Talk:The River (1951 film)

More information on the producer
Does anybody have more information on the producer, Kenneth McEldowney? It appears he was a real estate magnate in New York known chiefly for his hit movie, "The River." Yet as fate would have it, he never filmed another movie again, despite having the means and wherewithal to do so. "The River" was his sole cinematic production.


 * He was a real estate salesman, and not a real estate magnate. He is known to have been a florist.  His wife had some spare time on her hands, and called around to arrange for funding from producers, whom he must have had to answer to.

Elsewhere, Jean Renoir is listed as a co-producer, and not just a director. Was he, then, a junior partner, as it appears? Did he invest capital of his own, to make the movie, or did he demand a share of the net, in return for his services? What was his share of the net?

Conjecture?
It seems some of this article is conjecture, such as this section from the "Storyline":

"Later in the movie, alone in a room elsewhere in the family's mansion, we discover that Captain Jack has a much deeper, and more mature interest in his cousin's twenty-ish, mix-blooded daughter Melanie (Radha Burnier), a sole daughter from an unsuccessful first marriage to an Indian national. Without so much as a heated word, Captain Jack and Melanie appear to have reached a point where their irreconcilable differences are insurmountable. Unlike the five other daughters in the movie, Melanie does not appear deluded by Captain Jack's bearing, and particularly on account of their culture clash finds him more overbearing and stifling than seductive."

I wonder if there's a way to provide a less analytical plot summary without info. that can't be backed up ("has a much deeper, and more mature..."), unless it's attributed to some film critic or a director, in which case it would be interesting to know who.

-Whitney —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.223.224.141 (talk) 04:29, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Captain Jack?
The movie I watched didn't have a character in it named Captain Jack. It did have a Captain John. 71.231.143.65 (talk) 22:16, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Link to his father
I just removed the bit in the intro mentioning his father. I did this on the grounds that Auguste Renoir has nothing to do with this movie. Not only that, Renoir isn't just some painter's son who happened to direct a few movies. He is probably the most accomplished French director of all time. Mentioning his father in intros to articles on his films is unnecessary. john k (talk) 06:27, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Suggested addition to the plot summary
When I saw the movie, I was struck by two things: the director's use of color, and the timeline. I think it would be interesting to mention either or both in the article.

Color: As mentioned, the long turnaround time -- exposed film had to be packaged and shipped to the Technicolor processing facility in England (or maybe it was in France) and could not be viewed by the director close to the time of shooting -- made it critical that the lighting, color filters, etc., be as close to perfect as possible, a major technical challenge. This constraint would normally push a director toward caution, but Renoir made lavish use of bright colors throughout the movie, reportedly astounding the Technicolor personnel who were the first to see the finished product.

Timeline: My understanding is that the events depicted in the movie cover a period of about one year, beginning with a scene showing the children looking through a fence at an arriving visitor, and ending with a similar scene (omitting the deceased boy) about a year later. Along the way, several annual events are shown, including a colorful celebration of the Holi festival (see my comment on Color, above). (The nearby river also provides a unifying theme.) The article mentions the Diwali festival (and links to its page), but I think that mention of other major events depicted, such as Holi, would add to the narrative. PoisonCat69 (talk) 03:40, 14 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Does the story end there...it feels like an abrupt closing...any ideas ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.4.26.61 (talk) 04:00, 4 September 2018 (UTC)