Alex Woloch writes that a character is as much about what is told, or in this case shown, about a character as what’s left out. In the case of Burt Gurney, in Hail! Caesar, it is perhaps as much about both. The character himself does not have much to do with the main conflict of the story but certainly adds an interesting view into it. We are introduced to the idea of communists being hidden within the movie industry after Baird Whitlock is kidnapped by said communists. They plan to equalise the apparent unfair earnings between the stars and those behind the scenes. There is no indication that this communist mentality goes farther than those behind the screen until near the end of the film. This is where Burt Gurney, a character that up until this point was presented as being a friendly, jovial character, ready to do whatever the director wanted. In this scene, however, we see that his character is in fact quite opposite of what was first portrayed. Christian Keathley, in his work “Pass the salt … and other bits of business,” talks about the bits of a scene that tell more than what the characters are talking about. Their actions, movements, or other things that can change how the scene is received. In the last scene we see Burt Gurney he is getting into a communist submarine to go to Russia and complete his communist training. In the boat with him are all the behind-the-scenes communists who present Burt with money they raised to aid in the cause. Burt’s dog is also there, whom he entrusts to those on the boat. As the group hand Burt the money the dog jumps from the boat, and Burt drops the money to catch it. This moment where he catches the dog, harkens back to the first time we see him and his happy attitude. This is a ‘bit’ in this scene that shows Burt is not attached to the communist way as those who are in the boat.
Works Cited
Keathley, Christian. “Pass the salt … and other bits of business.” Screen, Vol. 52, No.1, 2011, pg. 105-113.
Woloch, Alex. The One vs. The Many. Princeton UP, 2004.
Provide Feedback