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| Kirk Douglas is the bad-ass movie producer with beautiful star Lana Turner limp in his arms. |
Vincente
Minnelli’s 1952 take on Hollywood, The
Bad and the Beautiful, is delicious melodrama. Yet, the movie-making saga
doesn’t have the bite of the two show biz tales that came two years before: Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve.
Since
this tinsel town takedown was filmed at mega-glam MGM, it’s no surprise that
the film focuses more on the beautiful, rather than the infamous bad side of
Hollywood.
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| Kirk Douglas as the ruthless producer, Lana Turner as sad superstar. |
Still,
The Bad and the Beautiful is filled
with juicy archetypes based on real show biz types. The two standouts are the
leads: Kirk Douglas as Jonathan Shields, a ruthless, David Selznick-style wheeler-dealer
producer; and Lana Turner as Georgia Lorrison, a lush starlet haunted by her
late legendary father, patterned after Diana Barrymore.
Kirk
Douglas hit his ferocious stride in the early ‘50s as this Hollywood heel, with
a heart deep down—somewhere around his heels.
Lana
Turner has one of her very best roles as the high-strung Hollywood star. While
her early scenes as the drunken starlet are depicted as just toned-down Turner,
Lana gives a straight-forward performance. Later, as Georgia becomes a star,
the latter-day lacquered Lana takes over. I love the insane intro to Lana’s
character in her flashback: Turner reclining on a day bed, costumed in a
powdered wig, britches, and buckled shoes, as if she’s starring in the MGM
version of Hamilton!
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| I'm ready for my flashback! Lana as Georgia, apparently starring in the MGM version of 'Hamilton!' |
The
entire cast is fine, with Metro starlet Elaine Stewart a scene stealer as
Lilah, a bitchy starlet. A curiosity to me is why the great Gloria Grahame won
Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Rosemary. Grahame, as the
southern belle wife of writer Dick Powell, doesn’t even appear until the last
third of the picture. Gloria’s nearly giddy as the sexy, pesky spouse…but the
role pales in comparison to Grahame’s other memorable movie work. And when
Rosemary dies, it’s off-camera. Typical off-target Oscar honor, I guess.
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| Gloria Grahame and Dick Powell as the southern academic couple who answer the call when Hollywood rings. |
Director
Vincente Minnelli and cinematographer Robert Surtees give The Bad and the Beautiful a stylish, virtuoso visual look. Studio
life, movie-making, eerie mansions, showbiz parties, and more, are all depicted
grandly. Most famous—rightly so—is Lana Turner’s careening car ride, after an
ugly confrontation with Douglas. Georgia’s out of control emotions are matched
by a sudden rainstorm as she speeds away. The scene climaxes with a hysterical Turner
pulling over, collapsing in tears. For those who think that Lana Turner couldn’t
act, I say she could—when she chose to.
Considering
how many movies have been made about Hollywood, there have are surprisingly few
good ones, much less great. As deep dish goes, The Bad and the Beautiful is great as entertainment, but glossy as
drama. Fun film-watching, nonetheless!
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| Hollywood's no joyride for Lana Turner's troubled star in 'The Bad and the Beautiful!" |
