A mom played by film noir star Claire Trevor sees dollars when her daughter (Sally Forrest) becomes a champion tennis player. Made in the 50's when prize money didn't exist, there evidently was enough money under the table to finance a luxurious life of fancy hotels and high society parties. What gives the film its punch is the mother who seems to completely forget about her daughter's welfare, letting her career be run by a sleazy opportunist tennis playboy who pushes the poor girl to exhaustion while steering her away from the better influences of her father and the guy who helped her rise up in the rankings but who eventually sees that she's sold out to the short career of a tennis primadonna. Competently made and entertaining enough to keep one watching, with the story leading to the "tragic" ending when both the daughter and father abandon the greedy mom, thus losing everything.
Review of Hard, Fast and Beautiful!
Hard, Fast and Beautiful!
(1951)
how not to handle a tennis prodigy
21 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers