The Country Girl (1954)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

Clifford Odets (play)
George Seaton (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 May 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

How far should a woman go...to redeem the man she loves?

Plot:

A director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, whom he believes is the cause of all the man's problems.

Plot Keywords:

Director | Alcoholic | Actor | Alley | Guilt

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Frank Elgin
Grace Kelly	...	Georgie Elgin
William Holden	...	Bernie Dodd
Anthony Ross	...	Philip Cook
Gene Reynolds	...	Larry
Jacqueline Fontaine	...	Lounge singer
Eddie Ryder	...	Ed
Robert Kent	...	Paul Unger
John W. Reynolds	...	Henry Johnson

Also Known As:

Country Girl (Australia) (TV title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #17063, General Audience) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2004) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

During filming Grace Kelly managed to have affairs with Bing Crosby, Clark Gable and William Holden

Quotes:

Georgie Elgin: Let's say I try my small way to help
Bernie Dodd: That's what my ex-wife used to keep me reminding of, cheerfully. She had a theory that behind every great man there was a great woman. She also was thoroughly convinced that she was great and all I needed to qualify was guidance on her part.
Georgie Elgin: Still does not prove that the theory is completely wrong. I imagine one can go through history and find a few good examples.
Bernie Dodd: It's a pity that Leonardo da Vinci never had a wife to guide him, he might have really gotten somewhere.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Pitchman / It's Mine, It's Yours

Brilliant except for amateurishly dull musical interludes...

BING CROSBY gives his all to the role of a washed up actor fixated on guilt (and the bottle) while GRACE KELLY and WILLIAM HOLDEN give even finer performances as the two people who quarrel over how to reform his guzzling ways.

The weakness here is not the script. It's the dull musical numbers assigned to Crosby, who carries them off in the usual amiable Crosby manner, before he reverts to character as Frank Elgin. Nevertheless, when he's down and out, he gives a very painfully convincing portrait of a weak alcoholic man who shifts all of the blame to his wife. I suspect Clifford Odets may have based his portrait of this weak man on actor Frank Fay (once married to Barbara Stanwyck), whose career was destroyed by alcoholism and who depended on breezy charm for his appeal.

There are some really searing scenes between Kelly and Holden, fireworks that never seem less than realistic as a result of two completely realized characters that come to life in a well-written script. Holden is particularly fine in a difficult, demanding role that forces him to gradually shift his sympathy as he realizes who the real culprit is. His performance is the strongest of the three stars.

Grace Kelly subdues her aristocratic ways (and her prissy affected manners and voice) to play a woman who knows what the truth is behind her husband's weakness. She looks as forlorn and beaten as the script requires, always completely in touch with her character's moods and feelings. There are little nuances all along that show what a fine actress she could be under superb direction and given some brilliant dialog.

Fascinating as a portrait of theater people, but a letdown whenever it strays into the producing of a show that looks to be as feeble as any amateur production could be with hopes of becoming Broadway bound.

Neverthelss, a gritty, searing, truthful drama that is well worth watching for the performances alone.