The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

An unscrupulous movie producer uses an actress, a director and a writer to achieve success.

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay), George Bradshaw (story)

Stars:

Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon

Won 5 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lana Turner	...	Georgia
Kirk Douglas	...	Jonathan
Walter Pidgeon	...	Harry Pebbel
Dick Powell	...	James Lee Bartlow
Barry Sullivan	...	Fred Amiel
Gloria Grahame	...	Rosemary
Gilbert Roland	...	'Gaucho'
Leo G. Carroll	...	Henry Whitfield
Vanessa Brown	...	Kay Amiel
Paul Stewart	...	Syd
Sammy White	...	Gus
Elaine Stewart	...	Lila
Ivan Triesault	...	Von Ellstein

Storyline

Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer James Lee Bartlow, a star Georgia Lorrison and a director Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone - including the writer, star and director - on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers.

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Plot Keywords:

screenwriter | rise and fall | film studio | film producer | hollywood california | 

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Taglines:

FORECAST: So powerful, so wonderful, it's headed for the "10 BEST" list of 1953!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1953 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Tribute to a Badman

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows - 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,558,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,367,000, 31 December 1953

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,373,000, 31 December 1963

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kirk Douglas landed the lead role after Clark Gable had turned it down.

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Goofs

When Jonathan is shining the flashlight at the girl up the roof, at one point he aims it away from her, but the light remains steadily focused on her legs.

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Quotes

Jonathan: Don't worry. Some of the best movies are made by people working together who hate each other's guts.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Criminal Ways (2003)

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Soundtracks

Don't Blame Me
(uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Performed by Peggy King

User Reviews

show biz can't satisfy anyone

One thing that I've always wondered is why no one looks at Hollywood more negatively than Hollywood itself. But whatever the reason, "The Bad and the Beautiful" pulls no punches in looking at its topic. The movie portrays some people explaining how they used to be friends of producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) but have since turned against him. There's the director whom Shields promised a directing job but betrayed him, the writer who lost his wife to Shields's actions, and the actress whom Shields drove to madness.

I thought that one of the most effective scenes in the movie was Kirk Douglas holding Lana Turner in his arms. Here he is, this overbearing, hostile character forced to almost coddle his gorgeous female star; it might be showing how he may seemingly have exalted her, but he remains in a higher position and is merely using her and sending her into insanity. And the scene of her driving the car while completely upset elaborates on this idea.

And then, there's the writer. He and his wife move from Virginia hoping to get really big in Hollywood...until tragedy strikes. It all goes to show the disaster inherent in any industry (of course, Douglas's character exacerbates any problem). But anyway, this is a formidable part of cinema history; a precursor to movies like "The Player". Also starring Dick Powell, Walter Pidgeon and Gloria Grahame (who won Best Supporting Actress).