La Star

Although some of Bette Davis' films were not great, a few like'Wicked Stepmother' not even good, her best films were incredible. 'All About Eve' in particular is a personal favourite film and performance of mine, both for Davis and in general. 'The Star' also has a subject that is easy to relate and is still relevant oddly enough today, on the outside stardom seems glamorous but underneath all the glamour it is much darker than it looks and many struggled, and still are struggling, with the pressure it causes.

'The Star' may not be one of Davis' best films or performances, but she still comes off very well which says a lot about the general high quality of her performances and her as an actress. It took a lot for her to give a bad performance, even in her twilight years. The film does a good, if not quite great, job with the subject, it is relatable and it holds up. For what 'The Star' lacks in subtlety and an ending that is in keeping with the rest of the film, it makes up for in emotion and intelligence.

For my, and other people's, tastes, 'The Star' does go a little too over the top on the melodrama. Melodrama can tend to get overheated, and the melodramatic bits here are on the overwrought side. It can be contrived with things happening too easily.

Did have reservations with the ending. It did admittedly leave me misty eyed, but it had a tacked on and studio interference-like feel and doesn't gel with the rest of the film, a darker and more daring ending would have been better perhaps.

On the other hand, Davis gives it absolutely everything in a meaty role and is terrific. Gutsy but also vulnerable. There is also strong work from Sterling Hayden playing his role with integrity and young pre-'Splendor in the Grass' and 'West Side Story' Natalie Wood is also worth looking out for. The direction is very skilled and judges and paces everything well, though other more distinguished directors understood Davis' strengths more perhaps.

It is an in general intelligently scripted film, subtlety is not a strong suit as said already but there are some memorable lines that made me think and came over as sincere. The story moves swift and, although it is far from flawless, it has the right amount of tension and poignancy when needed and doesn't soften the subject too much. 'The Star' is not lavish visually but it has atmosphere, as does Victor Young's haunting score.

All in all, not great but well done. 7/10

Davis (in an Oscar-nominated performance) plays Margaret Elliot as washed out has been actress. She was big once but now can't get a job. She's divorced and penniless but refuses to give up hope for one more acting job. She also has a man who loves her (Sterling Hayden) and is trying to get her to face reality. There's also a scene or two of Margaret with her daughter played by an impossibly young Natalie Wood.

It's a depressing movie of course but you can't stop watching. It's short (89 minutes) and moves quickly. It does have a ridiculously false but happy ending that had me getting misty-eyed. This is worth seeing for Davis alone. She's just great. She also gleefully said she modeled her character after Joan Crawford! OUCH!

Watching The Star I wondered how close to him it all was for Davis. There's a scene in the end where it gets meta and you can almost see Davis as Margaret hearing the script storyline that she is offered. Regardless, this is a fine film and it has Davis working with her usual spark and unlikeable presence. But like always, she knows how to make you root for her. I also think the running time, while seems short, is pretty much the perfect length for the story the film is trying to tell. This is a problem I thought Mr. Skeffington had, way too long for its own good. So yeah, if you want to seek out all of Davis this is still a fine entry and a required one really.

Bette Davis went to 20th Century Fox and scored a hit in this film "The Star:" which had the tag line "Only the Star Of Stars" Could have starred in this film.

Bette Davis plays a washed up movie star hankering for a comeback. Bette has to take a screen test for a supporting role and it goes badly

Bette says "Bless You" twice in this drama and as we may all know that was what Joan Crawford often said. So maybe Bette was giving a jab below the belt to Crawford?

Bette got an Oscar nomination and deservedly so. A Great Star.

Natalie Wood and Sterling Hayden give great support.

Another movie where the director does not matter much.It's the actress who makes the movie.And when the actress is none other than Bette Davis ,the pleasure is intense.

Although not as good as "Sunset Boulevard" ,which it often recalls,"the star" is a solid absorbing melodrama.Davis was one of the few actresses who had the guts to play her "days to come" ;it was even more stunning in Aldrich "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?" during the following decade.And deservedly,Davis never really grew old-fashioned ,in 1981,she had even a song dedicated to her eyes.

"The star" has two great moments.The first one happens when Davis is walking down the street and when relics of her heyday are sold by auction:going,going,gone!;the second one when she watches her test and cries over the dismal results.Davis was so gifted an actress she could "play badly" and remain fascinating: the test was her last fight to regain a youth which eluded her.As Holden told to Swanson in Wilder's opus:"Being fifty is nothing tragic when you do not pretend you are thirty".