Too Much Too Soon (1958)

Loosely based on the life of Diana Barrymore, the daughter of the legendary John Barrymore, whose abandonment issues led to a failed attempt as an actress and a descent into Hell through alcoholism and a series of men. Directed unexceptionally by Art Napoleon (who only directed two other films neither worth mentioning), it suffers from the usual clichés of these movie bios but two performances redeem it. Errol Flynn inhabits John Barrymore like a second skin, one can’t help but connect the dots between the lives of the two actors. But it’s Dorothy Malone as Diana Barrymore who carries the burden of the film on her shoulders and does it spectacularly. She’s weak in the beginning but that’s only because it’s obvious the 30ish Malone is too old to play the 14 year old school girl that Diana was but once she enters into adulthood, Malone is sensational. Whether drunkenly doing a strip in Baby Jane make up at a dive or her pathetic embarrassment at begging a stranger for money only to find it’s an old boyfriend, Malone brings a pathos to her debauchery. It's a pity it wasn't better written or directed but I still prefer it to I'LL CRY TOMORROW which covers similar territory. Co-starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Murray Hamilton, Neva Patterson, Martin Milner, Joanna Barnes, Ed Kemmer and chilling as a sadistic gigolo, Ray Danton.