Movie Stats:
Released 1954 (USA)
American, in English
Director - George Seaton
Stars - Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden
Plot Summary:
Director Bernie Dodd (Holden) hires alcoholic, over-the-hill actor Frank Elgin (Crosby) as the lead in his latest play, but quickly clashes with Frank’s wife, Georgie (Kelly), whom he believes is the source of Frank’s problems.
Warnings:
None.
Bad Stuff:
[SPOILER]
I really hate that the story went with the old “I now realize I was a total dick to you because I was secretly in love with you all along” trope between Bernie and Georgie. Barf.
[SPOILER]
I didn’t find the final conversation between Bernie, Frank, and Georgie even remotely believable.
I could’ve done without the casual misogyny and homophobia. (Don’t take my son to the hair salon with you, he’ll turn gay, hardy-har-har!)
Good Stuff:
The acting is out of this world. All three leads are fantastic. Holden made me hate Bernie for being such a self-righteous prick. Crosby made me fume at what a manipulative liar Frank is. And Kelly made me feel very, very sorry for Georgie.
I applaud it for being such an unflinching look at addiction & how poisonous it is to everyone who comes in contact with it.
I love the music/soundtrack. I was pleased that Crosby did so much singing. Partway through, my husband wandered in and opined, “You know, he was a good actor, they didn’t need to make him sing in every movie” and I was like, “Shut your mouth! I want to hear the man sing!”
About the Performance:
I like Grace Kelly. I was a little worried about the fact that she was supposed to be “plain” in this. Kelly was a very beautiful woman. I didn’t think they could truly dim her light, but the make-up and costuming departments got it right. It wasn’t about making her look “ugly,” it was about making her look like a beautiful woman who’s been beaten down by life. They achieved that. I expected good things from her in this. I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, she exceeded my expectations. I thought she was magnetic.
Side note: Why were her male co-stars always so much older than her? In Rear Window, James Stewart was 21 years her senior. In this, Bing Crosby was 23 years older. And in High Noon, Gary Cooper was 28 years her senior. I checked a couple of her other films and this seems to have just been a trend in casting with her. Kind of weird.
Other performances of Kelly’s I’ve reviewed: Rear Window; High Noon.
The Verdict:
I liked this film a lot. It makes you uncomfortable in the best kind of way. For a large portion of the film, I seethed with hatred for both Bernie and Frank. Some of the vitriol that spews out of Bernie’s mouth will make you want to tear your hair out. It all serves a purpose, though. Bernie doesn’t quite get the comeuppance he so rightly deserves, but the unpleasantness gives way to an ending that’s satisfactory and makes sense. I really admired the film for tackling such a difficult subject in such a straightforward manner and for the excellent acting it showcased.
I give it 4 stars.
2 comments:
This sounds very good! I've not seen it.
It's interesting (though not surprising) about the older male casting. I'm pretty sure if someone data crunched the age difference between m/f movie leads throughout movie history, there would be a significant number of this kind of age difference. I attribute it to men lasting so much longer as "major stars." They have to get paired with someone, and perish the thought it would be someone their age. So the young-up-and-comer gets to have her (very short) day in front of the camera.
For some reason, it really stuck out to me with Grace Kelly movies, although I imagine that, yes, it's been very common throughout Hollywood's history. Come to think of it, Audrey Hepburn also had a lot of co-stars who were 15+ years older than her.
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