The Actress

Two Great Actors
The movie based on Ruth Gordon's girlhood and yearning to become an actress is exquisitely realized by Jean Simmons' beautiful performance. The great Spencer Tracy plays her crusty father and the underrated Teresa Wright, her mother. Anthony Perkins in a very early role, provides the handsome but lanky love interest. The semi comic-tragic determination to realize her dream, is the core of the movie with father Tracy, an ex-seaman vehemently opposing daughter Simmons at every turn.

This is not a movie that will raise the roof through action or suspense, but rather a very fine character study. Audiences enraptured by the recently deceased Ms. Simmons were mainly enthralled with her stunning beauty, overlooking her remarkable talent as one of our finest actresses. No matter how poor the material she worked with, she managed to rise above the most trite scripts and inadequate characterizations with ease, turning a poor movie into a personal triumph.

First time on...

Spencer Tracy delivers in a BIG way here!
I just love Spencer Tracy. He was certainly one of the best actors of his generation (possibly the best) and his career is no joke; he was fantastic in nearly everything. `The Actress' is no exception. In fact, this may be one of his finest moments. He is heartfelt and paternal, with an obvious lean towards controlling and authoritative, but he is surprisingly light and funny. All of those assets culminate in a charming and completely mesmerizing star turn that etches yet another notch on his glorious belt of big screen accomplishments. Tracy aside, `The Actress' is certainly admirable. It isn't as profound or as outstanding as a whole as it is in parts, but it is engaging and entertaining and contains a few stellar performances outside of Tracy's; in particular Jean Simmons. She really captures the spunk and tenacity needed to sell her character; a young a vivacious `child' who is endeared to the stage and consumed with a lust for the limelight. Simmons really pulls this off...



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