The Star (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Star |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1952 |
| length | 89 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Stuart Heisler |
| script |
Dale Eunson Katherine Albert |
| production | Bert E. Friedlob |
| music | Victor Young |
| camera | Ernest Laszlo |
| cut | Otto Ludwig |
| occupation | |
| |
The Star is a 1952 drama film directed by Stuart Heisler about an aging impoverished actress who cannot accept the end of her career. The film had its US theatrical premiere on December 11, 1952, in Germany the film was not released. Bette Davis received her ninth Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 1953 for her performance .
action
The almost forgotten former Oscar winner Margaret "Maggie" Elliot cannot forget the end of her acting career. At the beginning of the film, many of her belongings are being auctioned off at an auction house. Elliot tries several times to borrow money from former friends whom she once helped herself, but ultimately without success. Only her daughter Gretchen, who grows up with her father, still believes in her mother's star qualities.
In desperation, Elliot talks to her Oscar trophy, gets drunk and ends up in jail after a drive in an intoxicated state. A bail provided by her former co-star, Jim Johannson, allows her to leave prison the next day. Johannson tries hard to convince Elliot to look for a new job. But the attempt to work unrecognized as a saleswoman in a department store fails.
Elliot is offered a supporting role. The screen tests, in which she tries to sell a middle-class woman as a sex bomb, end in disaster. At a Hollywood party, Elliot retains a role offer, this time to portray an aging actress whose fame is fading and who cannot accept it. Elliot now recognizes the parallels to her own life and decides to lead a new life with her daughter and Jim Johannson in the future.
background
After the film was released, rumors spread that the film was referring to the life story of Joan Crawford . In an interview with her biographer Charlotte Chandler, Bette Davis stated: “It certainly contained elements of Miss Crawford, but I played a character who wasn't just Joan Crawford. If I had thought for a second that the character was Miss Crawford, I would never have accepted the role because I would not have wanted her to be injustice. "
Davis was impressed on the set by the young Natalie Wood , for whom she predicted a great career. In an eulogy for Bette Davis during the 1977 AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony , Wood referred to the filming of The Star .
Web links
- The Star in the Internet Movie Database (English)