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The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

7.8
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Ratings: 7.8/10 from 7,046 users  
Reviews: 87 user | 50 critic

An actress, a director, and a writer are asked to help revive the career of ruthless Hollywood studio bigwig Jonathan Shields. However, all three are reluctant because they have all been used and betrayed by him in the past.

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Title: The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) on IMDb 7.8/10

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Won 5 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
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Barry Sullivan ...
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Rosemary
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Victor 'Gaucho' Ribero
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Vanessa Brown ...
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Syd
Sammy White ...
Gus
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Ivan Triesault ...
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Storyline

Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer James Lee Bartlow, a star Georgia Lorrison and a director Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone - including the writer, star and director - on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers. Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

director | writer | star | actress | hollywood | See more »

Taglines:

The story of a blonde who wanted to go places, and a brute who got her there - the hard way! See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

9 February 1953 (Brazil)  »

Also Known As:

Memorial to a Bad Man  »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,558,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Douglas landed the lead role after Clark Gable had turned it down. See more »

Goofs

When the director Von Ellstein and Shields are having their big spat on how a just-concluded scene should have been directed and the overall directorial style and vision for the picture, the cuts between the perspective views of their arguing show Shields alternately with tensed outstretched arms and then casually folded hands on the top step of the short ladder or whatever that was he was leaning on. See more »

Quotes

Fred: [after Jonathan's father dies broke and disgraced] Are you going to change your name?
Jonathan Shields: Change it? I'm gonna ram the name of Shields down their throats!
See more »


Soundtracks

"Don't Blame Me"
(uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Performed by Peggy King
See more »

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User Reviews

 
2 Out Of 3 Ain't Bad
9 December 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

A bit of a soap opera, this film was divided into three segments as people recalled their experiences with "Jonathan Shields," played well by Kirk Douglas.

"Shields" was a guy interested in making movies and he used people to get to the top. Three of these people tell of their dealings with him, and none of them have too many good things to say.

I liked the first and third segments but didn't care for the middle one with Lana Turner simply because Turner became so melodramatic, too hysterical for me. Barry Sullivan was excellent in the first part and helped get me into the story. He was the director who got "screwed" by Douglas.

Turner was the unknown actress whom Douglas turned into a star while the last part dealt with the key screenwriter for Douglas, played by Dick Powell. I thought Powell was the best of the four main characters of the film but his segment was the shortest, unfortunately. As good as he was, his wife was equally as annoying. She was played by the normally entertaining and alluring Gloria Grahame, who was anything but that in this role. She sounded ludicrous with her fake southern accent. How she won an Academy Award for this role is mind- boggling.

Some classify this movie as film noir, but I dispute that. It's simply a straight drama with soapish overtones. It's well-written, however, and keeps one's interest all the way, so I am not knocking this movie. It has a good things going for it.


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