THE ACTRESS is a painfully laborious treatment of watching a moth turn into, presumably, a butterfly--but the catch is that the moment the worm turns, the story is over.
And it's sad to say that the title role of THE ACTRESS (the real life story of Ruth Gordon, who wrote the screenplay), is played by none other than 24 year-old JEAN SIMMONS whose attempt to play a seventeen year-old means that she plays the entire part in a Margaret O'Brien voice that quivers with teen-age hysteria throughout.
Simmons, usually such a fine actress, was a disastrous choice to play Ruth Gordon. Fortunately, the studio had the good fortune to cast SPENCER TRACY as her eccentric father, who more than makes up for Jean's inadequacy in the role of "the actress". Another good piece of casting is TERESA WRIGHT in the more conventional role of the "good, patient, understanding--if a bit narrow-minded, wife".
But the liability of casting Simmons as the unlikely actress (with no sense that she would develop into a comic actress of considerable genius) is the film's biggest conceit.
On the plus side, there's a pleasant performance from ANTHONY PERKINS as Jean's handsome young suitor, awkward and unassuming in what is essentially a thankless role. But it's Tracy's film--he's excellent in every aspect of his father role.
If only we didn't have to listen to Simmons speak in a voice pitched an octave too high to simulate youth. What a shame!! On the other hand, there's nothing exceptional about the story either. It's all a bit too obviously staged to be a bit of nostalgia about a girl wanting to break into the theater against the wishes of her more conventional parents.
Summing up: Very ordinary except for Tracy's performance and hardly a feather in George Cukor's directorial cap.
And it's sad to say that the title role of THE ACTRESS (the real life story of Ruth Gordon, who wrote the screenplay), is played by none other than 24 year-old JEAN SIMMONS whose attempt to play a seventeen year-old means that she plays the entire part in a Margaret O'Brien voice that quivers with teen-age hysteria throughout.
Simmons, usually such a fine actress, was a disastrous choice to play Ruth Gordon. Fortunately, the studio had the good fortune to cast SPENCER TRACY as her eccentric father, who more than makes up for Jean's inadequacy in the role of "the actress". Another good piece of casting is TERESA WRIGHT in the more conventional role of the "good, patient, understanding--if a bit narrow-minded, wife".
But the liability of casting Simmons as the unlikely actress (with no sense that she would develop into a comic actress of considerable genius) is the film's biggest conceit.
On the plus side, there's a pleasant performance from ANTHONY PERKINS as Jean's handsome young suitor, awkward and unassuming in what is essentially a thankless role. But it's Tracy's film--he's excellent in every aspect of his father role.
If only we didn't have to listen to Simmons speak in a voice pitched an octave too high to simulate youth. What a shame!! On the other hand, there's nothing exceptional about the story either. It's all a bit too obviously staged to be a bit of nostalgia about a girl wanting to break into the theater against the wishes of her more conventional parents.
Summing up: Very ordinary except for Tracy's performance and hardly a feather in George Cukor's directorial cap.