MovieChat Forums > The Star (1952) Discussion > The Crawford connection

The Crawford connection

posted 13 years ago by octobercountry-2
10 replies | jump to latest

Much has been made of the fact that the screenwriters of this film were ticked off at Crawford and supposedly based the lead character on Crawford. But honestly, I don't see many parallels between Margaret Elliot's story and Crawford's own.

The only obvious visual cue takes place during the screen test, when Davis' hair and makeup are definitely reminiscent of Crawford's style. (Interesting, when Bette was trying to sound "young," she spoke in that rather annoying voice that she had previously used in "Mr Skeffington"!)

The one real zinger in the script, that was obviously aimed at Joan, comes right near the end when the screenwriter is describing his idea for a film about a self-involved actress. That little speech was very obviously a jab at Joan from beginning to end---heh.

So, I can see why Joan turned down this part--I don't blame her a bit. I can't imagine her wanting to work on the project when she was on the outs with the writers. Also, I can't see her having any desire to play a washed-up actress when she was so desperately trying to hold on to her own place in the Hollywood hierarchy---she wouldn't want the audience to connect her in any way with a has-been! (And I say this with great fondness for Joan.) In a way it's a pity, though, because I think if Joan could have loosened up a bit, she would have been great in the part.

Unfortunately for Davis, I'm afraid the general plot arc in "The Star" was more in tune with Bette's career at this point in time, rather than Joan's. Joan had a decent run in the fifties, continuing to work regularly as a top-billed lead in films that generally made money---and in some instances were quite good. Bette's 1950's film career was much spottier---she wasn't finding as much work as Joan, and she really only had a couple first-rate films during that decade (and some that were really pretty bad).

It's a shame---Bette proved she was absolutely at the top of her game with "All About Eve" in 1950---she should have been making great films for the next decade, one right after another. But it seemed she just couldn't get the scripts, couldn't find those good parts.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] theoctobercountry 13 years ago

"Except that Davis' horror movies in the '60s were fewer and better than Joan's which profoundly ruined the latter's reputation for a while in Hollywood."

Wellllll..... I suppose that is true, to a certain extent. Let's see... If you count television appearances as well as features, Joan and Bette worked about the same amount throughout the 1960's, but I'll allow that Bette's output was of marginally higher quality than Joan's during this period---but honestly, not by much. A couple of really bad pictures pull down Joan's average (like "Trog"!). Though honestly, I've found all of Joan's 1960's pictures to be fun to watch, even the not-so-stellar ones. And let's face it, most of Bette's pictures during the same time period were of the campy variety as well.

Bette comes out on top at the very end, though, simply because she lived longer than Crawford and continued working almost until the very end of her life, while Joan spent her last five years in retirement. Bette did manage to do a handful of really good pictures during the 1970's and 1980's (unfortunately along with some garbage) which showed her talent off to good advantage.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] markedjuan 12 years ago

Bette Davis was on a roll when she did The Star. She was nominated for an Oscar for this film and had two previous hits: All About Eve and Payment on Demand. She was sidelined when she became ill and took time out to recuperate.

When she came back to Hollywood, she was offered prestigious scripts like Virgin Queen, The Catered Affair (script by Gore Vidal, direction by Richard Brooks and co-starring Ernest Borgnine and Debbie Reynolds), Storm Center (script and direction by Daniel Taradash).

These weren't blockbusters but they all had pedigree. Two of them were socially relevant. Crawford's movies during this period were laughable as she insisted on playing women she was too old to play (just like Margaret Elliot).

Crawford pretty much ruined her career when she tried to close down the production of Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. She was relegated to the Z productions of William Castle.

[–] theoctobercountry 11 years ago

I'm going to disagree with your dismissal of Crawford's films from the 1950s. Oh, it's true enough that she did a few over-the-top melodramas during this time. But---after carefully examining both actresses' filmographies from this decade---I think that Crawford had just as many good pictures as Davis did, during this time period.

[–] PoisonRegal 10 years ago

theoctobercountry

I've read all the comments here and agree with every word you've put.

[–] creightonhale 9 years ago

Margaret Elliot's story seems woven from several former stars. The reference to Margaret's being labelled "box office poison" parallels Crawford's own career in the late thirties before making a spirited comeback, and Crawford's tendency to play characters much younger than herself while at Warners in the late 40s and early 50s is also a direct reference. When Margaret mentions that her studio was killing her career with the films they offered her, Bette might as well have been talking about her own struggle with Warners. Yet she didn't go off and produce her own films. That action seemed to parallel the great Kay Francis, who produced a couple of low-budget films at Monogram before throwing in the towel permanently; Francis, however, was never in financial straits afterward. Margaret Elliot's working in the department store is similar to Louise Brooks's situation in the mid-forties when she went to work at Macy's in Kansas to support herself after two attempts at opening dance academies failed. Margaret's bankruptcy and custodial issues with her former husband echo Mae Murray's problems in the 30s and 40s. Murray was also arrested, but for vagrancy. The arrest for drunk driving clearly refers to Frances Farmer's well-publicized arrest after her career faltered.

The reality for both Ms. Davis and Ms. Crawford is that their careers were still pretty strong when The Star was made. As has been mentioned, Davis continued her career and revived her failing box office with All About Eve, the year after she left Warners. She had also had success immediately after with Payment on Demand. Crawford had just finished up her contract at Warners. Her later films there were not blockbusters, but they just missed the mark. But during 1952, she secured her box office appeal with the well-received and still well-liked noir thriller Sudden Fear. She too was nominated for Best Actress that year for her performance in that film.

"The answers to all of life's riddles can be found in the movies."

[–] AndersonWhitbeck 9 years ago

Bette at one point says "Bless You' which Crawford used all the time.

Crawford was irked at this movie and got even with the writers. It seems their Daughter was dating a Man they did not approve. Crawford hosted the couple at a small elopement wedding at Crawford's mansion. After the wedding Crawford called the Screenwriters to put their daughter on the phone and also said that she had a special wrapped piece if wedding cake for them!

I would have hated to have Crawford as an enemy

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] theoctobercountry 9 years ago

@creightonhale: Very nicely put! And thanks for all the information.