The Female Animal (1958)

An aging film star and her alcoholic daughter compete for a handsome extra.

Director:

Harry Keller

Writers:

Robert Hill (screenplay), Albert Zugsmith (story)

Stars:

Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell, Jan Sterling

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

Storyline

Jaded movie star Vanessa Windsor, saved from a studio accident by handsome extra Chris Farley, pursues him, and soon he's the 'caretaker' of her beach house. Vanessa's sexy, alcoholic adult daughter Penny accidentally meets Chris, who rescues her from an 'octopus' boyfriend. Before you know it, Chris is involved with both mother and daughter, and his only way out is to take a job in a Mexican picture about man-eating orchids...

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Plot Keywords:

daughter | alcoholic | mother | affair | actress

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Taglines:

It is said that when a woman fights for a man, she is like an ANIMAL!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1958 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Anikanopoiites gynaikes

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This marks the final film appearance of actress Hedy Lamarr.

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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, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Hollywood Miss Sapientia: Hedy Lamarr, Actress-Inventor (2012)

User Reviews

Hedy Lamarr's Last Film

At one point in the film, a character professes to Hedy Lamarr, who plays an actress: "I always thought you were a better actress than the roles they gave you." The character might as well have been speaking about Lamarr herself, because this film typifies the substandard material that the actress was handed throughout most of her career.

While there were some highlights in Lamarr's career, such as the wonderful H.M. Pulham, Esq., The Strange Woman, and Dishonored Lady, there was also a lot of fluff. It seems Lamarr was always treated as a glamorous beauty rather than a great actress, although she was smart and talented.

The Female Animal was one of those fading star vehicles that Universal seemed to specialize in at the time (others included Female on the Beach with Joan Crawford, and The Price of Fear with Merle Oberon). By 1958, Lamarr had not been the leading actress in a film for a few years, but she was still youthful and beautiful. It's curious that she was not offered more roles, although back then the shelf-life of a glamorous star was even shorter than it is today.

The Female Animal is a somewhat trashy and sordid melodrama. It is perhaps the only film I have ever seen in which Hedy Lamarr was not the object of desire. Here she plays a more aggressive woman who is not ashamed to take in a house boy. The idea that Lamarr, even at the advanced age of 45 (*eye roll*), would need to pay for handsome male companionship is beyond absurd. She was still very sexy and could have probably had her pick of men. I agree with the other reviewer who said, to some effect: "Hedy past her prime was any other woman's peak." She is widely considered the most beautiful actress of all-time (interchangeably with Gene Tierney).

The film overall leans more toward camp classic than art house. You have drunk ladies, aging starlets out "hunting" for young studs, and of course glamorous Hedy, who has trouble speaking some of her lines. It's all kind of a mess, but it somehow hangs together, and it's a lot of fun. Jan Sterling is entertaining in a supporting role.

The ending redeems the film. Lamarr gives a rather poignant speech about determination, and we are reminded of what a remarkable actress she was. We think about how sad it is that her career was cut so short by...ageism.