Arrogant young art student Marco is friendly with medical student Timothy and his girlfriend Sarah. Timothy is dominated by his beautiful mother Carol, who is divorcing her husband. Marco fi... Read allArrogant young art student Marco is friendly with medical student Timothy and his girlfriend Sarah. Timothy is dominated by his beautiful mother Carol, who is divorcing her husband. Marco finds a studio apartment, and Timothy pays the first two months' rent, planning to move in w... Read allArrogant young art student Marco is friendly with medical student Timothy and his girlfriend Sarah. Timothy is dominated by his beautiful mother Carol, who is divorcing her husband. Marco finds a studio apartment, and Timothy pays the first two months' rent, planning to move in with his friend. Carol prevents the move, and Sarah, who has fallen in love with Marco, mov... Read all
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Featured reviews
Jennifer's husband David Selznick was negotiating with Ross Hunter to star Jennifer in one of Hunter's soap operas that were so popular : Imitation Of Life ( Lana Turner) Back. Street (Susan Hayward )etc. Jennifer and Ross Hunter seemed to me to be the perfect combination. However Sekznick died and. Jennifer was offered this role and had to quickly make up her mind. There was also an offer to join Stephen Boyd in he Oscar at Paramount
The Idol was Directed by Daniel Petrie The Idol moves along well with the attraction of Parks to Jennifer Jones. Filmed in gorgeous black and white in England, Jennifer gives her always intelligent performance. The film was distributed by Embassy Pictures and faded quickly from the movie audiences.
Jennifer was molded and promoted by David Selznick into a world famous superstar with the films cited above and also with great roles in Since YouWent Away, Madame Bovary, and a remake with Rock Hudson in A Farewell To Arms.
Jennifer stayed off the screen for 5 years from 1957 to 1962-too long for a major star. Compounding this was a very difficult private life: Her first husband Robert Walker died at age 32 from a combination of drugs, Walker never got over losing Jennifer to Selznick, JJ had a difficult relationship with one of her sons Michael, and a disastrous relationship with her daughter Mary Jennifer who committed suicide shortly after Mother's Day from a skyscraper overlooking the 20th Century Fox backlot where Jennifer made many of her films such as The Song Of Bernadette, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, Tender Is The Night and The Towering Inferno among others,.
Jennifer Jones was a fine actress and one wished she had worked more especially in the later part of her career to take her mind off her personal troubles.
See The Idol to see a fine actress at work. Parks is very fine
Jennifer Jones is the only reason why you would watch this boring "psychological" melodrama.She had already worked in GB for "gone to earth" (1949)but Daniel Petrie cannot hold a candle to Michael Powell.Her character(a still attractive middle-age woman who falls for a two-bit James Dean) is nothing short of worthless:only the open ending might make this part a bit original ,but it's too little too late.
One scene is particularly unpleasant nay obnoxious:the would-be drunk idol asks a prostitute to "evaluate" the girls of the party.
If you don't, though, you're not missing a quality movie. You're missing a low-budget, indie British movie that wouldn't stand the test of time even if anyone remembered it. Jonesy is protective over her son and makes a lot of decisions for him, because he's pretty spineless and never stands up for himself. He has a bad-boy friend, Michael Parks, who thinks he should leave the nest and let Jonesy fend for herself. He dislikes her immediately, and the feeling is mutual. She thinks he's crude, cheap, and disrespectful. Michael is a total recreation of James Dean. At one point, he even staggers towards another character, anguished, with his hands offered like in the "take the money" scene from East of Eden. If he or the director intended an imitation, it was very good. If he just wanted to be his own sexy bad boy in the 1960s, he also succeeded. It would take a lot of guts and rebelliousness to try and seduce Jennifer Jones in 1966. She's wealthy, cultured, mature, and old enough to be his mother - so what does he have to offer? A lot of sex appeal and a daring glint in his eye for her to try and tame him.
If you like films like Alfie and Room at the Top, try this out. You'll probably get a new crush out of it, even if it won't be your new favorite movie. Indie movies in the 1960s weren't known for being wonderful.
Did you know
- TriviaPaul Anka was originally set to play the lead.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Jennifer Jones: Portrait of a Lady (2001)
- SoundtracksEmpty Arms And Empty Heart
Composed and Conducted by John Dankworth
Performed by The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra
Sung by Cleo Laine
- How long is The Idol?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 49m(109 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1