User reviews

I just had the pleasure of watching "Jeanne Eagels" on Turner Classic Movies. It is a movie that I have wanted to see for over some fifty years. For some strange reason something always seem to come up to interrupt my viewing of this film, and this time the film was interrupted by a very brief power outage in our area. Unfortunately, even the power outage could not enhance the performance of one of my all time favorite actresses, Kim Novak. At first glance she appears to have all the physical equipment to be the perfect choice to play the film's tragic starlet i.e., she has all the looks that the role calls for, but she doesn't have the acting ability to pull it off! To my way of thinking, Miss Novak was best suited for romantic comedy ventures such as "Bell, Book and Candle" and "Boys Night Out", and "Pal Joey". Films like "Jeanne Eagels" and "Human Bondage" were in a sense "over her head" for they demanded that the actress possess the ability to make all necessary emotional transitions from the "cute" to the "cruel" that the role called for. Few actresses such as the likes of Bette Davis or a Joan Crawford possess this amazing ability to pull this cinematic miracle off. I couldn't help but wonder to myself as I watched this 1957 film as to what actress I would use to replace Miss Novak for the part of Jeanne Eagels. I immediately thought of the two "Harlow girls". Both Carroll Baker and Carol Lynley had played the role of Jean Harlow, in two 1965 films. After a brief consideration, I soon realized that they would be even worse than the physically endowed Miss Novak. Still… I drew a blank. Alas, the only stars that I could think of were now too old to play the role of the seductive siren, Jeanne Eagels. Having said that Agnes Moorehead, Jeff Chandler, Murray Hamilton are perfectly cast for their parts, the camera work was excellent, and the direction provided by George Sidney remarkable. I highly recommend this tragic, dark melodramatic "could have been a classic" for want of a capable leading lady… even with any cumbersome power outages that may occur.

Supposed story of actress Jeanna Eagels. She was big star on Broadway and went on to make a few movies (silents and talkies)...but her career was destroyed by her drug addiction.

Since this is a Hollywood adaptation this is more than a little fictional. Characters and events that never happened are trotted out to make the story more dramatic. I can live with that though. It's also beautifully done and shot in stark black & white (which fits the mood of the story perfectly). The one big problem in Novak. In the right role she was perfect but she was way out of her depth with this one. She does try but she never pulls it off. I have nothing against Novak at all--I just thought she was very limited in terms of acting ability. She's not helped at all by Jeff Chandler (acting worse than usual) playing a totally fictional character that follows her all through her life. The only good acting comes from Agnes Moorehead who tears into her role and really kick starts the movie a few times. This isn't a bad movie but it's just not a very good one. I give it a 7.

Guilty pleasureville. 'Bout three fourths as good as "Mommie Dearest". Best things about it (in no particular order) are the darkly glittering black/white cinematography of Robert Planck that captures the mood of the title character's world, Kim Novak's spirited performance which veers into camp but never into boredom, maybe the best theatrical meltdown scene ever committed to celluloid and the wonderfully tawdry New Years Eve in Gothic Hollywood scene which manages to tap into the "Locust" zeitgeist without the pretension of Schlesinger's film or West's novel. Bad things center around the overacting of Jeff Chandler who usually wasn't guilty of this sin so I'm assuming director George Sidney counseled him to "play it like Brod Crawford", the none too scintillating dialogue that surprisingly flows from the typewriters of three of the 1950s better movie (and non movie) scribes; Daniel Fuchs (of "Low Company" fame), John Fante (of "Ask The Dust" fame )and Sonia Levien (of "Interrupted Melody" fame) and a general sense that whenever Novak's not onscreen the movie is gently stinking up the place. Give it a B minus.

Kim Novak starred as the stage and screen star Jeanne Eagels in the biopic costarring Jeff Chandler, Agnes Moorehead, Murray Hamilton, Charles Drake, and Gene Lockhart. Jeanne was very beautiful and got her start as a carnival performer. She made it on the stage and screen, but then discovered the allure of drugs and alcohol. . .

While the film takes a lot of liberties with her life story, it's pretty entertaining. She's portrayed as a pretty terrible person, though, as she schemes her way to the top, stepping over anyone and everyone she can. Jeff Chandler loves her, but after she's gotten as far as she can in the carnival, she ditches him for the theater. She loses her temper and disrespects people who try to help her-but then again, how interesting would it be if she was an incredibly nice lady who never got into trouble? Hollywood probably wouldn't have chosen to make a movie about her if that was the case. Kim Novak tries very hard, giving one of the best performances in her career, next to Of Human Bondage. If you are a Kim Novak fan, this is a must-see. Also, if you liked her unstable character in The Eddie Duchin Story, you'll love her in this. She's so incredibly beautiful, it probably wouldn't matter if her acting was lousy; you'd still want to stare at her gorgeous face for two hours.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. There are two scenes, one during a roller coaster ride and one when Kim Novak has a breakdown onstage, during which the camera spins and might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"