The Bad and the Beautiful

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The Bad and the Beautiful

Released Jan 15, 1953,

1h 58m,

Drama

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Watchlist

80%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) is a child of Hollywood who ruthlessly toils his way to the top of the studio system, discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) and writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) along the way. Although Shields manipulates them and leaves each in despair, they find success in Hollywood, thanks in part to Shields, and must decide whether or not to repay him when he offers them a collaborative project.

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Critics Consensus

Melodrama at its most confident, The Bad and the Beautiful is an ode to moviemaking that offers unblinking insight into the ugly egos that have shaped Hollywood history.

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James Morgan

Sight & Sound

Brilliant as the film undoubtedly is, ingeniously shaped and textured, it remains, with its lack of a developing centre, too insubstantial.

Aug 31, 2020

Full Review

Times (UK) Staff

Times (UK)

Instead of satire there is false sentiment.

Aug 31, 2020

Full Review

TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

Though some of the characters may be bad and others beautiful, few are either real or believable.

Aug 31, 2020

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Dave Giannini

InSession Film

This world goes on without us, and a mostly anti-Hollywood film can be read in more than one way, which is wildly more interesting than anyone more specific ending.

Feb 27, 2024

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Joshua Brunsting

The CriterionCast

Bad proves Minnelli to be one of the most assured and powerful names in the world of cinematic melodrama, and his ability to bring to the genre the sense of tension found more often in noir pictures, really makes this film a singular and esoteric entrant.

Sep 1, 2020

Full Review

Jane Corby

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The Bad and the Beautiful is a lot of film, and seems always on the verge of getting somewhere. But it never does.

Aug 31, 2020

Full Review

RICHARD S

This was even better than the last time I watched it. Excellent cast, excellently directed and produced. One of the best of its kind. (One blooper: Powell's character sees news headline about his wife's death before he arrives at scene to identify her freshly dead body at distant scene of accident!)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/21/25

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acsdoug D

I'm not a fan of movies about making movies. This one isn't too bad though.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/02/24

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Nizar N

The reviews of this movie are mixed, and there is a reason behind this. On the one hand it counts as one of the greats that were made about Hollywood and moviemaking, such as Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, Paris When It Sizzles, and others. On the other hand, it seems too dry and formal. The plot is hollow that 90 minutes would suffice, but with the slow pacing the movie extends to a little less than 2 hours, rendering it tedious. The only thing that would compensate is the cast, but even that falls short to a childish dialogue and acting that looks staged. What Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) says in The Bad and the Beautiful applies to the movie itself: "You're acting now, playing the doomed daughter of the great man. Well, let me tell you something. The acting isn't good enough."

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Vincente Minnelli

Director

Lana Turner

Georgia Lorrison

Kirk Douglas

Jonathan Shields

Walter Pidgeon

Harry Pebbel

Dick Powell

James Lee Bartlow

Barry Sullivan

Fred Amiel

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Synopsis

Unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) is a child of Hollywood who ruthlessly toils his way to the top of the studio system, discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) and writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) along the way. Although Shields manipulates them and leaves each in despair, they find success in Hollywood, thanks in part to Shields, and must decide whether or not to repay him when he offers them a collaborative project.

Director: Vincente Minnelli
Producer: John Houseman
Screenwriter: George Bradshaw, Charles Schnee
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Loew's Inc.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2008
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Mono, Stereo

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