dorofay "When I was a child, I understood as a child and spake as a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things."I first saw The Fountainhead many years ago and greatly enjoyed its boldness. Now I find it painfully awkward to watch.The author behind the movie was - as we all know - Ayn Rand. Rand's life was (understandably) forever shaped by the Russian Revolution which began when she was twelve. This had two effects: (1) she developed no nuance of thought (everything is a rant about collectivism); and (2) emotionally, she never got past the age of twelve. Unfortunately, this comes out in the movie. It is like rereading something you wrote at that age: honest, emotional, and dreadfully embarrassing.

JohnHowardReid Producer: Henry Blanke. Copyright 9 July 1949 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. A Warner Bros-First National picture. New York opening at the Strand: 8 July 1949. U.S. release: 2 July 1949. U.K. release: 28 November 1949. Australian release: 13 July 1951 (sic). 114 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An unconventional architect (somewhat similar to Frank Lloyd Wright) struggles to maintain his integrity in the face of opposition.FULL SYNOPSIS: Howard Roark, an idealistic and highly unorthodox architect with financial difficulties, takes a job in a stone quarry where he meets Dominique, a beautiful heiress. Mutual attraction soon becomes love, but Roark ends the affair abruptly and returns to New York when he is offered an architectural commission. Dominique, meanwhile, weds newspaper tycoon Gail Wynand, whose paper, "The Banner," wages a violent campaign against Roark's ideas. Soon, Peter Keating, a society architect, enlists Roark's aid in the design of a proposed public-housing project. Roark agrees, although he insists that, once his designs are accepted, nothing can be changed. Much later, after returning from a trip with Wynand, now his ally, Roark discovers innumerable changes in his original conception.NOTES: Although the film lost money everywhere else in the world, such was Coop's popularity in Australia, the picture came in 24th for 1951. COMMENT: Ayn Rand's best-seller was a cult classic of the 1950s and 60s. The film too was adopted by the cultists, despite the presence of Gary Cooper who, in the eyes of the corduroy brigade, had not made a "significant" movie since Along Came Jones (1945) — and that was a "lightweight"! And as for the 24 films Coop made after "The Fountainhead", only "High Noon" merited "serious consideration".What attracted the cultists of course were the features that always bring out the best (and worst) in undergraduate philosophizing: — a clear-cut, anti-Establishment message, delivered by off-beat but easy-to-comprehend (because thoroughly one- dimensional) characters in a setting where vice, particularly Lust (sexual lust, power-lust and egomania generally) is seemingly glorified. You look at all the films which cultists praise to the skies from W.C. Fields through "One Hour With You" to :Rocky Horror", all can be broken down to these three simple features.That's not to say, I don't like many of these films. At least half of them have lots of other factors going for them. "The Fountainhead" in fact is one of my favorites. Not because I endorse Miss Rand's philosophy (though it does give us something to think about), but because it's a particularly well-made movie.Blessed with some marvelous acting from a superb assembly of players (whether Cooper is miscast or not is an old argument that is now irrelevant), driving, pacey direction and magnificent production values, "The Fountainhead" is a powerfully entertaining testament to Hollywood craftsmanship at its finest. I especially admired the really striking sets and architectural wonders (including the sweeping special effect elevator ride at the climax), all brilliantly presented by ace photographer Robert Burks in attractive deep focus images. In fact "The Fountainhead" is so appealingly produced in all departments, you can forget the "message". Just sit back and enjoy the picture.OTHER VIEWS: "Man cannot survive except through his mind. But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as the collective brain. The man who thinks must think and act on his own. (The reasoning mind) cannot be subordinated to the needs, opinions, and wishes of others. It is not an object of sacrifice." This extract from the script goes to the heart of Ayn Rand's philosophy, which I have no doubt she would claim was even more relevant today. Do you agree?AVAILABLE on an excellent Warner DVD.

roddekker Let's face it - On the surface The Fountainhead appears to be a fairly ambitious film. But in reality the final product is nothing but a downright silly and confused adaptation of Ayn Rand's famous philosophic novel from 1943. This flick completely misses the mark on all of the book's vitality, dynamics, and character development by a country mile. The Fountainhead has been stripped bare, right down to the plot's basic essentials.The Fountainhead's story spotlights in on a 'Frank Lloyd Wright'-type architect by the name of Howard Roark and his fierce clash with the compromises of society. Roark is a defiant, inflexible man whose determination to retain his artistic integrity must be kept in his complete control at all costs, even if that means resorting to an act of destructive violence.The Fountainhead's one major flaw, and biggest disappointment, was the casting of the 50 year-old Gary Cooper to play a 25 year-old Howard Roark. Not only was that a bad decision, but the story's super-intense romance which Roark had with Dominique Francon was seriously compromised by Cooper's age, too.Roark's love-interest was played by actress Patricia Neal, a woman who was young enough to be Cooper's frickin' grand-daughter, for crying out loud. The sexual-chemistry between these 2 actors on screen was just about nil.The character of Dominique Francon was, indeed, an odd one. This woman was just plain weird from my perspective. I mean, she had the most peculiar, and annoying, way of purposely tormenting any man with whom she found herself attracted to. As far as her actions went - Instead of being pleasantly alluring and enticing, Dominique came across as being extremely repulsive. Believe me, Dominique was one mixed-up babe, that's for sure.All-In-All - The cast did what it could within the stifling limits of a plodding, heavy-handed script that was written by novelist Ayn Rand, herself. At best, The Fountainhead was mediocre movie-entertainment. It should have been a whole lot more than that.

eichler2 I just caught this movie on one of the free cable movie channels. Other reviews have already picked it apart and listed all the reasons why the film is a stilted, sophomoric, pretentious, preachy, melodramatic mess. All I can add is that, if you've never read any Ayn Rand, you should see this movie. Not because it's good (it's definitely not), but at least you'll only waste two hours of your life having Rand's silly "every man for himself" philosophy and "every woman needs a strong man to dominate her" sexual agenda bashed into your head over and over and over. As someone who had the misfortune of spending way too many hours slogging through Atlas Shrugged on the recommendation of a friend, I wish I had just watched this movie instead. It would have warned me off anything with Ayn Rand's name attached to it.On the other hand, if you watch this and think it's brilliant (and the current 7.1 rating it enjoys on IMDb indicates that there must be a lot of people who think so, considering all the 1 and 2 star reviews it's gotten), then by all means run out and buy Rand's collected works. You'll love them.