The Bad And The Beautiful (1952)

A legendary Hollywood producer named Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) is down on his luck and exiled in Paris after alienating everyone around him. A studio head (Walter Pidgeon) asks three people who detest Shields to consider working with him again: an actress (Lana Turner), a director (Barry Sullivan) and a writer (Dick Powell). In flashbacks, we are given the backstory of why these three can never forgive Shields. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, this may be the best film made about Hollywood's "Golden Age". If one sees it as a roman a clef, one could try and guess who the real life parallels are (David O. Selznick? Diana Barrymore? Val Lewton?) but that would be a waste of time. Instead, revel in Charles Schnee's tart screenplay and Minnelli's stylish yet pointed direction. The cast is excellent right down the line. Even Turner, an actress known more for her glamour than acting ability, rises to the occasion. Like Douglas Sirk, Minnelli was one of the few directors who could translate her star quality into an actual performance. The score by David Raksin is one of the greatest films scores ever written. With Gloria Grahame in an Oscar winning performance (even though she has less than 10 minutes of screen time), Gilbert Roland, Elaine Stewart, Ivan Triesault, Paul Stewart, Vanessa Brown, Jeff Richards, Marietta Canty and Peggy King.