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The Female Animal (1958) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
4.7/10   65 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Robert Hill (writer)
Albert Zugsmith (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Female Animal on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 May 1958 (Sweden) more
Genre:
Tagline:
It is said that when a woman fights for a man, she is like an ANIMAL!
Plot:
An aging film star and her alcoholic daughter compete for a handsome extra. full summary | add synopsis
User Reviews:
A couple of blocks from "Sunset Boulevard" more (6 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Hedy Lamarr ... Vanessa Windsor
Jane Powell ... Penny Windsor
Jan Sterling ... Lily Frayne
George Nader ... Chris Farley

Jerry Paris ... Hank Galvez (not Lopez)
Gregg Palmer ... Piggy
Mabel Albertson ... Irma Jones
James Gleason ... Tom Maloney
Richard H. Cutting ... Dr. John Ramsay
Ann Doran ... Nurse
Yvonne Peattie ... Hairdresser
Max Showalter ... Charlie Grant (as Casey Adams)
Douglas Evans ... Al The Director
Aram Katcher ... Mischa Boroff
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Additional Details

Runtime:
84 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This marks the final film appearance of actress Hedy Lamarr. more
Quotes:
Lily Frayne: [Lily Frayne and her date, Pepe, are at the restaurant bar; Pepe looks troubled as he examines a bracelet on his wrist] I don't know why you're objecting to that slave bracelet. I buy one for all my friends. I used to wear two or three of them myself around my ankle in the old days. Everybody wears them.
Pepe, Lily's Gigolo: Mon cher, please, I'm bored hearing about "The Stone Age."
Lily Frayne: [shakes her diamond-covered hand at Pepe] That's where these rocks came from, lover, and don't forget it.
[turns to Bartender]
Lily Frayne: Darling, give Lily a shot for her bronchitis.
Bartender: Of course, Miss Frayne.
Lily Frayne: It's the sea air. I don't know why I live here.
Bartender: I thought you liked the beach.
Lily Frayne: Oh, I do, darling, I do.
[glances at Pepe]
[...]
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FAQ

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful.
A couple of blocks from "Sunset Boulevard", 3 November 2003
6/10
Author: dinky-4 from Minneapolis

What Douglas Sirk, and a better chosen cast, could have done with this material!

Hedy Lamarr plays "Vanessa Windsor," an aging movie queen who falls hard for a handsome extra named "Chris" played by George Nader. Chris feels himself genuinely drawn to Vanessa but fears becoming nothing more than a "kept" man. Vanessa's adopted daughter Penny, played by Jane Powell, enters the scene. Penny suffers the usual problems experienced as the child of a famous, rarely-present person and has drifted into alcoholism and promiscuous behavior. She also falls for Chris and he feels himself attracted to her though he tries to keep Vanessa from learning this fact. The movie soon becomes a question of (1) what will Vanessa do when she finds out the truth, and (2) which woman will Chris wind up with?

Miscasting weakens this movie which isn't quite flamboyant enough to be "camp." Hedy Lamarr fits easily into her role but Jane Powell seems about 10 years too old to be the adopted daughter. Similarly George Nader's part might have been better filled by an actor 10 years his junior. Like Robert Mitchum, Nader usually declined to shave off his chest hair but he obviously made an exception here for his various shirtless scenes. Perhaps he felt this would make him look younger in a "beachboy" sort of way.

Jan Sterling receives third billing and wanders into and out of the plot but her character isn't well integrated into the story. (She's the counterpart to Ruth Roman in "Love Has Many Faces.") Like the other performers, her "smart, sophisticated" lines generally fall flat. The plot also suffers a bit from a flashback device which kicks in shortly after the start of the movie but which is presented in such an off-hand way that some viewers may not realize that a flashback is now in progress.

As for the ending, it appears to have been decided upon by a committee anxious to please as many people as possible. As a result, it'll probably please no one and its ambiguity is more annoying than stimulating.

George Nader's quiet, dignified performance -- and he isn't given much to work with -- almost holds the movie together. It's good to see him with his shirt off but one can't help feeling a bit sorry that he's sometimes relegated to just being a slab of "beefcake." Those viewers familiar with Nader's private life will appreciate the fact that his character is given the sexually-ambiguous name of "Chris."

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