At least Anthony Franciosa didn't sell his soul to Satan like John Cassavettes did in "Rosemary's Baby", but that's pretty close. A marriage ends, two women are taken in by his charms, and a director pal goes Hollywood, which costs more than a simple soul. This is Anthony Franciosa's shining moment after "A Hatful of Rain", and he runs with it, joined by stellar co-stars Dean Martin (the director), Shirley MacLaine (floozy and boozy second wife), Carolyn Jones (actress turned agent), and Joan Blackmon (innocent first wife who left him in disgust). They are all a part of an ambitious circle of Franciosa's dying soul to where he himself admits in a powerful scene that the devil does indeed have him by the tale.
Of the supporting cast, Jones is the most superb, a victim of the business herself who has retained her integrity even if it meant her putting her own dreams behind her. These paralleled Jones' own success in film which suddenly stalled, forcing her to go into the camp world of T.V. comedy and become immortal playing Mirticia Addams. But for a few years, she was a critic's darling, showing the irony of it all when it all went on pause for her.
MacLaine goes between high comedy and soul baring drama, gaining laughs as to destroying one lover who ended up a hair dresser and complaining about her casting director father who gets the bends going south of Houston and nosebleeds going uptown. But there is something about her character that rings with familiarity as well as certain details rushed through. As this goes on, it really takes on a theatrical tone of its own, reminding me of the Clifford Odets play "The Big Knife", itself a film just several years before. This goes onto present the moral of people who thrive so hard on career success that they forget how to live.
Of the supporting cast, Jones is the most superb, a victim of the business herself who has retained her integrity even if it meant her putting her own dreams behind her. These paralleled Jones' own success in film which suddenly stalled, forcing her to go into the camp world of T.V. comedy and become immortal playing Mirticia Addams. But for a few years, she was a critic's darling, showing the irony of it all when it all went on pause for her.
MacLaine goes between high comedy and soul baring drama, gaining laughs as to destroying one lover who ended up a hair dresser and complaining about her casting director father who gets the bends going south of Houston and nosebleeds going uptown. But there is something about her character that rings with familiarity as well as certain details rushed through. As this goes on, it really takes on a theatrical tone of its own, reminding me of the Clifford Odets play "The Big Knife", itself a film just several years before. This goes onto present the moral of people who thrive so hard on career success that they forget how to live.