There have been countless statements that Bette Davis was playing her supposed rival Joan Crawford in this film that won her 9th Academy award nomination. But history shows that in the early 1950's, Crawford still was a star even if the quality of some of her pictures wasn't up to "Mildred Pierce". In fact, along with Davis, she received an Academy Award nomination the same year for the Film Noir classic "Sudden f
Fear". This film also presents Davis's character of Margaret Elliott as a loving mother to daughter Natalie Wood even if she does have an ego the size of both Davis and Crawford combined.
For faded movie star Margaret Elliott, there seems to be no hope of her making a comeback. She has had to sell off all of her belongings to pay creditors and still deals with greedy family members while lying to herself that a new picture is just around the corner. After an encounter with her greedy sister and brother-in-law, Davis goes out and gets drunk (accompanied by her Oscar, which I hope she got back), ends up in the slammer, and is bailed out by one time co-star Sterling Hayden who has loved her all along. His hope is that he can show her how to go on with her life simply with love and put that part of her life behind her.
Made in between "Sunset Boulevard", "All About Eve" and "A Star is Born", this drama certainly has its elements of camp and unintentional comedy, but it is a realistic story of a woman devoted to her career far too much and how she has to face life when that career hits rock bottom. Davis adds many human elements to her characterization and while it's easy to root for her to find a film to indeed make that come back, it's more sensible to hope that she wakes up and decides to really live rather than continue the imitation of life that she's been living.
Sterling Hayden is very good as a one-time co-star, a brief movie actor, offering her hope that she doesn't see until it's too late. It's easy to find the funny parts in this because the lines are campy and some of the situations quite ironic. The scene of Natalie Wood jumping off the boat at Malibu is very spooky. When Davis tries to play a frumpy character part for an audition and ask glamour to it, they are just there to laugh as well, but I particularly felt sorry for her. When she has to view the rushes, it truly becomes a groundbreaking moment as she begins to wake up to see what a fool Her image has made her.
The use of starlet Barbara Lawrence as her apparent rival replacement is interesting because the real Barbara Lawrence really did not have much of a career. She's best known to me as the giggling girl that Shirley Jones beats up in Oklahoma. Davis would go on to other great films, but she did make a statement here about how an actress works hard for years and ends up being tossed aside by people she helped rise to the top behind the scenes. I couldn't help but imagine watching this in a theater without you thought without any laughter, but that truly is an impossible dream. Still, it's a beautiful performance if not a perfect film.
For faded movie star Margaret Elliott, there seems to be no hope of her making a comeback. She has had to sell off all of her belongings to pay creditors and still deals with greedy family members while lying to herself that a new picture is just around the corner. After an encounter with her greedy sister and brother-in-law, Davis goes out and gets drunk (accompanied by her Oscar, which I hope she got back), ends up in the slammer, and is bailed out by one time co-star Sterling Hayden who has loved her all along. His hope is that he can show her how to go on with her life simply with love and put that part of her life behind her.
Made in between "Sunset Boulevard", "All About Eve" and "A Star is Born", this drama certainly has its elements of camp and unintentional comedy, but it is a realistic story of a woman devoted to her career far too much and how she has to face life when that career hits rock bottom. Davis adds many human elements to her characterization and while it's easy to root for her to find a film to indeed make that come back, it's more sensible to hope that she wakes up and decides to really live rather than continue the imitation of life that she's been living.
Sterling Hayden is very good as a one-time co-star, a brief movie actor, offering her hope that she doesn't see until it's too late. It's easy to find the funny parts in this because the lines are campy and some of the situations quite ironic. The scene of Natalie Wood jumping off the boat at Malibu is very spooky. When Davis tries to play a frumpy character part for an audition and ask glamour to it, they are just there to laugh as well, but I particularly felt sorry for her. When she has to view the rushes, it truly becomes a groundbreaking moment as she begins to wake up to see what a fool Her image has made her.
The use of starlet Barbara Lawrence as her apparent rival replacement is interesting because the real Barbara Lawrence really did not have much of a career. She's best known to me as the giggling girl that Shirley Jones beats up in Oklahoma. Davis would go on to other great films, but she did make a statement here about how an actress works hard for years and ends up being tossed aside by people she helped rise to the top behind the scenes. I couldn't help but imagine watching this in a theater without you thought without any laughter, but that truly is an impossible dream. Still, it's a beautiful performance if not a perfect film.