The Girl Who Had Everything

this is a very short movie and one of the most obscure in Elizabeth Taylor's filmography.Obviously it's not one of her best but she is really gorgeous .

She portrays a rich kid "who has everything" (the title tells no lies),with a rather over possessive father -who has excuses ,for he is a widower and she is his only child- and a good-looking but bland and boring fiancé .Enter a shady handsome Latin lover type man (Lamas)and the girl falls heads over heels in love.The most interesting side of this Harlequin Romance is its reactionary side:for the distinguished father ,the hunk will always be worse than a nouveau riche ;he will never be part of the respectable circle of gentlemen and the more he tries to start all over again,to redeem his soul -"even God would give me a second chance"-,the more he fails ,for he's got two kind of enemies now: the fine upstanding people and his former partners from his racy past.

MGM producers have taken a routine gangster picture and repackaged it as a melodrama. In this case, they have churned out a more emotional remake of the studio's earlier hit A Free Soul. This time, instead of Clark Gable, suave Fernando Lamas plays a notorious criminal on trial for running an illegal gambling outfit. His lawyer, played by William Powell in the role that earned Lionel Barrymore an Oscar, manages to help him escape prosecution.

Soon, Lamas' character is involved with Powell's daughter (Elizabeth Taylor taking over the part originated by Norma Shearer). To be expected, the lawyer disapproves of the relationship between the unsavory client and his daughter. Feeling he must prevent an impending marriage, he decides to turn the gangster over to the feds.

It is all fairly entertaining, but one has to ask why MGM did not just re-release the original, since it is much better and this is not a Technicolor upgrade. Perhaps it is because the studio that has everything can do what it wants?

The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent remake of A FREE SOUL has William Powell playing a lawyer who gets his scumbag client (Fernando Lamas) off some serious charges only to live to regret it when his spoiled daughter (Elizabeth Taylor) starts to date him. The lawyer tries to talk some sense into his daughter but as the title says, he's always given her everything she's wanted so she's not willing to take his advice. This MGM production had big shoes to fill as the original 1931 version featured Lionel Barrymore playing the role of the father, which ended up getting him the Oscar and it also featured Norma Shearer as his daughter and Clark Gable in the role of the gangster. Both versions have good and bad things so it's really hard to compare the two as this one here at least changes up quite a bit of things including the ending and also missing are various courtroom scenes. It's funny to see such a powerful cast and then watch the movie and realize that this is basically a "B" picture that doesn't have any of the lavish production that you'd expect from the studio and the cast. This actually somewhat helps the film because we never get too much melodrama, although it's constantly on display. Thankfully the film runs a short 69-minutes and it doesn't overstay its welcome at that time but had this thing gone on another twenty minutes or so then it would have been a lot less entertaining. The best thing going for the movie are the three lead performances. Powell didn't get to show off his dramatic skills too often but he's very believable here and manages to turn in a fine performance. Taylor is as beautiful as always and also manages to turn in a good performance. Lamas was the real scene-stealer as he's perfect in the role of the gangster who lets his guard down. Gig Young and James Whitmore are both good in their supporting roles. As I said, there's certainly plenty of melodrama here and while there aren't as many hard-hitting scenes, this remake does offer up a few good things including a rather brutal finale that you'll see coming a mile away but it still hits home. While the movie is predictable there's no question that it's worth seeing thanks in large part to the terrific cast.

Steve Latimer (William Powell) is a hotshot defense attorney. However, problems develop when his daughter, Jean (Elizabeth Taylor), becomes fascinated with a scum-bag gangster that her father is defending. Steve advises her to keep away--he knows that Victor (Fernando Lamas) is bad news. But Jean is either really stupid or has some really bad personality defects and soon is chasing after this charming creep. Regardless why, she seems willing to give up on her nice-guy boyfriend, Vance (Gig Young), and live life on the wild side. Her permissive father is alarmed...but also not about to demand she call off this relationship. What's next?

While the idea of a seemingly nice girl hanging with a scummy gangster might seem ridiculous, there are folks like this. I used to work with prisoners as well as do counseling and saw many seemingly normal ladies being swept off their feet by evil men. I don't get it, but it isn't really that unrealistic and I can't fault the movie for this plot line. It's very possible that Jean has a Borderline Personality--and folks like this crave excitement even if it is very harmful and stupid!

So is it any good? Well, the acting is lovely---and I love William Powell's seemingly effortless performance. He's the best thing about the film. Sadly, this film is William Powell's last film with MGM and he'd only go on to make two more films before retiring. Apparently he had some cognitive slippage and was having more and more trouble remembering his lines. It's a shame, as he was a heck of an actor and always made it look so effortless. But at least he knew when to call it a day.

Overall, I'd recommend this one. It's slickly made, well written and offers little to complain about...and I usually LIKE to complain! It was tough and enjoyable throughout...especially the ending. An excellent film.

This is tripe dressed up in fancy clothes. A loose remake of "A Free Soul" this silly melodrama is a painless time waster and not much else. What was once a racy provocative drama has become an empty potboiler.

True it does have Elizabeth Taylor at the peak of her beauty and that's always worth seeing. Additionally she is a much more relaxed and natural actress than Norma Shearer ever was. But she is handed a part that has been diluted from the original which is true of the entire picture.

William Powell, a welcome presence as always, isn't given the flashy part that Lionel Barrymore won an Oscar for in the original just a disapproving father without any real bite. No wonder he left MGM after this if this is the best they had to offer.

The real problem is the casting of Fernando Lamas in the old Clark Gable role, with Gable and his animal magnetism you could understand Norma's desire and willingness to stray with him. With Lamas, attractive though he may be, there is none of that and he comes across as a cheap hood made good and an oily one at that and Liz's headstrong determination to be with him makes her seem a foolish, spoiled nitwit.

For fans of the stars, and of course this being an MGM film they are beautiful dressed and the surrounding sumptuous, it's worth one watch but that will be more than enough.