The Actress (1953)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Ruth Gordon (play)
Ruth Gordon (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 September 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

There's hope and heart-ache in the adventures of a stage-struck daughter!

Plot:

Former seaman Clinton Jones now works at a lowly job. His daughter Ruth wants to become an actress....

Plot Keywords:

Americana | Aspiring Actress | Cat | Father Daughter Relationship | New England

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Clinton Jones
Jean Simmons	...	Ruth Gordon Jones
Teresa Wright	...	Annie Jones
Anthony Perkins	...	Fred Whitmarsh
Ian Wolfe	...	Mr. Bagley
Kay Williams	...	Hazel Dawn
Mary Wickes	...	Emma Glavey
Norma Jean Nilsson	...	Anna Williams
Dawn Bender	...	Katherine Follets
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Keith Hitchcock	...	Comedian (scenes deleted)
Mitchell Lewis	...	Porter of the theatre (scenes deleted)
Matt Moore	...	Waiter (scenes deleted)
Walter Reed	...	John Craig (scenes deleted)
Erwin Volze	...	Mr. Donough (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Years Ago (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16537) | Australia:G (TV rating)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Anthony Perkins film debut.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In a scene late in the film set in the kitchen, the light fixture over the kitchen table is seen (and heard!) to rise up to allow the camera to pass below it.

Quotes:

Annie Jones: Ruth, why don't you give up this going on the stage business and settle down with a nice man?
Ruth Gordon Jones: Oh, mama, don't be disgusting!

Movie Connections:

Version of "The DuPont Show of the Month: Years Ago (#3.8)" (1960)

Lovely Jean Simmons is no Ruth Gordon...

THE ACTRESS is a painfully laborious treatment of watching a moth turn into, presumably, a butterfly--but the catch is that the moment the worm turns, the story is over.

And it's sad to say that the title role of THE ACTRESS (the real life story of Ruth Gordon, who wrote the screenplay), is played by none other than 24 year-old JEAN SIMMONS whose attempt to play a seventeen year-old means that she plays the entire part in a Margaret O'Brien voice that quivers with teen-age hysteria throughout.

Simmons, usually such a fine actress, was a disastrous choice to play Ruth Gordon. Fortunately, the studio had the good fortune to cast SPENCER TRACY as her eccentric father, who more than makes up for Jean's inadequacy in the role of "the actress". Another good piece of casting is TERESA WRIGHT in the more conventional role of the "good, patient, understanding--if a bit narrow-minded, wife".

But the liability of casting Simmons as the unlikely actress (with no sense that she would develop into a comic actress of considerable genius) is the film's biggest conceit.

On the plus side, there's a pleasant performance from ANTHONY PERKINS as Jean's handsome young suitor, awkward and unassuming in what is essentially a thankless role. But it's Tracy's film--he's excellent in every aspect of his father role.

If only we didn't have to listen to Simmons speak in a voice pitched an octave too high to simulate youth. What a shame!! On the other hand, there's nothing exceptional about the story either. It's all a bit too obviously staged to be a bit of nostalgia about a girl wanting to break into the theater against the wishes of her more conventional parents.

Summing up: Very ordinary except for Tracy's performance and hardly a feather in George Cukor's directorial cap.