H. M. Pulham, Esq.

(King Vidor, US 1941, 120 min., 35mm)

Reinventing Hollywood. In an extraordinary experiment in 1940s cinematic subjectivity, our hero, Harry Pulham (Robert Young) appears in every scene of the film, meaning that the audience only ever knows what Harry knows. Harry is prompted to re-examine his life’s decisions after receiving two phone calls: one from his college chum who recruits him to write brief biographies of everyone for their 25-year Harvard reunion, and the second from the woman he met in New York City after the war (the “one who got away”; Hedy Lamarr). Taking place over two days and through myriad flashbacks, Vidor’s film brings to life an early example of middle-aged angst.