kidboots The one scene I could remember from seeing "The Goddess" just too many years ago was the "cat scene" where Patty Duke as the lonely, unloved little girl whispers to the cat "I got promoted today".She and her mother have come to visit Uncle George, her mother hoping to dump Emily Ann so she can get away and have some fun - "after all I'm only 26". Twelve years later (1942) she is still there - a religious fanatic and Emily Ann (Stanley) is the town "tramp" who desperately dreams of Hollywood fame. When she and some friends run across a drunk who just happens to be the mixed up son of a Hollywood star, she sees her opportunity but it only leads to frustration as the first part ends with Emily, a young mother, voicing the very words her mother said many years before - that she is not ready to be a mother and she just wants to have fun.I also was unfamiliar with Kim Stanley but by the end (on viewing it recently) I was wondering who was this superlative actress. Marilyn Monroe may have been the character's inspiration but as played by Miss Stanley that was unimportant. Her extraordinary performance made the role her own and seemed to encapsulate all the hard luck, unloved actresses - Monroe, Garland etc. I do agree Stanley did look a bit old but the magic in her performance was like a sky rocket, especially in the scene where she is describing her inner most dreams to a boy who has only asked her out because he thinks she is "easy" - "but I think Ann Sheridan is a true beauty, don't you think?". He doesn't care, the same as he doesn't care when she is explaining that the only reason she has that "reputation" is because she wants to be liked. Heart breaking stuff!!That's why I think the film works best in the first half. There was a continuity - the unloved little girl becomes the promiscuous teenager who then marries and becomes her mother all over again. Unlike her mother she does escape to Hollywood and the next part finds her an up and coming starlet contemplating marriage to an over the hill boxer (Lloyd Bridges is very good). The second part falls down a bit, suddenly she is the Goddess, at the top of her profession but already having suffered a severe breakdown and now has her mother living with her. Mother (great performance by Betty Lou Holland) is even more remote and now only has time for God but Emily doesn't care, only knowing that she needs a mother's love and security. When Emily finds religion and her mother leaves, that paves the way for a descent into madness.A very strong film remembered for Kim Stanley's powerhouse performance.

kittyvista Perhaps it was because I saw the movie on television rather than on DVD and it was interrupted by too many commercials, but it seemed to be a cheap shot at Marilyn Monroe rather than a sympathetic portrait of a person who grew up empty but was envied by all. Kim Stanley failed to capture Marilyn's charm, and she appeared haggard throughout the film - a far cry from the devastating beauty that was Monroe. Her athlete husband (obviously modeled after Joe DiMaggio) was depicted as vapid, not too bright and very needy as well. The character's incredible need to be loved was revealed poignantly in one scene with her aged mother, who had come to stay with her after she experienced a nervous breakdown, but otherwise Stanley's character seemed shallow and not very likable. All in all, a really superficial and fairly petty portrayal of Ms. Monroe.

David (Handlinghandel) That is a line from the movie and I'm afraid it fits when rating it.Almost everything seems to be wrong with this odd movie. It seems to be Paddy Chayevsky doing a Tennessee Williams. The Southern setting is somewhat believable. The accents are too but somewhat less so.Kim Stanley, a noted stage actress, is hard to ignore. She's very in-your-face in this role. But she seems to have been miscast: This is kind of a r variation on the story of many beauty queens who are neurotic, make it, and ... But Stanley is no Marilyn Monroe. She's no Harlow. Certainly she's attractive but the camera doesn't love her the way it has loved the great beauties of the screen.Further: Her character is exceptionally annoying. Certainly she's meant to be difficult. But I don't think she's intended to come across as a thoroughly self-involved narcissist.Almost every sentence this woman we're asked to feel for utters starts with "I" or addresses issues involving "me." She's hard to feel bad about or even to care about.One aspect of the movie shines: That is the beautiful music by Virgil Thomson. It's a memorable film score.

graham clarke In "Broadway: The Golden Age", Rick Mckay's wonderful documentary, Kim Stanley receives tremendous praise from all the great actors of that time as being especially influential. With the publication of her biography there seems to be a renewed interest in her life and career. Unfortunately very little is left in the way of documentation of her talents. She came to movies after a career on Broadway and a number of live television plays. But her film career was not to be, owing to the many personal problems she suffered from, which seemingly burnt her out. "The Goddess" was her first film and it remains the most complete testament to her talents. As such, it really is a must for anyone who appreciates the art of acting. The title role allows for a huge range, from hopeful teenager to jaded Hollywood star. Although clearly too old to play a teenager and definitely no screen beauty worthy of the title "goddess", Stanley pulls it off with the sheer force of her acting. Her portrayal of the breakdown of the actress is devastating. It's particularly disturbing in the light of the similarity of what would become her very own fate. Paddy Chayevsky paints a bleak picture of the Hollywood Star system as he would later do with network television in "Network". Although well written, it's not an especially astute script lacking in both scope and depth. There is good support form Betty Lou Holland and Lloyd Bridges, but the only reason to seek this one out remains Kim Stanley.