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IMDbPro

The Bad and the Beautiful

  • 19521952
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
15K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
16,082
1,693
Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Trailer for the classic Hollywood drama The Bad and the Beautiful, starring Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner and Gloria Grahame.
Play trailer2:40
1 Video
71 Photos
DramaRomance
An unscrupulous movie producer uses an actress, a director and a writer to achieve success.An unscrupulous movie producer uses an actress, a director and a writer to achieve success.An unscrupulous movie producer uses an actress, a director and a writer to achieve success.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
15K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
16,082
1,693
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Vincente Minnelli
    • Writers
      • Charles Schnee(screenplay)
      • George Bradshaw(story)
    • Stars
      • Lana Turner
      • Kirk Douglas
      • Walter Pidgeon
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Vincente Minnelli
    • Writers
      • Charles Schnee(screenplay)
      • George Bradshaw(story)
    • Stars
      • Lana Turner
      • Kirk Douglas
      • Walter Pidgeon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 131User reviews
    • 88Critic reviews
    • Won 5 Oscars
      • 7 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Bad and the Beautiful
    Trailer 2:40
    The Bad and the Beautiful

    Photos71

    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Gloria Grahame and Dick Powell in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lana Turner
    Lana Turner
    • Georgia Lorrison
    Kirk Douglas
    Kirk Douglas
    • Jonathan
    Walter Pidgeon
    Walter Pidgeon
    • Harry Pebbel
    Dick Powell
    Dick Powell
    • James Lee Bartlow
    Barry Sullivan
    Barry Sullivan
    • Fred Amiel
    Gloria Grahame
    Gloria Grahame
    • Rosemary
    Gilbert Roland
    Gilbert Roland
    • 'Gaucho'
    Leo G. Carroll
    Leo G. Carroll
    • Henry Whitfield
    Vanessa Brown
    Vanessa Brown
    • Kay Amiel
    Paul Stewart
    Paul Stewart
    • Syd
    Sammy White
    • Gus
    Elaine Stewart
    Elaine Stewart
    • Lila
    Ivan Triesault
    Ivan Triesault
    • Von Ellstein
    Jay Adler
    Jay Adler
    • Mr. Z - Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Andrews
    Stanley Andrews
    • Sheriff
    • (uncredited)
    Del Armstrong
    Del Armstrong
    • Georgia's Makeup Artist - Screen Test Scene
    • (uncredited)
    Ben Astar
    Ben Astar
    • Joe - Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Barbara Billingsley
    Barbara Billingsley
    • Evelyn Lucien - Costumer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Vincente Minnelli
    • Writers
      • Charles Schnee(screenplay)
      • George Bradshaw(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      At 9 minutes and 32 seconds, Gloria Grahame's performance in this movie became the shortest to ever win an Oscar. She held the record until 1976, when Beatrice Straight won for her 5 minute performance in Network (1976).
    • Goofs
      The story takes place over an 18-year period, roughly 1934-1952, but the hairstyles and clothing of all the women, from beginning to end, are strictly 1952.
    • Quotes

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

    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer colorized version.
    • Connections
      Edited into Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
    • Soundtracks
      Don't Blame Me
      (uncredited)

      Music by Jimmy McHugh

      Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

      Performed by Peggy King

    User reviews131

    Review
    Top review
    The composer the star
    My tribute to the great Hollywood film composer, David Raksin, is long overdue. I only discovered the other day that he died a couple of summers ago at the considerable age of 92. I suppose I had thought that like most of those figures who reached their peak in the middle of the last century he had passed away many years ago. A re-seeing of "The Bad and the Beautiful" fairly recently reminded me of just how outstanding was his contribution to movies of all shades of quality. I first became aware of the uniqueness of the Raksin 'sound' on my original viewing of Wyler's "Carrie" in 1952. It is impossible to define, other than to say that it owes nothing to central European romanticism, the sound of almost all the in-house studio composers such as Newman, Stothart and Steiner, or to the tradition of 20th century symphonists such as Copland and Diamond which fed the imagination of film composers as diverse as Elmer Bernstein and David Amram. Raksin had a sound all his own as did Bernard Herrmann and Miklos Rozsa, as instantly recognisable as theirs but I feel his range is wider. He seldom repeated himself as did Rozsa who composed in the same style regardless of genre. ("Double Idemnity", "Ben-Hur" and "Madame Bovary" have nothing common apart from their same sort of watered down Kodaly-like music.) His style is intensely lyrical, conceived with a verve and passion that always transcended the most trivial movies and made them, if not worth watching, always worth listening to. Unlike many of his colleagues he seldom hit the jackpot by working on films of great quality. I think it only happened twice, with Abraham Polonsky's B movie "Force of Evil" which has become recognised as a marvellous example of film noir and of course William Wyler's "Carrie" where he was just one of many outstanding contributors to what I have long argued is possibly the greatest work of art to have ever emerged from the Hollywood studio system. Although it has its passionate advocates, I cannot share their enthusiasm for Vincente Minnelli's "The Bad and the Beautiful". It is certainly very professional in the way it slickly dissects an unsympathetic character through the flashback reminiscences of those he mistreated, but it had all been done before and considerably better in "Citizen Kane" and "All About Eve". However the film is worth watching if only to wallow in Raksin's gorgeous score. And there is plenty of it, particularly in accompanying all those voice-off narrations. And then just as one is beginning to wonder if the marvellous opening credit theme is about to be heard once too often, the composer introduces something entirely new for the Dick Powell narrative, a jaunty section based on a four-note motif (a falling perfect fifth, rising up a major sixth, then down a major seventh). The way this is subsequently developed is truly symphonic. Incidentally if you want to discover a film score that has the length and complexity of a symphony just close your eyes (you won't be missing much) and listen to "Forever Amber". Raksin in excelsis!
    helpful•23
    18
    • jandesimpson
    • May 18, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 9, 1953 (Brazil)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Memorial to a Bad Man
    • Filming locations
      • Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows - 9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,558,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,025
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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