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''The Bad and the Beautiful'' is a 1952 American
melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...
that tells the story of a film producer who alienates everyone around him. The film was directed by
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals '' Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), '' An American in Paris'' (1951), ' ...
, written by
George Bradshaw George Bradshaw (29 July 1800 – 6 September 1853) was an English cartographer, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables. Biography Bradshaw was born at Windsor Brid ...
and Charles Schnee, and starring Lana Turner,
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...
, Walter Pidgeon,
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...
,
Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer) Barry Sullivan is ...
, Gloria Grahame and Gilbert Roland. ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' won five
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
out of six nominations in 1952 (including Gloria Grahame winning Best Supporting Actress), a record for the most awards for a movie that was not nominated for Best Picture or for Best Director. In 2002, the United States
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
. The theme song, "The Bad and the Beautiful", penned by David Raksin, became a
jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...
and has been cited as an example of an excellent movie theme. ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' was created by the same team that later worked on another film about the seedy film business, '' Two Weeks in Another Town'' (1962): director (Vincente Minnelli), producer (John Houseman), screenwriter (Charles Schnee), composer (David Raksin), male star (Kirk Douglas), and studio (MGM). Both films also feature performances of the song " Don't Blame Me", by Leslie Uggams in ''Two Weeks'' and by Peggy King in ''The Bad and the Beautiful''. In one scene of ''Two Weeks in Another Town'', the cast watches clips from ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' in a screening room, presented as a film that Douglas's character in ''Two Weeks'', Jack Andrus, had starred in. ''Two Weeks'' is not a sequel, however, as the characters in the two stories are unrelated.


Plot

In
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
, director Fred Amiel, movie star Georgia Lorrison, and
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
James Lee Bartlow each refuse to speak by phone to Jonathan Shields in Paris.
Movie producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...
Harry Pebbel gathers them in his office and explains that Shields has a new film idea and he wants the three of them for the project. Shields cannot get financing on his own, but with their names attached, there would be no problem. Pebbel asks the three to allow him to get Shields on the phone before they give their final answer. As they await Shields' call, Pebbel assures the three that he understands why they refused to speak to Shields. Their involvement with Shields then unfolds in a series of flashbacks. Shields is the son of a notorious former studio head who had been dumped by the industry. The elder Shields was so unpopular that his son had to hire extras to attend his funeral. Despite the ill feelings toward him because of his father, the younger Shields is determined to make it in Hollywood. Shields partners with aspiring director Amiel, whom he meets at the funeral. Shields intentionally loses money he does not have in a
poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game wa ...
game to film executive Pebbel so he can talk Pebbel into letting him work off the debt as a line producer. Shields and Amiel learn their respective trades making B movies for Pebbel. When one of their films becomes a hit, Amiel decides they are ready to take on a more significant project he has been nursing along, and Shields pitches it to the studio. Shields gets a $1 million budget to produce the film, but betrays Amiel by allowing someone with an established reputation to direct. The film's success allows Shields to start his own studio, and Pebbel goes to work for him. Amiel becomes an Oscar-winning director. Shields next encounters alcoholic small-time actress Lorrison, the daughter of a famous actor Shields admired. He builds up her confidence and gives her the leading role in one of his movies over everyone else's objections. When she falls in love with him, he lets her think that he feels the same way so that she does not self-destruct and he gets the performance he needs. After the
premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...
makes her a star overnight, she finds him with a bit player named Lila. He tells her that he will never allow anyone to have that much control over him. Crushed, Lorrison walks out on her contract. Rather than suing her, Shields lets her go to another studio. She becomes a top Hollywood star. Finally, Bartlow is a contented professor at a small college who has written a bestselling book for which Shields has purchased the film rights. Shields wants Bartlow himself to write the script. Bartlow is not interested, but his shallow Southern belle wife Rosemary is, so he gives in. They go to Hollywood, where her constant distractions keep him from his work. Shields gets his suave actor friend Victor "Gaucho" Ribera to keep her occupied. Freed from interruption, Bartlow makes excellent progress on the script. Rosemary, however, runs away with Gaucho; they are killed in a plane crash. When the script is completed, Shields has the distraught Bartlow remain in Hollywood to help with the production, while Shields takes over directing duties. A first-time director, Shields botches the job, which leads to his bankruptcy. Then Shields lets slip his part in Rosemary's involvement with Gaucho, so Bartlow walks out on him. Bartlow goes on to write a novel based upon his wife (something Shields had encouraged him to do) and wins a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
. After each flashback, Pebbel sarcastically agrees that Shields "ruined" their lives; each of the three is now at the top of their respective professions, thanks largely to Shields. At last, Shields' call comes through and Pebbel asks the three if they will work with Shields just one more time; all three say no. As they leave, Pebbel is still talking to Shields. The three eavesdrop on an extension phone as Shields describes his new idea; they become more and more interested.


Cast

* Lana Turner as Georgia Lorrison *
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...
as Jonathan Shields * Walter Pidgeon as Harry Pebbel *
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...
as James Lee Bartlow *
Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer) Barry Sullivan is ...
as Fred Amiel * Gloria Grahame as Rosemary Bartlow * Gilbert Roland as Victor "Gaucho" Ribera * Leo G. Carroll as Henry Whitfield * Vanessa Brown as Kay Amiel * Paul Stewart as Syd * Sammy White as Gus *
Elaine Stewart Elaine Stewart (born Elsy Henrietta Maria Steinberg; May 31, 1930 – June 27, 2011) was an American actress and model. Life Stewart was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the daughter of Hedwig (Haenssler) and Ulrich E. Steinberg. She was one of ...
as Lila * Ivan Triesault as Von Ellstein * Lucy Knoch as blonde dancing with Gaucho (uncredited)


Production

The film was based on a 1949 magazine story "Of Good and Evil" by
George Bradshaw George Bradshaw (29 July 1800 – 6 September 1853) was an English cartographer, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables. Biography Bradshaw was born at Windsor Brid ...
, which was expanded into a longer version called ''Memorial to a Bad Man''. It concerned the will and testament of a New York theatre producer who tried to explain his bad behavior to three people he had hurt: a writer, actor and director. MGM bought the film rights and originally Dan Hartman was to produce it. Hartman left for Paramount.
Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...
offered the project to
John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with directo ...
and was to be called ''Memo to a Bad Man''. Houseman decided to change the milieu from New York theatre to Hollywood because he felt after '' All About Eve'' that a Hollywood setting would have more novelty. "I liked it", said Houseman. "I said, 'I'll do it, but not as a Broadway picture.' I was sick to death of Broadway pictures. I said, 'I wouldn't know how to add anything to the stuff that's been done, but if you'll let me do it as a Hollywood picture, I'd love to make it.' "
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
was originally attached to star; then
Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
. Eventually
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...
signed to play the lead. Vincente Minnelli was to direct. "People who read the script asked me why I wanted to do it", said Vincente Minnelli. "It was against Hollywood, etc. I told them I didn't see the man as an unregenerate heel—first because we find out he has a weakness, which makes him human, and second, because he's tough on himself as he is on everyone else, which makes him honest. That's the complex, wonderful thing about human beings—whether they're in Hollywood, in the automobile business, or in neckties." Douglas later recalled being on set with Francis X. Bushman, who had a small part. He says Bushman told him his career faded away because "at the height of his fame, he inadvertently offended the all-powerful Louis B. Mayer by keeping him waiting a few minutes. Mayer, in turn, banned him from MGM and blackballed him in the industry. This was his first time on the lot in 25 years. Bushman's story gave me some useful insight into the ruthless, selfish character I was playing—still another tough-guy antihero. I was doing well with these roles." An uncredited Lucy Knoch plays the blonde dancing with Gaucho; she is frequently assumed by modern audiences to be Kim Novak because of the resemblance.


Relation to real-life personalities

There has been much debate as to which real-life Hollywood legends are represented by the film's characters. At the time of the film's release, stories about its basis caused
David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...
—whose real life paralleled in some respects that of the "father-obsessed independent producer" Jonathan Shields—to have his lawyer view the film and determine whether it contained any
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
ous material. Shields is thought to be a blending of Selznick,
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
and Val Lewton.
Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...
, head of MGM at the time, said Shields was a combination of "
David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. ...
and as yet unknown
David Merrick David Merrick (born David Lee Margoulis; November 27, 1911 – April 25, 2000) was an American theatrical producer who won a number of Tony Awards. Life and career Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick gra ...
." Lewton's '' Cat People'' is clearly the inspiration behind the early Shields–Amiel film ''Doom of the Cat Men''. The Georgia Lorrison character is the daughter of a "Great Profile" actor like
John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
( Diana Barrymore's career was in fact launched the same year as her father's death), but it can also be argued that Lorrison includes elements of Minnelli's ex-wife
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
. Gilbert Roland's Gaucho may almost be seen as self-parody, as he had recently starred in a series of
Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Magazi ...
pictures, though the character's name, Ribera, would seem to give a nod also to famed Hollywood seducer Porfirio Rubirosa. The director Henry Whitfield ( Leo G. Carroll) is a "difficult" director modeled on
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
, and his assistant Miss March ( Kathleen Freeman) is modeled on Hitchcock's wife Alma Reville. The other director, von Ellstein, may be modeled after
Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. H ...
and
Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...
. The James Lee Bartlow character may have been inspired by Paul Eliot Green, the University of North Carolina academic-turned-screenwriter of '' The Cabin in the Cotton''. But Bartlow also resembles novelist
William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...
, who worked on many of Hollywood’s best movies—and had an easier relationship with the industry than he did with his wife. She, like her movie counterpart, was a difficult, often-demanding ex-Southern belle. Houseman later said, "The producer was thought to be Selznick, and of course it largely is, but—well, is ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' Hearst? Yes, it is Hearst, but also Pulitzer and a lot of other legendary people. So it was Selznick, Zanuck, and all others. Just as the foreign director could be Stroheim or Fritz Lang. When you start to work in a legendary world, you get legendary figures."


Release

The film was shot as ''Tribute to a Bad Man'' but the studio worried it would be mistaken for a western. The title was changed to ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' at the suggestion of MGM's head of publicity Howard Dietz who took it from F. Scott Fitzgerald. Houseman admitted he thought it was a "dreadful title, it's a loathsome, cheap, vulgar, title" but then when the film became successful "it seemed like one of the greatest titles ever thought of. It's certainly been imitated enough: any time anybody's really hard up for a title, they just take two adjectives and string them together with an "and" in between."


Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,367,000 in the US and Canada and $1,006,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $484,000. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds a rating of 79% from 48 reviews with the consensus: "Melodrama at its most confident, ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' is an ode to moviemaking that offers unblinking insight into the ugly egos that have shaped Hollywood history."


Awards and honors

At the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s, actress Gloria Grahame's performance as Rosemary Bartlow occupied only just 9 minutes and 32 seconds of screen time and was at the time the shortest performance to ever win an Academy Award, a record she held until 1977 when Beatrice Straight won Best Supporting Actress for ''
Network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematic ...
'' and set a new record of 5 minutes and 2 seconds.


Theme song

David Raksin wrote the theme song "The Bad and the Beautiful" (originally called "Love is For the Very Young") for the film. Upon first hearing the song, Minnelli and Houseman nearly rejected it, but were convinced to keep it by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. After the film's release, the song became a hit and a
jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...
, and has been widely covered. A number of film music experts and composers, including
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
, have highly praised the theme. In a ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' article about the theme entitled "Anatomy of a Great Movie Theme", critic Michael Phillips wrote, "Its hypnotic way of combining dissonance with resolutions that never quite resolve when, or how, you expect them to, keeps a listener perpetually intrigued. The bittersweet quality proves elusive and addictive. It's perfect for the Douglas character, and for what Minnelli called the Hollywood-insider script's alternately 'affectionate and cynical' air."


Home media

''The Bad and the Beautiful'' was released to DVD by Warner Home Video on February 5, 2002 as a Region 1 fullscreen DVD. It was released on Blu-ray from Warner Archive on November 19, 2019.


References


External links

* * * * *
''The Bad and the Beautiful''
essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 42–463 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bad And The Beautiful, The 1952 films 1952 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Films about actors Films about film directors and producers Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles Films set in studio lots Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films scored by David Raksin United States National Film Registry films Melodrama films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films