The Star
by Stuart Heisler
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bette Davis, Minor Watson, Natalie Wood, Sterling Hayden, Warner AndersonDirector: Stuart Heisler
Brand: DAVIS,BETTE
Cinematographer: Ernest Laszlo
Producer: Bert E. Friedlob
Writer: Dale Eunson
Writer: Katherine Albert
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Star
Movie Review: "One good picture is all I need"
Summary: 5 Stars
In The Star, Bette Davis plays Margaret Elliot, a neurotic, has-been - a broken down Hollywood actress who is way past her prime. Once the darling of the show business jet set, she can't even scrabble enough money together to pay her rent. Margaret's a sad and desperate woman; who once new the dizzying heights of stardom, but now must face the harsh reality that she's no longer the alluring, sexy vamp she once was.
Margaret's problem is that she just can't accept failure, and move on with her life. She hasn't worked for several years, her marriage has fallen apart, her former husband has custody of her daughter Gretchen (Natalie Wood), and she's running short of money. Her agent Harry Stone (Warner Anderson) can't or won't get her a decent part, and isn't willing to lend her the money to pay her bills. At the beginning of the film, we see her possessions being auctioned to pay off her creditors.
Margaret's sister (Fay Baker) and brother-in-law (David Alpert) turn their back on her when they learn that she is penniless, and her landlady (Katherine Warren) is threatening to evict her, unless she comes up with the rent money. Things are looking pretty grim when one night, in a fit of drunken anxiety and clutching her Oscar in quiet desperation, she tearfully visits the mansion she once lived in.
This sets off an emotional chain of events, including an intoxicated spin through Beverly Hills where she's finally convicted on a drunk driving charge. She is bailed out by a former actor, Jim Johannson (Sterling Hayden), who worked with her years ago, and who has long since been in love with her. Jim urges Margaret to leave Hollywood behind, and offers to care for her if she'll have him.
Margaret however is ambivalent; she still clutches to the fame she once had, holding on to the desperate hope she may have one more chance at regaining her stardom, "once the actress always the actress." At one stage, Jim even talks her into working in the hosiery department at the old May Company Department Store. But it proves to be a terrible mistake. Margaret, demeaned and humiliated, runs to Harry and pleads for another chance. He finally gets her an audition with producer Joe Morrison (Minor Watson), but it's an absolute disaster.
Bette is just terrific as usual giving a confident, perceptive, and beautifully fanatical performance. Margaret is a frustrated, self-centered, impossible woman who just can't face the realities of her situation. The fact that she's a petty has-been that has squandered all her money doesn't really endear her to us or make us feel sorry for her plight.
She does, however, engender a certain kind of sympathy, but most viewers probably just want to shake some sense into her, especially when she goes out on a spending spree charging up everything in sight when there's no guarantee she will even get the role she's been so yearning for.
The hunky Sterling Hayden as Jim is particularly good, and he gives a remarkably soft and surprisingly quiet performance. It's a nice juxtaposition to Bette's constant and desperate histrionics. Margaret eventually learns the value of friendship, of family, and along the way, achieves some hard life lessons. Only when she is finally offered a part playing herself does Margaret come to understand where her true priorities lay.
The Star is a wonderful slice of behind-the-scenes Hollywood in the 1950's, and while it probably isn't particularly realistic by today's' standards, the movie is still a marvelous piece of entertainment and showcases the wonderful Bette at her vampish and dramatic best. Mike Leonard July 05.
Summary of The Star
An aging actress finds it impossible to cope with her failing career and personal life.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 14-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD
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