- Film Review
- Reviewed By David Parkinson
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4 out of 5
Riven by political investigation, competition from TV and the realisation that the Golden Age had passed, Hollywood produced a series of withering self-portraits in the early 1950s that revealed, beneath the tinsel, a sordidness worthy of Dorian Gray. Full of insider gags, this fizzing melodrama from Vincente Minnelli touches more than a few raw nerves as it charts the decline and fall of movie mogul Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) through the eyes of a writer (Dick Powell), a director (Barry Sullivan) and an actress (Lana Turner). Allegedly an amalgam of David O Selznick and Val Lewton, the character of Shields is made truly detestable by Douglas (in an Oscar-nominated role), who obviously relishes a part rejected by Clark Gable.
Plot Summary
Oscar-winning drama starring Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner. A Hollywood producer calls together a writer, a director and a star and reveals that ruthless movie mogul Jonathan Shields needs their help. But all three have vowed never to work with Shields again, and each remembers why.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Jonathan Shields
- Kirk Douglas
- Georgia Lorrison
- Lana Turner
- Harry Pebbel
- Walter Pidgeon
- James Lee Bartlow
- Dick Powell
- Fred Amiel
- Barry Sullivan
- Rosemary Bartlow
- Gloria Grahame
- Victor "Gaucho" Ribera
- Gilbert Roland
- Henry Whitfield
- Leo G Carroll
- Kay Amiel
- Vanessa Brown
- Syd Murphy
- Paul Stewart
- Gus
- Sammy White
- Lila
- Elaine Stewart
Crew
- Director
- Vincente Minnelli
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