The Star
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Movie Reviews of The Star
Movie Review: I'm Bankrupt..Broke..Get It ?
Summary: 4 Stars
The Reviewer who stated that "Bette does everything but hit the roof in this one" is 100% correct. She makes up for a quickie script and cheap Production values by giving a performance that is at times way over-the-top and at other times sensitive and perceptive. Davis' Margaret Elliot is a has-been hag who drinks too much, shouts at people, and is completely removed from reality. In short - she's a Diva, 1950's style. Imagine Margo Channing from "All About Eve" after falling on hard times. The script is supposedly based on Joan Crawford but Margaret Elliot is much more Bette Davis in most places, especially in the scene where she comes from her auction only to be greeted by her Sister wanting a monthly check. She "goes off" on her and orders her out. Later, after being humiliated into accepting a Sales Clerk job at May Co. she declares that she will not degrade herself by "waiting on a couple of old bags." While not a great film, "The Star" is certainly entertaining.Movie Review: Bette's star never fades, despite a dim script...
Summary: 3 Stars
For feeling rather like a cheap rip-off of `All About Eve' and `Sunset Blvd.', `The Star' sports a brilliant performance by one of the world's greatest legends. In fact, it is Davis herself that saves this film for me. Outside of her wonderful performance (so many layers) the film just doesn't quite stack up.
The film tells the story of a washed up actress named Margaret Elliot, a one time Oscar winning starlet who has been reduced to nothing thanks to her diva attitude, her age and her generosity. She is now dead-broke and unemployed. When she finds herself arrested for intoxication and then subsequently rescued by a former co-star turned boat mechanic, Margaret is forced to accept what she has become and what exactly lies in her future; but she isn't willing to. Instead, she vies for a certain part she has a special love for, despite the fact that the character is far too young for her to betray. Instead of accepting to baity role she was offered, she tries her hand at convincing the director to give her the other part, in the end sabotaging her own success.
The films center, which tells the story of a woman afraid to face reality, is a poignant one. It is also one that has been broached many times, better. The film itself has a very cheap quality, and the script (the most important part) seems rather rushed and thrown together without any real sense of cohesive direction. A lot of the scenes seem like afterthoughts.
BUT, where there are issues with the content there is never an issue as to whether or not Bette Davis is at the top of her game. She is quite outstanding here. The great thing about this character is that it is far from anything like the real Bette Davis. Davis was an actress who, even in her prime, had no problem de-glamming for a particular role. Look back to 1939 where she played down her looks for `The Old Maid', or how she completely destroyed her features in 1962 for `What Ever Happened to Baby Jane'. Davis sunk herself into every role, and it shows here as well. We don't see Davis pretending to be a vain washed up actress. We see the vanity as if it were ingrown; steeped in her very being. Her test scene sequence alone is flawlessly delivered, and better yet is the scene where she witnesses that said sequence alone, in the viewing room.
Sadly, Davis is not backed up by a respectable cast. I love Natalie Wood (the later years) but her child performance here is pretty awful. Sterling Hayden is even worse. Next to Davis he appears like a wooden caricature. It's depressing to see Davis's talent wasted on a film not worthy of her.
Still, this was a tour-de-force performance, and so I totally recommend seeing this if you are a fan of Davis. Bette Davis rightfully won two Academy Awards; I'm only saddened that they were won at the beginning of her career. I have no problem with her performances in `Jezebel' and `Dangerous' (for which she won her Oscars), in fact I love those performances; but if it were up to me Davis would have golden boys for her performances in `All About Eve' and this clunky drama. Yes, despite the overall lack of effect this film has, Davis rises far above her material to deliver a remarkably respectable performance.
Movie Review: Davis is the true star of this one
Summary: 3 Stars
In "The Star", Bette Davis plays a washed up movie star who's been labelled "box office poison" and can't find work. She can't pay her bills yet her sister and brother-in-law expect her to pay theirs. Her daughter lives with her ex-husband and his new wife. After being caught drunk driving she gets bailed out by Jim Johannson (Sterling Hayden), a former co-star who now runs a shipyard. He talks her into trying something new so she gets a job at a department store but walks out on her first day and begs her agent to find her work. He manages to get her a screen test for a supporting part in a movie based on a novel she always wanted to film. She does the screen test but won't take direction and what she really wants is to play the 18-year-old lead character.
"The Star" is a good title for this movie. It's a true star vehicle for Davis and it wouldn't have been very interesting without her. The rest of the cast do a good job as well but they can't steal any scenes from Davis. The plot is simple and quite predictable (although by no means bad) Davis gives a great performance and there are some very good scenes. Recommended to Bette Davis fans.
Movie Review: If you're a star...you're always going to be a star!
Summary: 3 Stars
Watching this thoroughly engrossing 90 minute melodrama is a little like eating a jumbo sized bucket of buttered popcorn. It tastes delicious going down, but leaves you just a little queazy 'cause you know it's really bad!
Bette Davis leaves no scenery un-chewed as the faded Oscar winning Margaret Elliot who out-Desmonds Norma Desmond and makes La Crawford seem like Mary Pickford. Sterling Hayden is perfectly cast as her "Him-bo" love interest and a gorgeous but gangly Natalie Wood pops up as Bette's daughter. (Look for THE ADDAMS FAMILY's Grandmama, Blossom Rock, in one small scene as a housemaid!) This is almost a spoof, but you can't ever look away thanks to Davis's super committed efforts in the starring role.
Lots of fun, in spite of everything (including a shameful sea of boom shadows)! Unfortunately, the DVD offers no commentary track or noteworthy special features.
Movie Review: A modest entry in the Bette Davis canon, but still a worthy, watchable one
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoyed "The Star" well enough, although many aspects of the film are arguably only serviceable/okay instead of gorgeous and top notch like previous Bette Davis outings. I'm thinking here of elements like cinematography, sets, music, and overall production value. But Bette Davis is very good, the themes are well developed, and the emotions strike a chord. And it's interesting to see the earthy Sterling Hayden playing opposite the elegant Ms. Davis, and interesting to see the young Natalie Wood as the Davis character's daughter.
A brief featurette (about seven minutes) discusses how much of "The Star" may have mirrored Bette Davis' own professional life about that time, and you also get to see the trailer for the film. So, yes, the extras are modest, but ultimately the film is sort of modest, too, so maybe that's appropriate.