classicsoncall If you stop and really think about the picture, it's one scalding indictment of celebrity life and phony stardom, the carving up of one's life by managers, agents, writers and whoever else can get their grubby hands on the one who's currently in the limelight. The picture, though often brilliantly filmed in lavish color, is cynical and dark, with twisted and duplicitous characters, and doesn't leave you feeling all that cheerful even with the manufactured happy ending.That scene when director Maurice Kruger (Edward G. Robinson) unloaded on his wife Clara (Claire Trevor) was really something wasn't it? If you're contemplating divorce you might want to borrow from the man's vocabulary describing his lawful wedded nightmare as a 'worn out, dried up, whining, meddling old hag'. I think that just about covers it, don't you think? Well good old Clara returned the favor at the post-film wrap pretty nicely, drove the old guy into a heart attack. Put these folks on the guest list for your next party, should be a smash.Washed up actor Jack Andrus (Kirk Douglas) also has some interesting insights into the human condition as befits his also ran status - "Anybody can live with anybody", but the better one that frames the entire story is when he laments "How can a man go wrong and not know why"? Seems like everyone was going wrong here, as Jack's fling with Veronica What's the Difference (Dahlia Lavi) offered a measure of solace for the brief amount of time he put in finishing Kruger's picture.Considering the principals involved, and I haven't even considered them all here, this had the makings of a stellar flick, and it wasn't all that bad really, but it will just leave you stunned, especially after Jack's thrill ride with ex-wife Carlotta (Cyd Charisse). One more character that lived up to Kruger's description of the fairer sex - "All women are just pure monster".

mark.waltz Some screenplays are simply unfilmable, and even if they are filmable, become laughable because the acting simply becomes banal either through over-direction or misguided emotions by actors trying too hard. In the case of this supposed follow-up to "The Bad and the Beautiful", the first "B" in that title, certainly fits, not the second. It's an embarrassment on all levels with such talents as Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Cyd Charisse, George Hamilton and especially Claire Trevor chewing up every word of the dialog. It's a major shame to have Trevor pretty much vomit every line she says as if she was getting revenge on Robinson for mistreating her in "Key Largo".The story is difficult to figure out from the very beginning with everybody ranting and raving at Kirk Douglas for being a has-been drunk actor, and the efforts director Robinson makes to get the movie completed. To make matters worse, a clip from "The Bad and the Beautiful" is used, showing how things went from an outstanding piece of art where everything came together, to this huge house of cards where a sudden gust of wind came along, making the entire deck impossible to put back together again. Luxurious photography can't hide the fact that what is actually present on the screen is probably one of the most confusing pieces of trash ever committed on celluloid. Even director Vincent Minnelli's final film, the major flop "A Matter of Time", outshines this one in spades.While film history resources indicate that rash editing lead to the film's failure, the script is also filled with massive inconsistencies, utilizing sudden psychotic mood swings in many scenes for pretty much every character. The film is practically impossible to get through, a sad example of so much talent tossed together in what really comes out to be a compost heap. The film also touches on the perverted, such as a scene where the aging Robinson appears to be being fondled by an Italian starlet (while harpy wife Trevor rants and raves like a patient from a nut house). The worst slap in the face comes for poor Trevor, playing one of the most hateful characters on-screen, only rivaled by the vile nasty rich wife that Eleanor Parker played in "An American Dream", another dreadful disaster made just a couple of years later. This one, however, could be called Vincent Minnelli's "An Italian Nightmare".

Neil Doyle Next to TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL looks like an all-around masterpiece of subtle drama. Both take a cynical look at the behind-the-scenes backstabbing in Hollywood.The story gets off to a slow start and then continues to move at a snail's pace, especially through the early scenes where we're introduced to characters like EDWARD G. ROBINSON and his shrewish wife CLAIRE TREVOR. Robinson seems to be playing a thinly disguised version of Darryl F. Zanuck and Trevor seems to think she has to overdo the tirades in scene after scene so she can win another supporting Oscar like the one she snared for KEY LARGO. The school of overacting seems to be rampant here.Irwin Shaw was obviously cynical about his own treatment by the Hollywood studios and has concocted a melodrama that is even more bitter about studio politics than THE BIG KNIFE or THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.It's strange that Vincente Minnelli would be the director chosen to bring this story to life, but suffice it to say that it's not one of his best directorial achievements. KIRK DOUGLAS does a decent job in the central role but most of the performances are absurdly over-the-top in a film wherein the script itself is the main problem.Sorry, can't work up any enthusiasm for this one.

Bob-45 Despite an abrupt, overwrought climax and less than stellar performances by two key players, "Two Weeks in Another Town" is a fine inside look at the politics of movie making. Comparisons can be made to "The Bad and the Beautiful" (indeed, scenes from that film are included), also starring Kirk Douglas. However, Douglas is even better here than in the earlier film, giving possibly the best, most carefully nuanced performances of his career. Equally strong are Edward G. Robinson, playing a washed up director, Claire Trevor as Robinson's hysterical, shrewish wife and Daliah Lavi, making a star-caliber screen debut. Unfortunately, the studio saddled director Vincente Minnelli with an insipid George Hamilton and an incompetent Cyd Charisse. One can only imagine how much better "Two Weeks …" would be with Richard Chamberlain playing the Hamilton role and Lana Turner, Eleanor Parker, Barbara Rush or Tina Louise playing Charisse's."Two Weeks …" is carefully paced until the final act, which is so rushed it becomes almost surreal, and almost undone in the process. Reportedly, Douglas blamed the editing, which seems likely, given Minnelli's earlier, carefully crafted work. One cannot help but wonder whether "Two Weeks …" hit "too close to home" for some studio professionals, and was sabotaged. In this case, without giving away too much, this would be a perfect example of "life imitates art imitating art." "Two Weeks …" is certainly too melodramatic to garner a "10"; but, it could have been an "8". As it sits, however, "Two Weeks in Another Town" deserves a "7" due to the strong performances and very strong first two thirds.