The Country Girl

Rating:
Summary: An excellent film
Review: "The Country Girl" is certainly a superior drama, one that has everything necessary to make a classic film: excellent performances, directing, script, etc. The film tells the story of an alcoholic has-been actor (Bing Crosby) who is given a chance to star in a new show by a no-nonsense director (William Holden). The actor's dowdy wife (Grace Kelly) is bitter and hard towards her husband, but has suffered and continues to suffer with his drinking after years of marriage. Soon it appears that the wife is dragging the husband down, and the director must force her to leave... when only she can stand her husband up again.

The film makes for a taut, intense drama, with a superb Oscar-winning screenplay. Crosby was nominated for an Oscar (one which I honestly feel he deserved, for his unsettling, sobering portrayal of the has-been actor). Crosby is brilliant in his role, battling the demons of his past, having a drunken fit of violence, or even lying cunningly- Crosby runs the gamut. Kelly won the Oscar for Best Actress. Well... Kelly does have some genuinely great scenes, and she adds wonderful, subtle nuances to her intense performance, and she can do everything that an actress is supposed to do with such a role (and when she yells at Holden in one scene, it is pretty scary)... but sometimes it just seems like watching Grace Kelly without makeup. Kelly was indeed a very talented actress, and the performance was certainly worthy of a nomination, but that year... I really feel that Judy Garland's performance in "A Star Is Born" is the better performance, for Garland's dramatic abilities and human honesty literally stun and tear the viewer's heart to pieces. I hate to sound so cynical, but in that performance, Kelly deglamorized herself and really acted for the first time. She won the Oscar. Forgive me.

Even so, the film is still a dramatic and sometimes disturbing picture. William Holden's restrained performance adds a nice coda to the film, as do George Seaton's direction. "The Country Girl" is indeed a timeless film, and one that should be watched and enjoyed over many years.

Rating:
Summary: Touching Movie!
Review: All the stars shine in this wonderful adaptation of the play with Crosby as a former actor now turning to the bottle, Kelly as his supportive yet frustrated wife, and Holden as a young stage director wanting to make a comeback with Crosby in a new musical. Grace Kelly won a much-deserved Oscar for her pivotal role as an outspoken lady, yet it's Crosby's performance that makes this picture unforgettable. Holden also adds his easy-going charm in a role that, in my opinion, should have won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The score is terrific, as well as the memorable conclusion.

VG

Rating:
Summary: Fine film
Review: First let's say that this film's treatment of alcoholism and conquering the disease is a little on the simplistic side (after all, it's 1955), still this is a very sobering look at a man whose turned to the bottle and the wife who's struggling to figure out why she's still with him. Seeing Bing Crosby in this role only underscores how good an actor he really was. Though he may have been, perhaps, too much like his character in this film in real life, his breaking out of his prior "Happy Go Lucky" film image is amazing. (He should have won the Oscar for this film, and Judy Garland, who lost to this film's Grace Kelly should have won for "A Star is Born.") Seeing him guzzle down the alcohol-laden cough syrup, seeing him smash the mirror in the bar when the song he associates with his son's death is played, and seeing him being treated with kid gloves all make you feel what this film wants you to feel. Yeah, the happy ending comes a little sooner and easier than it would have in real life, but this isn't real life, it's a movie! And what a good movie at that.

Rating:
Summary: Who knew Bing could act?
Review: Good movie; great performances! Grace Kelly won the Oscar and she was up against Judy Garland ("A Star Is Born") AND Audrey Hepburn ("Sabrina") - amazing. Bing didn't win, but he was up against Marlon Brando (who won), Humphrey Bogard AND James Mason - quite a line up! Anyway, I was shocked at the excellence of Bing's acting - a tribute to the director.

Rating:
Summary: Grace Kelly In A Much-Deserved Oscar Role!
Review: In March of 1955, Grace Kelly won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Georgie Elgin, wife of a drunk once big-shot singer and actor Frank, played beautifully by Bing Crosby in his best role. Frank wants to make a comeback to the stage in a new play under the eye of young director Bernie Dodd (William Holden) in which he gets a lead. However, the play turns to disaster when Dodd finds out about Elgin's private life by assistance of Georgie and Frank himself; hearing that his four year old boy was killed in a car accident. Since then, Georgie had become reckless, even setting fire to a hotel. She interferes with the play's profduction and reminds Frank of his errors and that perhaps he shouldn't become involved with this director. A greatly devised film of a man's comeback to the stage and the consequences that follow. Since I personally have a particular homage to "On The Waterfront," which won 1954's Best Picture award, I felt that there should've been a tie between these two motion pictures. Oh well, the rest as they say is history!

Rating:
Summary: The Dramatic Bing Crosby
Review: Many fans of Bing Crosby shy away from this film, because in "The Country Girl" we do not see the Bing Crosby we are used to seeing in film. Gone is the happy-go-lucky crooner who gets the girl by just exercising his vocal cords. This movie is no light fluff with Mr. Crosby playing a washed up actor with the overrated Grace Kelly as his long suffering wife.

The movie was originally a play by Clifford Odets, starring the long forgotten actor Paul Kelly. Bing really stretched his acting ability in this film, and he should of won an Oscar. (Marlon Brando won that year.) Grace Kelly won the Oscar for her role though. William Holden is also very good as the director of the show that hopes to bring Bing back in from the gutter.

If you are looking for a light hearted romp, well this is not it. However, the film is a great dramatic piece, and one of the best of the 1950s. Originally, Bing had wanted Jennifer Jones as his wife in the movie. However, after the film started shooting Bing and Grace Kelly began dating. (Kelly would also date William Holden!) "The Country Girl" may not be for everyone, but if you want to see Bing Crosby as a true actor, then don't miss this one...

Rating:
Summary: GRACE KELLY...need i say more?
Review: THIS WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE AND IT DOESNT GET NEARLY AS MUCH ATTENTION AS IT SHOULD. GRACE KELLY WAS BEYOND OUTSTANDING AS THE CHARACTER OF GEORGIE ELGIN THE PAIN-STRICKEN WIFE OF AN ALCOHOLIC HAS-BEEN STAGE ACTOR(PLAYED BY BING CROSBY, WHO WAS NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR) GRACE KELLY TOOK HOME THE AWARD OF BEST ACTRESS THOUGH MOST FELT JUDY GARLAND WHO WAS UP FOR 'A STAR IS BORN' SHOULD HAVE WON. BUT ANYONE WITH A BRAIN OR A TRUE EYE FOR ACTING CAN SEE THAT GRACE KELLY DESERVED EXACTLY WHAT WAS AWARDED TO HER. WILLIAM HOLDEN(WHO PRESENTED HER WITH THE OSCAR THAT NIGHT-MARCH 30, 1955) ALSO DELIVERED A WELL-RECIEVED PERFORMANCE IN THE FILM AS DIRECTOR BERNIE DODD(ALSO MY LAST NAME)