Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

A tomboy turned movie star deals with the cruelty of Hollywood.

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writers:

Gavin Lambert (novel), Gavin Lambert (screenplay)

Stars:

Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Natalie Wood	...	Daisy Clover
Christopher Plummer	...	Raymond Swan
Robert Redford	...	Wade Lewis / Lewis Wade
Ruth Gordon	...	The Dealer - Mrs. Clover
Roddy McDowall	...	Walter Baines
Katharine Bard	...	Melora Swan
Peter Helm	...	Milton Hopwood
Betty Harford	...	Gloria Clover Goslett
John Hale	...	Harry Goslett
Harold Gould	...	Cop on Pier
Ottola Nesmith	...	Dolores
Edna Holland	...	Cynara
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Philip Dayton	...	John

Storyline

Daisy Clover is a 15 year old Tomboy who dreams of being a Hollywood star. After auditioning for producer Raymond Swan of Swan studios she becomes the toast of Hollywood. Daisy must then come to terms with her new found fame and the 1930's Hollywood star treatment.

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Plot Keywords:

casting couch | deception | tomboy | movie studio | beach | 

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Taglines:

A star at 15. A has-been at 17. Who says?

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Intimidades de una adolescente

Filming Locations:

Dijon Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Park Place Production, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place from August 24, 1936 to July 1938.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, Natalie Wood's character, Daisy Clover, leans back on what is supposed to look like a cement wall of graffiti. When she leans back, the wall leans with her revealing it is made of fabric.

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Quotes

Gloria Clover Goslett: This whole place smells of beans, where can we go for some coffee?
Daisy Clover: Brazil!

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Connections

Referenced in Private Screenings: Robert Osborne (2014)

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Soundtracks

You're Gonna Hear from Me
(uncredited)
Written by André Previn
Lyrics by Dory Previn
Performed by Natalie Wood (dubbed by Jackie Ward)
Played and sung often throughout the picture

User Reviews

Even worse than I remember back when I saw it in the theatre in the 60s

I would speculate that this is one of the worst major studio motion pictures ever made, starring and directed by A-list talent. I was a teenager when this came out in the theatre, and even then, I distinctly remember - because I was a Natalie Wood fan -- that I hated this movie. I expected forty years later that I would embrace it more deeply, partially for nostalgia, partially for being more forgiving of its foibles. Well ... it's even worse than I remember – a lurid, melodramatic potboiler where not a scene, or piece of dialogue, rings true. Natalie Wood acts like a silent film star, mugging atrociously, and playing tomboy like a truck driver in army boots. I am reminded of the numerous Razzie worst actress awards she got from Harvard back then. Someone on IMDb assumed that 60s audiences accepted this -- but it was a critical bomb back then. The story is beyond far-fetched as she dreams of being a singer, she sends in a recorded disc of her voice -- and the studio head himself pays her a personal call at her pier-side shack because he's so excited about her talent – and when we watch her screentest – her singing is mediocre. She's immediately signed to a contract, but never shows a shred of pleasure or excitement that she has gotten her wish, but only seems to want to escape. The costumes and hair are maddeningly anachronistic – teased hair, pink lipstick, eyeliner, shaggy bangs, turtlenecks, Capri pants, empire waist dresses, narrow suit lapels, pure 60s. Her musical number belongs more on Hullabaloo than a 1930s movie screen. Scenes on the 1930s studio lot, and on the soundstage, are always as deserted as a tomb, and the studio head – who is so evil he should be twirling his moustache like a silent film villain -- seems to have no other duties or interests than meeting incessantly with, and watching over, Daisy. Worth renting only for curiosity value -- or Wood fans who need to round out their viewing repertoire. The one positive is Robert Redford – not the most interesting of actors but more animated than in some of his later roles, and gorgeously handsome beyond belief.