Star! (1968)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writer:

William Fairchild (writer)

Release Date:

22 October 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Musical

Tagline:

The Love Affair of the Century - Between a Woman, and the World!

Plot:

Film based on life of actress Gertrude Lawrence, on- and offstage, takes the opportunity to feature extravagant...

Plot Keywords:

Actress | New York City | Actor's Life | Beautiful Woman | London England

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Julie Andrews	...	Gertrude Lawrence
Richard Crenna	...	Richard Aldrich, Producer
Michael Craig	...	Sir Anthony Spencer
Daniel Massey	...	Noel Coward
Robert Reed	...	Charles Fraser
Bruce Forsyth	...	Arthur Lawrence
Beryl Reid	...	Rose
John Collin	...	Jack Roper
Alan Oppenheimer	...	Andre Charlot, Producer
Richard Karlan	...	David Holtzmann, Gertrude's Attorney
Lynley Laurence	...	Billie Carleton
Garrett Lewis	...	Jack Buchanan
Anthony Eisley	...	Ben Mitchell
Jock Livingston	...	Alexander Woollcott
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Dan

Also Known As:

Loves of a Star! (USA) (promotional title)
Those Were the Happy Times (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

176 min | UK:218 min | USA:120 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Denmark:15 (DVD) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG (video rating) (2005) | UK:U (original rating) | USA:G

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Apart from Richard Aldrich, a certain amount of dramatic license was taken with the men in Gertie's life. In the movie, her first, stage manager husband is called Jack Roper and is shown as not much older than her. In real life, his name was Frank Gordon-Howley and he was twenty years her senior. Her upper-class, Guardsman boyfriend was not called Sir Tony Spencer, but Captain Philip Astley; he later married Madeleine Carroll. And the Wall Street banker she met while on Broadway was named Bert Taylor, not Ben Mitchell as depicted here.

Quotes:

Noel Coward: Close personal relationships are bloody difficult, my darling but they do get easier with time. Loneliness gets harder.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Projectionist (1971)

Soundtrack:

Piccadilly

Julie Andrews is the Star! of this movie

Star! is publicized as the flop that ended Julie Andrews' career. None of the blame should be laid at Julie's feet however. Her performance, especially in the musical numbers, is unparalleled. Julie WAS the greatest musical star of her day: if you don't believe me, imagine Barbra (whom I adore also) being tossed around by chorus boys in the "Jenny" finale. Also, kudos must go to Daniel Massey as Noel Coward: he could have really "camped" up the role but, thankfully, he played it with restraint. The problem with the movie is that it is constructed with the great musical numbers connected by a very flawed & minimal plot. Furthermore, the musical numbers don't advance the plot at all (only in a few spots do they even parallel Gertrude Lawrence's life-situations of the moment). So, what we're left with is a revue...a pastiche of musical numbers..a Ziegfield Follies of 1968!! So, the character of Gertrude Lawrence isn't fleshed out enough for audience sympathy to develop. Finally, the choice of imitating b&w newsreel footage just doesn't work and further distances the audience from the movie. Check it out though---the musical numbers are super-spectacular and Julie Andrews gives a Star!-performance