The Star (1952)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Stuart Heisler

Writers:

Dale Eunson (screenplay) and
Katherine Albert (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 December 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of a woman...who thought she was a star so high in the sky no man could touch her!

Plot:

A washed-up movie queen finds romance, but still desires a come-back.

Plot Keywords:

Career | Hollywood | Shipyard | Screen Test | Oscar

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Margaret Elliot
Sterling Hayden	...	Jim Johannson aka Barry Lester
Natalie Wood	...	Gretchen
Warner Anderson	...	Harry Stone
Minor Watson	...	Joe Morrison
June Travis	...	Phyllis Stone
Paul Frees	...	Richard Stanley
Robert Warrick	...	R.J., Aging Actor at Party
Barbara Lawrence	...	Herself
Fay Baker	...	Margaret's sister
Herb Vigran	...	Roy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Alpert	...	Keith Barkley (uncredited)
James Anderson	...	Actor playing Jed Garfield in The Fatal Winter (uncredited)
Florence Auer	...	Old Biddy in Store (uncredited)
Marie Blake	...	Annie, Stones' Maid (uncredited)
Claire Carleton	...	Jailbird (uncredited)
Byron Foulger	...	Druggist (uncredited)
Gil Frye	...	George, Assistant Director (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Cameraman (uncredited)
John Indrisano	...	Projectionist (uncredited)
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Lorin Raker	...	Somers (uncredited)
Kay Riehl	...	Mrs. Adams, Landlady (uncredited)
Frank J. Scannell	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Annie's Friend in Department Store (uncredited)
Katherine Warren	...	Mrs. Ruth Morrison (uncredited)
Barbara Woodell	...	Peggy Morgan (uncredited)

Directed by
Stuart Heisler

Writing credits
Dale Eunson		(screenplay) and
Katherine Albert		(screenplay)

Produced by
Bert E. Friedlob	....	producer

Original Music by
Victor Young

Cinematography by
Ernest Laszlo		(director of photography)

Set Decoration by
Edward G. Boyle		(as Edward Boyle)

Makeup Department
Del Armstrong	....	makeup supervisor
Jane Romeyn	....	hair stylist

Production Management
J. Paul	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Vreeland	....	assistant director

Art Department
Boris Leven	....	set designer

Sound Department
John R. Carter	....	sound engineer (as John Carter)

Special Effects by
David Commons	....	special effects
Jack Rabin	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bill Edwards	....	wardrobe (as William Edwards)
Orry-Kelly	....	gowns: Miss Davis
Ann Peck	....	wardrobe
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Otto Ludwig	....	editorial supervisor

Music Department
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (as Sid Cuttner)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator
Victor Young	....	conductor

Other crew
Bert E. Friedlob	....	presenter
Weslie Jones	....	script supervisor
Leo Taub	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Bert E. Friedlob Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bert E. Friedlob Productions

Trivia:

In the scene where a drunken Margaret Elliot takes her Oscar for a ride in her car, Bette Davis used one of her own Oscars.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Margaret goes to work in a department store, she descends an escalator and all sorts of electrical cables from the film production can be seen on the floor beneath.

Quotes:

Jim Johannson aka Barry Lester: [while at the zoo, a seal is barking loudly] Listen to that seal!
Margaret Elliott: Sounds like my brother-in-law!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)

1952 Davis Earns Her 9th Oscar Nomination . . .

During "The Star," Bette Davis commands the lead as Margaret Elliott, a Hollywood, Oscar-winning has been. The show is about handsome Jim Johannson (Sterling Hayden), a boat mechanic & fan of Elliott's, teaching her that there's more to life than being an actor. The adorable adolescent, Natalie Wood, plays Gretchen, Elliot's beloved daughter.

Elliot can't deal with the mid-life transition off the set & into retirement. She's so resentful she becomes a drunkard. During a classic scene, Davis uses one of her own Oscars, propped on the dashboard of Elliot's car & heads for the posh homes of the stars in Beverly Hills saying, "Come on, Oscar, let's you & me go get drunk!" Davis' portrayal of a fallen actor makes her seem older than she actually was. Of all the characters Davis embodied, I think she got Margaret Elliot spot-on! After she gives a faux sight-seeing tour of the stars' mansions to no one while drunk & driving, she lands in jail. That's when Jim bails her out, then takes her to his home on the ocean docks. The rest of the story is worth knowing.

Interestingly, this 1952 performance earned Davis her 9th Oscar nomination at 44yo. She was anything but washed up like the character she played, with 43 years of acting in movies & many more nominations & awards left to go. Davis was less than half-way into her acting career!