The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Genre: Drama / Romance
Duration: 118 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Vincente Minnelli
Stars: Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner and Walter Pidgeon
IMDb score:
7,7 (17.923)
Releasedate: 25 December 1952
The Bad and the Beautiful plot
"I took you out of the gutter... I can fling you back!"
He is probably the least popular producer in the film industry, but he is willing to make a film now if he can contract the director, writer and actress of his choice. The three of his choice are acquaintances of his, but they have each resolved never to work with him again. While the producer is called in Paris, they will have to consider whether they want to make a film with this combination. They think back to the time when they first met the producer.
Actors and actresses
Georgia Lorrison
Jonathan Shields
Harry Pebbel
James Lee Bartlow
Fred Amiel
Rosemary Bartlow
Victor "Gaucho" Ribera
Henry Whitfield
Kay Amiel
Syd Murphy
Reviews & comments
Bobbejaantje
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- 2365 messages
- 2119 votes
A top-notch production with wonderful acting performances – Kirk Douglas is amazing, but the same goes for the others – and excellent direction/cinematography by Vincente Minelli and co. A good score by David Raksin. As a viewer, you feel that this film about Hollywood is true to life. The cutthroat struggle to reach the top in the movie business is depicted perfectly, leaving no dark side untouched. Good dialogue, regularly firing off one-liner wisdoms and cynicisms. As a viewer, you wonder where the inspiration came from.
The only question I had regarding the narrative structure. The film consists primarily of three long flashbacks from three people involved, each telling their story via voice-over. However, those flashbacks show scenes that the person involved could not possibly be aware of, which is technically incorrect. But ultimately, that is just a detail and doesn't detract one bit from the viewing pleasure.
This film teeters on the edge of satire but is primarily a—strong—noirish drama. Definitely recommended for fans of the older work.
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Dievegge
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- 3211 messages
- 8295 votes
Hollywood's old studio system is often criticized, but they were open-minded enough to parody themselves. Strictly speaking, the MGM studios were located in Culver City, just south of Hollywood. Various characters and incidents are said to be inspired by reality. Shields resembles David O. Selznick, and Leo G. Carroll's role resembles Hitchcock. However, it is not necessary to understand all the inside jokes. It is fitting that they had problems with censorship and with an actor who was blacklisted (Ned Glass, the funny little man from the costume department).
The time structure is remarkable. Within the present-day framing, we get to know a director, an actress, and a writer. The main part consists of three major flashbacks, each centering on one of them. Parallels exist between these personal histories. All three were deceived by the same producer, whether professionally or romantically. There are two forms of irony at play. The man who betrayed them is also the one who launched their careers. All three swear never to work with Shields again, but the ending is predictable..
Kirk Douglas plays a megalomaniacal manipulator with anger in his voice and in his eyes. Lana Turner is surrounded by men at a party like a candle flame by moths. She wears white fur, contrasting with the dark, wasp-waisted dress of her love rival. Gloria Grahame won an Oscar with only 9'32" of screen time.
It is beautifully captured. Lavish staircases, bouquets, and jewels showcase the luxury of Tinseltown. Light and shadow are used dramatically. The hectic atmosphere of a premiere is depicted, with cinema posters from 1935 in the background. The industry holds up a mirror to itself for a moment, only to rush on again.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Roger Thornhill
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- 6219 messages
- 2557 votes
"Good bitchy entertainment," as film critic Leslie Halliwell puts it. When I first saw this film decades ago, the pre-internet world had not yet been flooded with background articles about what went on (or goes on?) behind the scenes of Hollywood, so young Roger got a pretty good picture of how A- and B-movies were made and how the Pecking Order originated in the film industry. Even after all the Making of documentaries, backstage interviews, and the like on the internet and on DVDs/Blu-rays, this remains an extremely entertaining and sometimes explosive piece of Hollywood gossip that I have actually never heard or read is unrealistic. Excellent acting by everyone; The Oscar for Gloria Grahame's relatively small role seems somewhat exaggerated to me, although the sensuality with which she embraces and kisses her husband remains remarkably intense even three-quarters of a century and an enormous amount of permissiveness later. Dick Powell, on the other hand, received no Oscar nomination, although in my opinion he deserved one for the nonchalance with which he packages his aversion to Hollywood in one-liners. The overall impression to me remains that of a wonderfully told and deliciously served look inside Hollywood itself.
Seen on a Blu-ray from the Warner Brothers Archive Collection, with perfect picture and sound and English subtitles, but as a bonus (apart from the trailer and a few separate clips of the band) only the 85-minute documentary Lana Turner… a daughter's memoir from 2001, so quite meager.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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