November 11, 1948: Ingrid Bergman Stars In "Joan of Arc"

November 11, 1948: The film Joan of Arc premieres, based on the play Joan of Lorraine by Maxwell Anderson, and starring Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman as the best-remembered portrayer of the heroine saint of France. It was the last film directed by Victor Fleming, who died 2 months after its premiere.

According to the film, when Joan was 13 years old, she began to hear voices that she believed were sent by God. The voices instruct her to help save France from English occupation, and to ensure that the Charles, the Dauphin (the French term for the heir to the throne), is crowned the rightful King.

He had been entitled to the crown since his father, King Charles VI, died in 1422, right after the competitor for the title, King Henry V of England, died. But after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, Henry forced Charles to agree to name Henry's son, in the event he had one, as the next King of France. But Henry VI was less than a full year old when Henry V died, leaving the English army in chaos. But Charles could still not be crowned.

At 17, Joan received permission to speak to Charles. Convinced that she's right, he gives her command of France's armies, despite the skepticism of his advisors. At Orléans, she tells the soldiers to cease their gambling, drinking, swearing and using the Lord's name in vain. She also sends away camp followers and prostitutes, and has the troops go to confession and attend Mass regularly before battle. The result was a French victory in the Battle of Orléans, on May 8, 1429.

"The Maid of Orléans" led more victories, and Charles was finally crowned at Reims Cathedral on July 17, 1429. But, having achieved his goal, he decides that Joan has outlived her usefulness, and he takes her command away. She is eventually captured, sold to the English, put on rial on charges of heresy, and stands by her story, refusing to recant what she believes is God's message to her. On May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake at English-held Rouen, only 19 years old.

The war continued until 1453, and Henry VI, already mentally ill, withdrew English troops from France. This set the stage for the Wars of the Roses, which his House of Lancaster would lose to the House of York, before that house was defeated by the House of Tudor.

It was in 1455 that the name "Jeanne d'Arc" first appeared in print. There is no place in France called "Arc." And she has gone down in history as "Joan" because that was the English form of the French "Jeanne." Except that wasn't her name, either: A surviving document shows that, in 1430, she signed her name as "Jehanne la Pucelle," or "Joan the Maiden." In William Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part 1, which takes place early in his reign but without him as a character, she is called "Joan la Pucelle" or just "Pucelle. In the modern version of their language, the people of France call her "Jehanne d'Arc."

She was beatified by Pope Pius X in 1909, and canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. An equestrian statue of her is on Riverside Drive at 93rd Street in New York City, and another is in Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C.

In 1950, having played a saint, and previously a nun in The Bells of St. Mary's, Ingrid Bergman had an affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini, and gave birth to a son. Both of them were married to others at the time, and were denounced by America's self-appointed moral arbiters.

Bergman later said, "People saw me in Joan of Arc, and declared me a saint. I'm not. I'm just a woman, another human being." Still, it was better than being sold by your friends to your enemies, and getting burned at the stake. Her reputation recovered a lot faster than Joan's. In 1954, Rossellini directed her in an Italian version, Giovanna d'Arco al rogo (Joan of Arc at the Stake).

Other actresses to play Joan include Jeanne Calvière in Jeanne d'Arc in 1900, Sybil Thorndyke in a 1927 film version of George Bernard Shaw's play Saint Joan, Renée Jeanne Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc in 1928, Angela Salloker in the 1935 German film Das Mädchen Johanna, Jean Seberg in a 1957 version of Saint Joan, Hedy Lamarr in the 1957 film The Story of Mankind, Geneviève Bujold in a 1967 NBC version of Saint Joan, Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Milla Jovovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc and Leelee Sobieski in Joan of Arc in 1999, and Laura Frances-Morgan in the 2016 BBC series The Hollow Crown.

In 2013, "Nice" Peter Shukoff and "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist, the creators of Epic Rap Battles of History, saw Miley Cyrus' antics at the MTV Video Music Awards, and wanted to work her into a battle, and weren't sure who would be an appropriate opponent. For a while, they thought about Queen Elizabeth II, an authority figure who was protective of privacy. Instead, they went for Joan, a saint who, it is said, died a virgin, but is more revered worldwide than Miley. Michelle Glavan played Miley, and Jessica Vasquez, a.k.a. Jessi Smiles, played Joan. Both were "Internet celebrities."

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November 11, 1948 was a Thursday, Veterans Day. Actor Vincent Schiavelli and music producer Robert "Mutt" Lange were born.

Baseball was out of season. There were 2 college football games played. Hardin-Simmons University beat West Texas State (now named West Texas A&M), 28-6 at Fair Park Stadium in Abilene, Texas. And Number 16 University of Nevada beat Fresno State, 53-7 at Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, California.

There were 4 games in the Basketball Association of America, the league that would become the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Minneapolis Lakers, 77-68 at the old Madison Square Garden. George Mikan scored 34 points for the Lakers.

* The Providence Steam Rollers beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 90-87 at the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence.

* The Rochester Royals beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 83-75 at the Philadelphia Arena.

* And the Washington Capitols beat the Baltimore Bullets, 70-68 at the Baltimore Coliseum.

And there were 2 games in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum. And the Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the Boston Garden. The New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs were not scheduled.

January 24, 1954: "King Richard II" Airs On NBC

Sarah Churchill and Maurice Evans

January 24, 1954: King Richard II airs on NBC, as part of the anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame. A version of William Shakespeare's play Richard II, first staged in 1595, this is no Christmas movie, and there is not a happy ending.

Maurice Evans played Richard II, of the House of Plantagent, who became King of England upon the death of his grandfather, Edward III. The son of Edward III, Edward of Woodstock, a great battle commander nicknamed the Black Prince, was supposed to become King, but he died of dysentery in 1376, only 45 years old. The Black Prince's eldest son, Edward of Angoulême, was supposed to become King after him, but he died of bubonic plague in 1370, only 5 years old. This left the Black Prince's 2nd son, Richard of Bordeaux, as heir apparent.

And when Edward III died on June 21, 1377, at 64 and after 50 mostly successful years on the throne, it left Richard the King at age 10. For the most part, he was guided by John of Gaunt, so named because he was born in Ghent, in present-day Belgium. A grandson of Edward III, a brother of the Black Prince, and thus an uncle of Richard II, he was the Duke of Lancaster, and proved an able advisor, but, when Richard needed him most, he was old and frail, and died on February 3, 1399.

What we now call the Hundred Years' War, a series of wars between England and France, were in progress when Richard ascended to the throne, and lasted well beyond his time on it. England, and all of Europe, was still recovering from the Black Plague of the 1340s, which may have killed one-third of the people both in the British Isles and on the Continent. This led to labor being more valuable, and workers being able to demand more money for the first time, and being more willing to revolt against high taxes. There was a Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and the 14-year-old Richard decided to have it brutally put down.

Portrait of Richard II, dated to his lifetime

The next few years were relatively peaceful, and Richard became known as a patron of the arts. But a move against him by a group called the Lords Appellant changed him. In 1397, he had many of them killed, and some of them exiled, including Henry Bolingbroke, so named because he was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire. The son of John of Gaunt, and thus Richard's cousin, Henry was Duke of Hereford. But Richard did not just exile him, he disinherited him, angering Gaunt.

In the movie, as Gaunt, Frederick Worlock delivered one of Shakespeare's best-remembered soliloquies. But it, too, does not have a happy ending, as he knows that the now-adult Richard isn't listening to him anymore: "Though Richard my life's counsel would not hear, My death's sad tale may yet undeaf his ear." Then he goes on:

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son,
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death!

In real life, Richard had been married to Anne of Bohemia, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Richard was 15 years old, and Anne was 16. But she died in 1394, at 28, having produced no children.

Sarah Churchill, actress, dancer, and daughter of Sir Winston, played Queen Isabel, a representation of Isabella of Valois, daughter of King Charles VI of France, who married Richard in 1396 -- when she was 6 years old, but is portrayed here as an adult. As part of the marriage agreement between Richard II and Charles VI, the marriage would not be consummated until Isabella was... 12.

Gaunt had been the richest man in England, and upon his death, in the play as in real life, Richard seizes his property. This angers the nobles, and when Richard leaves England to tend to his army in Ireland, the nobles contact Henry Bolingbroke, played by Kent Smith. As a grandson of Edward III, he does have a claim to the crown, though not as strong as Richard's.

Henry invades the north of England, and heads south, killing some of Richard's allies, and winning over others. Learning of this, Richard reaches Wales, but his allies there capture him, and send him to London, where he is forced to abdicate, after 22 years on the throne. On September 29, 1399, Bolingbroke became King Henry IV, the 1st monarch of the House of Lancaster.

Richard still has supporters, however, and they launch a rebellion. It is quickly put down, and, perhaps in a dramatic nod to the alleged plea of Henry II, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" Shakespeare has Henry IV, great-great-great-great-grandson of the preceding, ask, "Have I no friend will rid me of this living fear?" Sir Piers Exton hears this, goes to Richard's cell at Pomfret Castle in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, and kills him.

While admitting that he "did wish him dead," Henry is appalled by the murder, dismisses Exton from his court, and vows a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to cleanse himself of his part in Richard's death.

In reality, it's not clear how, or when, Richard II died. History suggests that he was starved to death, and died on February 14, 1400, just 33. What is certain is that, 3 days after that date, his coffin was on display at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

Henry IV never did make his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and when he died on March 20, 1413, at the age of 45 and after 13 1/3 years on the throne, he had a disfiguring skin disease, possibly leprosy or psoriasis, and he believe that it was punishment for both his ordering of the assassination of Richard II and his failure to go to Jerusalem.

In the public mind, Henry paid for these things in another way: While Shakespeare wrote 2 plays, Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2, he followed a standard convention of naming a play involving a king after him, even if he was not the main character. And in both halves, Henry is a secondary character, to both his son, "Prince Hal," a dissolute young man who has to grow up and become the heroic Henry V; and Sir John Falstaff, a once-great knight and friend of Henry the father, now a fat, drunken slob, who aids in the dissoluteness of Henry the son.

Also considered more important characters in the plays than the King himself are two challengers to him, Henry Percy, Lord Hotspur, whose name would be given to a soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club; and Owen Glendower, the last Welshman to actually claim the title of the Prince of Wales.

Falstaff's association with weight has led to a fat man being called "Falstaffian," and his association with drinking led to a brewing company in St. Louis being named Falstaff. 

Isabella survived Richard, and married Charles I, Duke of Orléans, but only lived to be 19. Richard fathered no children with either wife, and is not believed to have any illegitimate children. The best evidence of this is that history records none that were sought out by Henry IV, or Henry V, to be removed from the line of succession. It is suspected by some historians that Richard II was homosexual. If so, he wouldn't have been the first King of England to be so (Richard I and Edward II are believed to have been), nor the last (James I probably was).

Frederick Worlock died in 1973, Sarah Churchill in 1982, Kent Smith in 1985, and Maurice Evans in 1989.

Other actors to have played Richard II include (in productions of Shakespeare's Richard II, unless otherwise stated) Andrew Osborn in a 1938 BBC radio production of Richard of Bordeaux, Alan Wheatley in a 1950 version for the BBC, Peter Cushing in the 1955 BBC adaptation of Richard of Bordeaux, David William in the 1960 BBC series An Age of Kings (telling all the Shakespeare history plays from Richard II to Richard III), Ian McKellen for the BBC in 1976, Michael Pennington in the BBC's The Wars of the Roses in 1989 (again covering all the Shakespeare histories), Roger Allam at the beginning of the BBC's 1995 version of Henry IV, Fiona Shaw in a gender-bending performance for the BBC in 1997, Mark Rylance for the BBC in 2003, and Ben Wishaw in the BBC's 2012 series The Hollow Crown (again doing all the history plays).

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January 24, 1954 was a Sunday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:

* There was a doubleheader at the Boston Garden. In the 1st game, the Milwaukee Hawks beat the New York Knicks, 68-66. In the 2nd game, the Rochester Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 93-85.

* The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Syracuse Nationals, 80-78 at the Onondaga County War Memorial Auditorium (now the Upstate Medical University Arena) in Syracuse. In 1962, the Warriors moved to San Francisco. In 1963, the Nationals replaced them, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.

* And the Fort Wayne Pistons beat the Baltimore Bullets, 79-70 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at the Boston Garden -- meaning "the Gahden" hosted an NHL game and 2 NBA games on the same day.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 8-3 at the Chicago Stadium.