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 breath-taking.
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.
We follow three of Jonathan's victims through flashback chapters that accumulate toward a rich character study of each character, and their fraught relationship with their mutual frenemy.
There's the former business partner, the rags-to-riches starlet, and a hometown novelist turned L.A. screenwriter.
Lana Turner is out of this world as Georgia Lorrison, an upcoming star under 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, and boys were boys.
Tragedy strikes in the cruelest of ways before Jonathan finally loses control of his manipulative powers.
Never drop your guard.
Not Rated. 118 mins.