The
Warner Archive has released Robert Mulligan’s Inside Daisy Clover on Blu-ray
and this new edition is a winner.
15
year-old Daisy Clover is a Depression era resident of Angel Beach, CA where she
lives with her mother (Ruth Gordon) in a trailer on the boardwalk.She scratches out a living selling
autographed photos of Hollywood stars that she signs herself.Daisy dreams of becoming a singer and enters
a contest sponsored by mercurial studio owner Raymond Swan (Christopher
Plummer).
Daisy
auditions for Swan, wins a contract with the studio and is immediately put to
work in a Busby Berkley style musical.With the help of Swan’s wife, Melora (Katharine Bard), Daisy is primed
to become America’s newest movie sweetheart.This includes removing her from her mother’s care and allowing her
obnoxious sister (Betty Harford) to become her guardian.Daisy, a rebellious sort, initially resists
these edicts from producer Swan, but capitulates at the insistence of Melora
who tells her it is best for her career.
Along
the way Daisy meets and marries the handsome Wade Lewis (Robert Redford),
although the union quickly fades as her new husband is incapable of commitment
and has a sexual preference for young men.Daisy’s mother is placed into a sanitarium and soon dies which takes a
toll on the young starlet causing a breakdown.Swan becomes impatient when Daisy’s recovery delays the completion of
her second film.In a fit of rage he
slaps her saying: “You don’t cost me money, you make it!â€He further threatens her future in Hollywood
if she doesn’t return to work within the hour.Daisy must now decide if the prospects of being a successful actress are
worth the pain and indignities she must endure.
“Inside
Daisy Clover†was directed by Robert Mulligan, who began his career helming
live television dramas during the 1950s.Later on he became known for several successful collaborations with
producer Alan Pakula.Audiences today
will recognize his work on classic films such as “To Kill a Mockingbirdâ€, “The
Stalking Moon†and “Summer of ’42â€.He
especially excelled at American period dramas and in working with ensemble
casts.The screenplay for “Inside Daisy
Clover†was written by Gavin Lambert, which he based upon his own novel.
I
developed a junior high crush on Natalie Wood after watching the television
premiere of “West Side Story†in 1972 and have enjoyed all of her films since
then.Although she was 27 at the time,
she was quite believable as a streetwise teen in this film.Miss Wood’s energy, spirit and naivete as
Daisy allow the audience to forget the age gap between character and actor.
Ruth
Gordon is in fine form as Daisy’s comical and somewhat distant mother who means
well, but doesn’t always do right by her daughter.She got a big laugh from me when a cop
answering her call asks: “You waited seven years to report your husband
missing?†“Wellâ€, she replies, “I didn’t miss him until today.â€
Christopher
Plummer, in an about face from his other major role in 1965 as the Captain in “The
Sound of Musicâ€, is simply decadent as Raymond Swan.He will sleep with the underage Daisy and
then toss her aside when she no longer contributes to the studio’s bottom
line.To Swan, actors are simply a
commodity.
An
early performance by Robert Redford demonstrates his ability to play a total
cad as Wade Lewis, the young star who seduces and abandons Daisy.Roddy McDowall is all prim and proper as
Swan’s assistant Walter Baines, Katherine Bard is the put upon wife of studio
head Swan and watch for a young, almost unrecognizable Harold Gould as an Angel
Beach cop.
Gavin
Lambert’s novel and script are an indictment of the early Hollywood studio
system and the harsh treatment of the acting community.While a complete work of fiction, there are
some characters and events that may have been based upon real life.Raymond and Melora Swann are not too far
removed from 20th Century Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck and his wife
Virginia.Although it occurred during
the 1950s, Zanuck sponsored an unknown actress from Poland whose stage name was
Bella Darvi.Ms. Darvi, her surname a
combination of Darryl and Virginia, was a beautiful woman with little acting
talent.While molding her into Fox’s
newest international star, Virginia learned of the affair between Darvi and
Zanuck and soon sent the actress packing.
Wade
Lewis was a closeted homosexual, a fact that Swan kept hidden from the public
for fear of destroying the young actor’s career.This was very similar to what Universal and
other studios did for Rock Hudson.Even
Swan’s disdain for performers as nothing more than product could be likened to
Alfred Hitchcock’s alleged comment about actors as cattle.
“Inside
Daisy Clover†measures up to the usual standard of excellence we have come to
expect from Warner Archive.This is a
solid transfer of the film that captures all of the color and excitement of
Charles Lang’s original Panavision cinematography.Natalie Wood’s clown make-up in an on-set
scene with Robert Redford is striking in its clarity.The mono sound is bold and balanced with the
music sounding especially clean.
Composer
Andre Previn and his wife Dore wrote a terrific number for Daisy’s character, “You’re
Gonna Hear from Meâ€, which is beautifully staged by Herbert Ross.It begins as a film clip a preview audience
is viewing on small screen that enlarges to fill our entire field of view.It incorporates animation and is very much in
the style of a 1930s selection with Ruby Keeler or even Shirley Temple.“You’re Gonna Hear from Mâ€e is much better
than a lot of actual stage musical selections.The Motion Picture Academy messed up, in my opinion, for not including
it in their list of nominated songs in 1965.
“Inside
Daisy Clover “is a fine melodrama for those who enjoy backstage politics and
backstabbing.It has great acting and
characters you will love, and some you will love to hate.It might make an interesting double feature
with 1966’s potboiler “The Oscarâ€.Although it is thin on extras, which include a trailer and the animated
short “War and Piecesâ€, it is a worthy addition to your home library.
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