Frankie Fane (Stephen Boyd) is a low-level garment worker who sort of falls into acting because he "impresses" a lady talent scout named Sophie (Eleanor Parker). Sophie gets him a top agent in "Kappy" Kapstetter (Milton Berle), who manages to convince studio head Kenneth Regan (Joseph Cotten) to sign him to a contract even though Regan senses something off about the guy. Fane becomes a star, but keeps biting the hand that feeds him -- even though some of his remarks to those who helped him have a point. When his career starts slipping badly, he has nightmares of going back to being nobody, and hitches upon a desperate plan to nab an Oscar and put himself back on top. The Oscar does show how undeserving louts can become movie stars simply because somebody has the hots for them -- which has happened more often than anyone imagines. The movie might have had more bite had Fane been someone desperately committed to the art of acting, but this can't be confused with the far superior Career -- it's basically entertaining trash with mostly one-dimensional characters and often hokey dialogue -- and not a few tedious moments. Once Fane begins to slide, however, the pic picks up. The fact is that the narcissistic, ambitious, self-absorbed Fane is all too typical of most Hollywood actors.
Elke Sommer and Boyd |
Verdict: Not exactly Eugene O'Neill but fun. ***.
4 comments:
1966 still seems like recent history to me. I'm old enough to know better though.
When I saw this movie really the only scene that stuck in my head was Boyd being crestfallen when he's told he lost out on the Matt Helm part to Dean Martin.
Or am I remembering some other picture? That's always a possibility with me!
Me, too, Neil. Full disclosure: in this busy week I re-posted an older review so I actually haven't seen the movie in some years. I do remember Boyd (who played Frank Fane) being crestfallen, devastated actually, at the very end when Frank Sinatra, who until that point had never even been mentioned, won the Oscar instead of him. But don't quote me, LOL!
Hi Bill - LOVED your article on a bad movie that I love too. As you say, often it's much more fun to write about the bad or campy ones! There is a lot of guilty pleasure abotu this movie - the wooden but sexy Stephen Boyd, a great singer like Tony who turns out to be a cringingly mediocre actor (though that one scene is pretty good), the tawdry glamour of Jill St John and the high, high scalloped hairdo of Elke Sommer...along with some always-great actors like Eleanor Parker, Borgnine and Edie Adams giving it their all despite a threadbare soap opera script.
Is this available on DVD?? I want to buy it so I can see it again not once but a hundred more times!
-Bill
Yes, you'll be happy to know that it is on DVD and you can probably find a copy on ebay or amazon. Fortunately my local library has a few copies of this and I think I'll order it and watch the darn thing all over again -- it is definitely a guilty pleasure. You're right that it's a hoot to watch and review bad or campy movies especially if they're fun enough to hold your attention, as this one definitely does!
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