THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

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"The Bad And The Beautiful" is a great title for this fascinating self-reflexive triptych melodrama about the inner-workings of Hollywood's early '50s Studio era of success.

It's telling that the picture won seven Oscars back in 1953.

Vincente Minelli's direction is breathtaking.

Kirk Douglas plays Johnathan Shields, a big time Hollywood studio exec with an eye for talent, and all the charm in the world to attract those who fit the bill.

Jonathan is also an inveterate backstabber. In order for Jonathan to succeed it is imperative that those closest too him, fail.

We follow three of Jonathan's victims through flashback chapters that accumulate toward a rich character study of each one. The fraught relationship with their mutual frenemy is a tie that binds.

There's the former business partner (Barry Sullivan), the rags-to-riches starlet (Lana Turner), and a hometown novelist turned L.A. screenwriter (Dick Powell).

Lana Turner is out of this world as Georgia Lorrison, an upcoming star contender in debt to Jonathan's underhanded guidance.

Talk about sexy, Gloria Grahame brings sexy forward and back.

"There's always good and bad in everything," couldn't be truer than in this stylish, almost post-modern, look at narcissism in the days when men were men, boys were boys, and women were classy and able. 

Tragedy strikes in the cruelest of ways before Jonathan finally loses control of his manipulative powers.

Never drop your guard around those with an ounce of power. You have to be ready before the punch arrives.

Not Rated. 118 mins.