Richler rides again

>> CBC adapts the iconic St. Urbain’s
Horseman for the small screen

by MATTHEW HAYS

For Montreal producer Arnie Gelbart, the challenge was one he couldn’t ignore. St. Urbain’s Horseman, widely regarded as one of the best works of late Montreal scribe Mordecai Richler, had never been translated to the screen. And Gelbart wanted to be a moving force behind the venture.

“In fact, there really hasn’t been that much Mordecai Richler that’s been done for TV, or even for the big screen for that matter,” he points out. Gelbart bought the rights to St. Urbain’s Horseman five years ago, and the in-between time has been about getting the tone of the page-to-screen adaptation just right. Key to the book, of course, is Richler’s acerbic wit, something Gelbart was concerned might get lost in translation. The 1971 novel, which won the Governor-General’s Award, follows one Montrealer, Jake Hersh (played by David Julian Hirsh) who breaks away from the insular Jewish community of Montreal to head off to London, where he becomes a film director. But even while Hersh ostensibly lives a new and different life, he is constantly haunted by his past, in particular his idealized cousin, Joey (Jacob Tierney), the horseman.

Joey was a legendary figure in their Plateau/Mile-End neighbourhood, and an adventurous and heroic Nazi hunter—at least according to Hersh’s fantastic memories of him. The notable cast also includes Selina Jiles, Liane Balaban, Michael Riley, Andrea Martin and Elliott Gould, in a $7.4-million production that will run two nights this week on CBC.

It’s a handsome production. And the filmmakers were acutely aware that Montrealers would be tuning in, ready to scrutinize every historical detail. Production designer Donna Noonan said they had little choice but to move the St-Urbain of the book away from the St-Urbain of today. “There was a consensus that the St-Urbain of the period of which Richler was writing no longer exists,” says Noonan. “That street is now a major thoroughfare. We could never get the city to agree to stop traffic there.” The solution was to recreate St-Urbain on Garnier, a quiet spot due east of Mile-End in an overwhelmingly francophone district. Old Montreal doubled nicely for London, something Noonan recounts as relatively simple: “You just put up some Union Jacks and old cars.”

Adaptation trepidation

Given Richler’s crucial spot in the CanLit canon, those behind St. Urbain’s Horseman concede it’s odd that more of his books haven’t been developed into films or TV programs. While English Canada’s film culture has a spotty track record, the adaptations of Richler’s adult material, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) and Joshua Then and Now (1985), both directed by Ted Kotcheff, were widely regarded as successes.

Which prompts the question: Why not more Richler on screen? One of the screenwriters for St. Urbain’s Horseman, Joe Wiesenfeld, has a theory. “This is a very difficult book to adapt. Richler even tried it and acknowledged that his adaptation just didn’t work. But I think what makes adapting Richler difficult generally is people are so intimidated by the source material. You really have to move ahead and not be too concerned about what others think.”

Wiesenfeld says one of the tricks of screenplay adaptations—and he’s written over 30, including the Anne of Green Gables miniseries—is to respect the spirit of the source material, while also breaking away from it. “St. Urbain’s Horseman is one of my favourite novels. It’s one that is very, very familiar to me. The fact that Mordecai himself had trouble getting his arms around a screenplay version made it clear how difficult the task was.”

The famous actor Elliott Gould, a staple of iconic ’70s movies like MASH and Little Murders, concedes he hadn’t read Richler prior to being offered the role of Uncle Abe. “I have known of Richler’s impact for many, many years. When they sent me this script, it seemed the perfect fit and I was very pleased to sink myself into this role. I feel like I’m catching up with Richler’s work.”

“We’ve remained true to the novel,” adds Wiesenfeld. “I believe that were he alive, Richler would very much approve of this. This is the first time the CBC has done a Richler adaptation. And we consulted with the Richler family… We wanted to get this right, and I think we have.”

St. Urbain’s Horseman screens next Wednesday
and Thursday nights, Sept. 19–20, on CBC

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