Who played Emma Goldman?
Supposedly a whole segment of the film that focussed on Emma Goldman was cut from this film. Anyone know who played her?
shareHaving read the book a long time ago, I'm wondering if the scene you're referring to was a lesbian scene between Emma Goldman and Evelyn Nesbit, in which the anarchist brother of Mary Steenburgen's character was hiding in the closet watching and masturbating, and then getting so excited that he burst out of the closet at a very embarrassing moment. If so, it's not hard to see why that scene was cut, as it would probably have offended too many of its intended audience. Plus that one scene would probably generate a disproportionate amount of notoriety compared to its relative lack of importance to the overall story line, and thus would become an unnecessary distraction.
Howdy,
Doctorow's paragraphs about Emma Goldman massaging Evelyn Nesbit weren't written strictly to introduce lesbian elements into the story. Goldman was massaging Nesbit with oil because she had been whipped by Thaw and did little to care for her welts than let them heal themselves. I think that the original poster was mostly referring to the scenes (actually shot) in which Goldman called public attention to Nesbit, who was concealing herself in a white shawl as she listened to Goldman's speak at a Union Square labor protest. She identified her as a "brilliant woman" who also happened to be a whore to capitalist pigs; these statements made Tateh angrily abandon Nesbit, and Goldman essentially took her aside to a private apartment so that she could lecture her on making better use of her body and console her over the fact that she had lost her "urchin." (the Little Girl, for whom Nesbit had a maternal affinity)
The woman who played Emma Goldman was Mariclare Costello. There was a long article in the December 21, 1981 edition of the New York Times about the omission of Emma Goldman from the final cut. Costello was interviewed in the article as saying that she was disappointed, but didn't expect the movie to make her a movie store. Her scenes were deleted because (and this is the official reasoning) they slowed the pace of the film.
Somewhat ironically, Elizabeth McGovern was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrait of Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime, but she lost the award to Maureen Stapleton for her portrait of Goldman in the movie Reds.
The segment with Goldman and Evelyn is the deleted scene on the Ragtime DVD. McGovern's nudity is blotted out, but the scene in Goldman's apartment plays out pretty much like it did in the book, oil and stuff included. It even has a priceless segment of dialogue in which Goldman says that she and Evelyn should do an "act" together in which they would preach to all of America about how women are oppressed and deserve better rights. Evelyn responds gleefully, "And I can dance, too!" clearly not getting it. Obviously they couldn't have Younger Brouther masturbate onscreen, so what happens is that he shuffles a bit in the closet; the women notice and see the door close, and Goldman opens the door, revealing Younger Brother. She shouts at him to get out, and he runs away. Then Evelyn, shocked, tells Goldman not to touch her.
They deleted the scene because, as you said, it slowed things down. It would have been interesting to see in the movie, though, what would make Evelyn okay a relationship with Younger Brother after the incident. Their meeting in the finished film is more believable.
Thanks for your comments.
"Enjoy the show. For one day, we shall die." --Cirque de Purée guy on The Simpsons
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I understand it's the only version of the scene that's left. It was probably a black and white work print used in the editing process so it was probably the only edited assembly of that scene. They probably decided to cut the scene before they struck the film from the negative, so the original camera negative was probably never touched.
As for the blurring, maybe McGrovern had something in her contract, otherwise I don't have a guess for that.
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