MovieChat Forums > Thunder Road (1958) Discussion > Seeing Keely Smith in this a real treat

Seeing Keely Smith in this a real treat

posted 19 years ago by chinaskee
9 replies | jump to latest

She still does nightclub appearances, her voice has got even better with age, and she's well worth seeing live if she's appearing somewhere near you.

[–] relaxalot 17 years ago

That may be but she was God awful in "Thunder Road." I was amazed at how horrible an actress she was.

[–] TexasGreek 16 years ago

>> That may be but she was God awful in "Thunder Road." I was amazed at how horrible an actress she was.
<<

I have to admit, as much as I love Keely and her voice (she's my favorite female vocalist), her performance in this film was pretty bad. I love her looks, I love her voice, but I just couldn't get over that performance.
Love you, Keely.

"A Liberal is someone who doesn't take his own side in a fight." - Lyle H. Rossiter Jr, MD

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] justjoan46 14 years ago

Not a good actress at all, but as far as a singer/performer, she was great. She was fun to watch with her husband, Louis Prima. Here's a clip from one of their biggest hits "That Old Black Magic."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfNgcDvPn1M

Someone else mentioned in another post that her hairdresser wasn't doing her any favors. That haircut was very popular during the 50's. My sister wore her hair like that.

These aren’t my thoughts, they’re my cat walking on the keyboard.

[–] jondoe888 13 years ago

Bad acting, but it was still an interesting character! Glad she was in the film.

[–] robin-moss2 12 years ago

She played the role she was given. It wasn't a good part and it gave her little to do. Keely was never known as a great looker but I thought she had marvellous eyes in this movie. And she is one of the best singers of standard repertoire songs there has ever been.

[–] jamesalbertson 11 years ago

She wasn't my cup of tea. That part of the movie was pointless. She was a terrible actress. as were many of the actors in that film. Robert Mitchum and the car crashes saved the film and made it exiting.

[–] Tashtago 11 years ago

I love watching/hearing her sing but not a great beauty. The haircut was awful!! Looked like Scout from To Kill a Mocking Bird . Hard to believe the Mitchum character would go for her. I agree that was probably the least interesting part of the movie. Now if Ava Gardner had played that role......

[–] pan-10 11 years ago

I totally disagree with the negative comments about KS. I think that she was superb. No, not beautiful in the usual plastic Hollywood way, but hauntingly lovely.