The Girl Who Had Everything

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?

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.

Back then, the studios made a lot of films, they were film factories; some films were given special treatment, those are most often the ones we see today. There was also a great deal of product that was ground out like sausage. The Girl Who Had Everything falls somewhere in the middle, as it has big stars and one of MGM's reliable (though not very artistic) stalwarts at the helm, Richard Thorpe. But it plays more like a B picture nobody cared about too much. It couldn't have taken very long to film it. It's mostly comprised of dialogue scenes and shot at MGM.

Basically it's a remake of A Free Soul, a brilliant melodrama from the studio's early days. If they had just done a fairly close remake of that one, in an updated form, they probably would have had a compelling film, what with William Powell in the Lionel Barrymore part and Elizabeth Taylor, Fernando Lamas, and Gig Young in the roles first taken by Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, and Leslie Howard.

Instead, it's a very watered down version of that picture. For example, a central plot point of A Free Soul is that daughter Norma will give up gangster Gable if alcoholic dad Barrymore will go on the wagon. There's nothing like this in the remake. Powell drinks, but he can handle it. Every interesting dramatic point is thrown away while keeping the bare bones of the original story, so there is no real dramatic tension. See the two films back to back for yourself.

A Free Soul takes place during Prohibition and Gable's character is a gangster who owns a speakeasy and gambling den, and Barrymore's character is a lawyer who frees him from a murder rap. It's topical, exciting, and fits together neatly. In the loose remake, Lamas is a racketeer and Powell is his lawyer, and that's about it. Well, see for yourself. It never gets a dramatic head of steam going. The acting is good, but that's about it.

And it isn't.

William Powell is a tough criminal lawyer. He may not have a lot of scruples but he has money. And he wants the best for his daughter, played by the ravishing young Elizabeth Taylor. Truly, she has hardly ever looked more beautiful than she does here.

She is, as the title suggests, spoiled. And she decides she wants Daddy's recent client, gangster Fernando Lamas. She already has Gig Young but Lamas is more dashing, if a real cad.

Everyone is good. It has a solid plot. The direction moves things along briskly. The score by Andre' Previn is exceptional.

If you don't have access to "A Place In the Sun," probably Taylor's most famous movie from this period,, catch this one. You will be knocked out by her beauty. And her acting is good, too.

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.