The Country Girl

source: The Country Girl

Three great performances -- Bing Crosby (not one of my favorites) captures the desperate fading actor almost perfectly. William Holden plays the director too caught up on his work to have time for anything else with another strong performance. And Grace Kelly, far from her usual character, proves that she is a fine actress, more than deserving of her Oscar. (Crosby should have won one, too.) The story was the real gem of this film. At first, it seemed a bit too trite -- tragedy ruins career. However, the audience, caught up with the characters in a web of lies, becomes disoriented. Wait a minute -- was that Georgie (Kelly) who told Bernie (Holden) about the incident in the hotel room? Was she referring to herself, or was the story from Frank (Crosby)? Our confusion allows us to be just as frustrated as the characters, and just as angry as the real story becomes clear. Great story, great performances -- you can't ask any more of a film.

...of the honesty. Even though the movie addressed the subject with honesty, it was not brutal or sordid. Yet the movie communicated the cunning, lies and deceit that goes along with being an alcoholic. As well as the guilt, shame, and low self-worth. I just want to comment on Grace Kelly's character's frumpy book-wormish appearance in the beginning of the film. Her frumpy appearance could be due to Kelly's character's selfless devotion to her husband to the exclusion of all else, even her appearance. Bing Crosby's character in the height of his career would not have married a frump -- and he did not marry one. She was tastefully, elegantly dressed, and made up in the flashback scene that explained how the Elgin's son died. Even at the end of the movie when she is dressed up she appears unaware of her elegance -- the focus is still on her husband. There was great chemistry between the characters. Although a little melodramatic sometimes, I feel the all three actors had played their parts with the right intensity. Crosby should have won an Oscar, he was the most convincing of all.

Despite Bing Crosby's reputation as an abusive father, he showed that he could be an excellent actor in this movie. Acting AGAINST type, he plays an alcoholic actor in an excellent understated manner with none of the histrionics that some of those movies from that era had. The writer of this movie needs to be applauded. He wrote a play, obviously from reality. Was it CLiff Odets? William Holden played himself, but this time with great lines. Grace Kelly shows some talent I didn't know she had....more than just a pretty face. Truly amazing. The Academy Awards were deserved indeed. Buy this one for the ages. Spare yourself the junk at the box office these days.

I'm sorry, but I can't see much that's Oscar-worthy about this soap drama. Grace wasn't too bad, but I've seen a lot better from her. The performances all round are terribly forced; one should not be aware that the people one is watching are acting. But I couldn't avoid this. William Holden is perhaps the exception. Some of this reflects the style of the times, and certainly isn't as bad as Jack Lemmon, who I often find to be self-consciously over-expressive. Bing-o is woefully miscast here, and too old for the part. There are clichés galore and very few surprises. The story is actually fairly shallow and doesn't well reflect the real tribulations of alcoholism. If it was meant to be something like Days of Wine and Roses, it didn't work. Good film, but nothing to write home about.

I couldn't get into the beginning at first, watching Bing Crosby audition for the part. But once he had finished the film grabbed my attention and held on to it. I was impressed with the writing, portraying the character's subtle changes to make life more gratifying despite tragedy and loss. I loved the ending, seeing how devoted his wife really is. I'll recommend this film. I gave it a vote of 9, and out of a grade from A+ to F I give it an B+.

BING CROSBY gives his all to the role of a washed up actor fixated on guilt (and the bottle) while GRACE KELLY and WILLIAM HOLDEN give even finer performances as the two people who quarrel over how to reform his guzzling ways. The weakness here is not the script. It's the dull musical numbers assigned to Crosby, who carries them off in the usual amiable Crosby manner, before he reverts to character as Frank Elgin. Nevertheless, when he's down and out, he gives a very painfully convincing portrait of a weak alcoholic man who shifts all of the blame to his wife. I suspect Clifford Odets may have based his portrait of this weak man on actor Frank Fay (once married to Barbara Stanwyck), whose career was destroyed by alcoholism and who depended on breezy charm for his appeal. There are some really searing scenes between Kelly and Holden, fireworks that never seem less than realistic as a result of two completely realized characters that come to life in a well-written script. Holden is particularly fine in a difficult, demanding role that forces him to gradually shift his sympathy as he realizes who the real culprit is. His performance is the strongest of the three stars. Grace Kelly subdues her aristocratic ways (and her prissy affected manners and voice) to play a woman who knows what the truth is behind her husband's weakness. She looks as forlorn and beaten as the script requires, always completely in touch with her character's moods and feelings. There are little nuances all along that show what a fine actress she could be under superb direction and given some brilliant dialog. Fascinating as a portrait of theater people, but a letdown whenever it strays into the producing of a show that looks to be as feeble as any amateur production could be with hopes of becoming Broadway bound. Neverthelss, a gritty, searing, truthful drama that is well worth watching for the performances alone.

I didn't like this movie when my mother drug me too it in 1954, but thought as an adult it might have some reason to watch it. Wrong, my feelings as a 14 year old were correct. If they made a list of the top ten most over rated, over praised films, this would make the list. The subject of co-dependency may have been break thru in 1954, but no longer has much appeal, in fact is ho-hum today. A cliché story line, is burdened with a forlorn Bing, an amateurish Grace Kelly and William Holden, who stoically endures it all. Bing can't act his way out of a paper bag, much less a bottle. At best type casting, and sadly no notable songs for one of the best crooners of the day to showcase his real talents. I hate lip syncing, and can not understand why someone with as much experience singing live as Bing had, must be reduced to this format. To give Grace Kelly an Oscar, instead of Judy Garland, was my first realization that talent and a fine performance sometimes do not determine who wins. The pace of the film is fine. I don't like cut to black editing, but otherwise the film is technically sound. Stage plays, other than musicals, don't often transfer to the screen well, and this is no exception. Someone describe 'Country Girl' as a forgotten classic. There's a reason for this. At least no one has remade this one. Unless you are a fan of the 3 stars, skip this one

Strong film version of Clifford Odets' play about an over-the-hill alcoholic singer (Bing Crosby) whose attempts at a comeback in a big Broadway musical seem to be thwarted by his long-suffering and unhappy wife (Grace Kelly), despite the assistance of a well-meaning director (William Holden). The drama is at times melodramatic (director George Seaton tends to push Kelly a little over the top) but it's still pretty potent today (and a lot more effective than the television version done in 1982 with Faye Dunaway). The film's best asset is Holden's fiery performance as the director-his energy keeps the drama pulsing. Some audience members might enjoy the laugh they get from seeing Hollywood try to make Grace Kelly look plain by throwing her behind a pair of thick glasses and a woolly sweater.

It has long been assumed that, had the music been eliminated from "The Country Girl" and, in the process, taking emphasis off Bing Crosby's singing and more on his acting, he would have certainly beaten Marlon Brando for the Oscar of 1954. Crosby is extraordinary in this film, playing an alcoholic, washed-up actor/singer with few if any redeemable qualities. William Holden, as the director of a new Broadway musical, insists that Bing be cast in the lead role, even though he is painfully aware of the actor's history. Grace Kelly is Bing's misunderstood wife. While all three performances are first rate, it is Crosby who stands so far above the others, especially considering Hollywood's idea of realism in 1954. Kelly, on the other hand, who DID win an Oscar as best actress, seems workmanlike but not of that acting calibur. Miss Kelly was such a glamorous "star" that simply putting her in a frumpy housedress does not a plain and ordinary housewife make! Her last scene, in which she appears in a very elegant evening gown (but with glasses to downplay her beauty) is completely unconvincing. But, taken as a whole, "The Country Girl" is great video viewing!