The Country Girl (1954)

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.

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

Clifford Odets (play), George Seaton (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden

Won 2 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Washed up singer/actor Frank Elgin has a chance to make a come-back when director Bernie Dodd offers him the leading role in his new musical. Frank however is very insecure, turns to alcohol and shuns even the smallest of responsibilities, leaving everything up to his wife Georgie who finds it harder and harder to cope with her husband's lack of spirit. Bernie tries to help Frank regain his self-confidence, believing that it is Georgie who's the cause of his insecurity.

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Plot Keywords:

director | alcoholic | actor | song | ultimatum | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Mädchen vom Lande

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway production of "The Country Girl" by Clifford Odets opened at the Lyceum Theater on November 10, 1950 and ran for 236 performances. Uta Hagen won the 1951 Tony Award for Actress in a Drama for the role of Georgie Elgin, the same role that won Grace Kelly her only Academy Award for Best Actress.

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Quotes

Bernie Dodd: Does your wife really want you to play this part?
Frank Elgin: Yeah, she's all for it
Bernie Dodd: I was just wondering. The day I met her, she seemed a little difficult about terms and rather domineering, I thought.
Frank Elgin: She wasn't always like that
Bernie Dodd: Oh I know, I know. They all start out as Juliets and wind up as Lady Macbeths.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"The Search Is Through"
by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin
Sung by Bing Crosby

User Reviews

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.