to be edited in any way from Rand's original script. She also choose Gary Cooper as the lead actor of the film, along with who would direct the film, King Vidor.
The harsh criticisms of the amoral sex and violence of King Vidor's previous film, Duel in the Sun, forced the director to consider taking a new project that would focus on a constructive presentation of American Individualism that aligned more with his Christian Science perceptions of morality. In joining with Rand and her screenplay, Vidor was able to enact these desires.
In the story of The Fountainhead, an architect named Howard Roark follows his own artistic path, despite pressures from fellow architects and critics. They believe that building designs should use the traditional Greek approach, believing that new models and designs would upset the sensabilities of the public. Howard, on the other hand, uncompromisingly insists his structures should be in the style of modernism. The designs used in the film by Howard resemble the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright at the bequest of Rand. Howard is emplematic of Rand's individualist perspective. Rather than conforming to the placation of society and the 'herd,' he follows his own values. Through this unbending defiance of collectivist thinking, he is able to innovate and push design forward into the future. Through this, Rand believes that collectivist thinking breeds stagnation of society while individiualist thinking breeds innovation and creativity.
Howard becomes the subject of a public smear campaign. For many of the critics, convention is not only the reason for rallying against him. It is because of Howard's unwillingness to bend to the power they posses that ignites this campaign. Rand believes that collectivism is used as a basis for authoritarian implemenation. She believes that it is the responsibility of the individual to deviate from collective thinking, thereby restricting mechanisms to exert power over the population. Through the film, she enacts the idea that the more a society thinks and believes as a group, the more they become vulnerable to manipulations of their collective values and beliefs. The campaign against Howard is simply due to his staunch individualism, not allowing his work to be comprimised. The newspapers submit to the public propoganda against him, swaying public opinion to the side of his opposition. The easy manipulation by those with feigned 'authority' create a mob synchronized to their ideas. The characters in the film who think for themselves rather than conform to external pressures keep their dignity, in the eyes of Rand. They also push society foward - as she believes that collective thinking creates an environment of comfort, as 'the herd' will only ever concede to 'known' ideas and beliefs. Innovative ideas and changing times discomfort 'the herd.' Because of this, it becomes necessary to formulate a society of individual thinkers, as it the only way out of the past and into the future.
Vidor's direction of Rand's story has become something of note over time. Vidor imbuses a lot of the shots with phallic imagery. Because of this, it has been debated about whether Vidor coincides with Rand's vision. Some believe that this imagery is because the story is made so inherently sexual by Rand - saturating the story with sexual tension. It is Rand's sexual tension that romanticises the philosophical desires of a new world perspective, made real by the story's love traingle between Howard; Dominique - architechical critic who loves Howard's artistic purity but believes that he will not be able to stand against the collective attacks; and Gail, the owner of the newspaper running the smear campaign against Howard - a man who was once like Howard until the pressures of society foreced him into an authoritaian perspective (and who, by the end, sees the errors of his ways). Perhaps this is why Vidor permates his visuals with sexual imagery. Others believe that this imagery is Vidor's mocking of its subject matter, believing these didactic ideas to be egotistical and self-important or selfish.
Another element Vidor embeds in his direction are the colors and designs of the set pieces and of the film itself. Vidor visual sytle was intentionally influenced by German Expressionism. While this film style did not totally take control of the film (as the film still is presented in the syle of realism), its influence on the lighting and staging presented visuals that echoed the fururistic and sleek style the characters internally exhibit and praise. Much like with his phallic imagery, this style could be taken with varying interpreations. Perhaps Vidor is embracing the cooled and stark tones that could be aligned with Howard's architechual designs. Or Vidor could be painting the characters as inherently cold and distant - as they are uninfluence and unconcerned with the ideas of others. This also comes into play through Vidor's use of open space - as many of his set pieces portray vast and empty rooms surrounding and engulfing the characters. Despite his inital interest in the project from the perspective of American individualism, Vidor still was a director whose primary concern was that of humanity. Either he believed that Rand's philosophies of the individual benefited humanity, or that it eleminated humanity by removing the need for consideration of others. Because of this differing interpretation of the film by many, it seems up to the viewer to interpret Vidor's visuals in comparison with Rand's screenplay and themes.
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