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Hedy's a star in crisis, at a crossroads in her career, too fond of the bottle and adrift without a man. Enter big strong George Nader who saves her from an onset accident and she's swept off her feet but there's trouble ahead especially in the personage of her daughter.

Sound familiar? If it doesn't you haven't seen many latter day Joan Crawford movies. Miss Lamaar's last feature is a low budget affair but that doesn't mean that it doesn't offer high grade fun for its target audience, namely people who enjoy sudsy melodrama with MOVIE STARS of a certain vintage.

Hedy looks great though it's obvious that she's either had a face-lift or some sort of surgical tape applied since her eyes are definitely different from her glory days. The real stretch of credibility comes in the casting of Jane Powell, also looking great, as Hedy's daughter. True they are 15 years apart in age so it's conceivable that they could be mother & daughter but at 44 and 29 respectively they look more like sisters plus Jane's character is clearly supposed to be much younger. She give an okay performance but she's miscast nonetheless.

As for the story it careens around not making a whole lot of sense, nor does it need to, but it's far more entertaining than many "good" films it would be considered inferior too.

Director Harry Keller and cameraman Rusell Metty were both fresh from working on 'Touch of Evil' for producer Albert Zugsmith (for which Keller had directed additional scenes) when Zugsmith reunited them on this shameless rehash of 'Sunset Boulevard', which in turn anticipates 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane' and 'Mommie Dearest'.

Although still a handsome woman at only 42, Hedy Lamarr in her screen swansong suffered the added indignity of being given a grown-up adopted daughter played by Jane Powell (herself nearly thirty although supposedly playing "a rebellious kid trying to find out about life"); while Jan Sterling completes this trio of feisty femmes as a poisonous former child star who has had her fill of "local, sunburned pseudo-virile types". Like George Nader. After Nader left Hollywood he was perfectly open about his homosexuality, which may have been an in-joke on Zugsmith's part, as well as enabling him to keep his head amid such alluring company (as when vamped in one scene by Powell in a polka dot swimsuit).

This movie was Hedy's last. It was intended as her comeback film but her time had past. The plot was a rip off of Sunset Blvd. Hedy plays a aging, movie star named Vanessa Windsor who has a party girl brat adopted daughter. Ms Lamarr was 45 years old when this movie was made and she aged well. This movie is pure late 50's in theme and fashion. If you can find this film on TV which it seldom appears, ( I found a pirated copy on Ebay ) it is a worthwhile film but it pale's to Hedy's glory days of the 40's. It is always fascinating to see the stars of the silver screen of the 30's and 40's in their more mundane later work.

Fading movie star Vanessa Windsor (Hedy Lamarr) is saved from a filming accident by extra Chris Farley. She takes an immediate interest in her rescuer. Penny (Jane Powell) is her grown troubled daughter.

In a fitting coincidence, this is Hedy Lamarr's final movie. I don't think George Nader is quite charismatic enough. He needs to be a true hunk. He's too stiff and too conservative for this to be a steamy romance. A modern version would have a younger and more willing man. At times, he comes off as self-righteous. This has lots of potential. I just don't think he's that much of a prize. The obvious comparison is Sunset Boulevard. It has similar tones but it doesn't reach those heights.

What Douglas Sirk, and a better chosen cast, could have done with this material!

Hedy Lamarr plays "Vanessa Windsor," an aging movie queen who falls hard for a handsome extra named "Chris" played by George Nader. Chris feels himself genuinely drawn to Vanessa but fears becoming nothing more than a "kept" man. Vanessa's adopted daughter Penny, played by Jane Powell, enters the scene. Penny suffers the usual problems experienced as the child of a famous, rarely-present person and has drifted into alcoholism and promiscuous behavior. She also falls for Chris and he feels himself attracted to her though he tries to keep Vanessa from learning this fact. The movie soon becomes a question of (1) what will Vanessa do when she finds out the truth, and (2) which woman will Chris wind up with?

Miscasting weakens this movie which isn't quite flamboyant enough to be "camp." Hedy Lamarr fits easily into her role but Jane Powell seems about 10 years too old to be the adopted daughter. Similarly George Nader's part might have been better filled by an actor 10 years his junior. Like Robert Mitchum, Nader usually declined to shave off his chest hair but he obviously made an exception here for his various shirtless scenes. Perhaps he felt this would make him look younger in a "beachboy" sort of way.

Jan Sterling receives third billing and wanders into and out of the plot but her character isn't well integrated into the story. (She's the counterpart to Ruth Roman in "Love Has Many Faces.") Like the other performers, her "smart, sophisticated" lines generally fall flat. The plot also suffers a bit from a flashback device which kicks in shortly after the start of the movie but which is presented in such an off-hand way that some viewers may not realize that a flashback is now in progress.

As for the ending, it appears to have been decided upon by a committee anxious to please as many people as possible. As a result, it'll probably please no one and its ambiguity is more annoying than stimulating.

George Nader's quiet, dignified performance -- and he isn't given much to work with -- almost holds the movie together. It's good to see him with his shirt off but one can't help feeling a bit sorry that he's sometimes relegated to just being a slab of "beefcake." Those viewers familiar with Nader's private life will appreciate the fact that his character is given the sexually-ambiguous name of "Chris."