La diva

I never get tired of watching Bette Davis and she is capable of disappearing into so many different roles. This isn't one of her best films, but she gives a good performance and we get a chance to see a young Sterling Hayden and an adolescent Natalie Wood.

There are lots of in crowd Hollywood barbs and you can tell that Davis is having a great time.

Bear in mind that Davis' career peaked in the 30s when she won her two Oscars, but she continued to be nominated often in the 40s (Now Voyager, Mr Skeffington) but between 1944 and 1950 she didn't get a nod. So, despite her marvelous "All About Eve" (1950) she was clearly on the decline when she made this film (for which she earned her final nomination prior to Baby Jane). Following this film she had nearly a decade of decline, made even worse by the decline in her marriage.

Bette Davis is doing a dry-run/out of town opening for her own future in "The Star". Playing a actress down on her luck and getting it from all sides (creditors are selling her possessions, her ex-husbands' new wife is constantly condescending and her sister is always at the door for a crisp $20.), her only refuge is her daughter, played by Natalie Wood in what appears to be her gawky, teenage phase.

Bette smokes as much as usual, completely blows her top at least five times, and in the most memorable scene, takes her Oscar on a drunken tour of all the young actresses houses - good thing they all live on the same street!

This character is a step below Margo Channing, well on her way to Baby Jane Hudson. Davis received her second-to-last Oscar nomination - her last being for "Baby Jane". She owns the screen because she brings a humanity to the character - she still has her pride, even though that doesn't get you very far in a town with a short memory.

I believe the Oscar used was one of Bette's - at least they didn't use one of those phony ones. Its a symbol in the movie of what once was.

I give Davis a lot of credit for playing characters close to her own life ( I would imagine even she felt the ageism of Hollywood ) and when she says that she's directed more than one director, you can tell she knows what she's talking about.

Its also poignant and a little disturbing to see Natalie Wood on a sailboat at one point.

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

During "The Star," Bette Davis commands the lead as Margaret Elliott, a Hollywood, Oscar-winning has been. The show is about handsome Jim Johannson (Sterling Hayden), a boat mechanic & fan of Elliott's, teaching her that there's more to life than being an actor. The adorable adolescent, Natalie Wood, plays Gretchen, Elliot's beloved daughter.

Elliot can't deal with the mid-life transition off the set & into retirement. She's so resentful she becomes a drunkard. During a classic scene, Davis uses one of her own Oscars, propped on the dashboard of Elliot's car & heads for the posh homes of the stars in Beverly Hills saying, "Come on, Oscar, let's you & me go get drunk!" Davis' portrayal of a fallen actor makes her seem older than she actually was. Of all the characters Davis embodied, I think she got Margaret Elliot spot-on! After she gives a faux sight-seeing tour of the stars' mansions to no one while drunk & driving, she lands in jail. That's when Jim bails her out, then takes her to his home on the ocean docks. The rest of the story is worth knowing.

Interestingly, this 1952 performance earned Davis her 9th Oscar nomination at 44yo. She was anything but washed up like the character she played, with 43 years of acting in movies & many more nominations & awards left to go. Davis was less than half-way into her acting career!

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.