A Deusa

"There ain't no God! Do you hear me? There ain't no God!"

Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky traces the arc of celebrity from troubled childhood, never feeling loved, being used by men, and the feeling of loneliness despite fame. He channels Tennessee Williams early on especially, with a poor teenage mother in the South dumping off her child with her brother so she's not tied down. The child grows up and searching for a connection, becomes sexually promiscuous, and marries a man who gives her an inroad into Hollywood. He's got problems of his own, and he sardonically summarizes their relationship by saying "You have a passion for respectability, I have a horror of loneliness - that's love." She leaves him and her child, ironically parroting the sentiments of her mother.

The woman (Kim Stanley) achieves fame after a second marriage to an athlete (Lloyd Bridges), posing nude and makes herself physically available to powerful men in Hollywood. All of that is just alluded to which is understandable, but it was frustrating that the rest of the woman's professional life was also described at a distance, and never shown. The result was a film that wallowed in overwrought speeches and was emotionally one-sided as it played out. Kim Stanley is the main reason to see it despite a script that languishes, and she has some fine "method" moments, especially in the charged scenes with her mother (Betty Lou Holland). Unfortunately, she's far less successful playing a teenager, not acting or looking the part in the slightest. Overall though, this is just not a strong enough vehicle for her, as interesting as she was. Terrible ending too.

I recently caught this movie on TCM and loved every second of it. Kim's accent gets a bit tiresome but the overall effect is great. Love the scene in which Patty Duke, playing The Goddess as a neglected child, pathetically tells her cat that she got promoted to the next grade in school. This movie contains all of the tried and true "money and fame aren't everything" requisites. I wish Kim Stanley had tried her hand at Tennessee Williams. She has that "Geraldine Page" affectation that Mr. Williams apparently appreciated. I remember her from "Frances". It's too bad she didn't do more movies. The Goddess is a wonderful look at late 50s Hollywood and the inherent danger in getting what you've always wanted.

I'm ashamed to confess I didn't know the first thing about Kim Stanley when I saw "The Goddess" Now, she is someone who lives within my psyche. To say that she's remarkable seems feeble. She is, something else, something more, unique! Her character through her got into my system and stayed there. The sadness of the story, written by Paddy Chaeffsky no less, harbors something prophetic. I can't quite put my finger in it but this was 1958 and talks about things we really start to understand now. I'm writing this review in 2010. John Cromwell (Of Human Bondage) directed, Steven Hill (Law and Order, Lloyd Bridges (Jeff's and Beau's dad), Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker) lend extraordinary support. For lovers of great acting. You can't afford to miss this extraordinary experience.

Kim Stanley was the great interpreter of William Inge at the time he was the most successful playwright in America. On Broadway she played Millie, the younger sister, in his "Picnic" and Cheri in "Bus Stop" -- ironically, the role played in the movie by Monroe, the model for "The Goddess." Cast in "The Goddess", Stanley is clearly too old for the part, and not cinematically 'beautiful' enough. What she does bring to the role is an astonishing talent based on flawless technique and an emotional sensitivity that both made her career and destroyed it. I ran across the movie by accident when I was about 12 years old, and Stanley's performance has continued to haunt me for 36 years. The making of "The Goddess" was so emotionally agonizing that Stanley essentially fled from the movie business. How brilliant she would have been in dozens of roles that won acclaim for lesser talents. Many years later she played Jessica Lange's mother in "Frances" -- a similar story of a glamourous and tragic film star. She told Lange, "As soon as this movie's over, do a comedy. Immediately. Any comedy you can get your hands on." That comedy was "Tootsie" which won Lange her first Osacr.

After watching Kim Stanley give an absolutely great performance in "Seance On A Wet Afternoon", I wondered if that was a one time great performance! I recently watched "The Goddess", and I got my answer: another great performance by Kim Stanley, and so I now conclude that Kim Stanley was a great actress, and, by the way, in looks and acting style, she reminded me of another great actress: Geraldine Page! In this movie, she portrayed a Marilyn Monroe type woman who sought stardom in Hollywood, but paid a heavy price for it! The supporting cast was good! I rather liked Steven Hill's excellent performance as her first husband; likewise, Lloyd Bridges excellent performance as her second husband! Also worth mentioning was Betty Lou Holland's excellent performance as her mother! An interesting movie worth watching for Kim Stanley's great performance!