SYNOPSICS
Jeanne Eagels (1957) is a English movie. George Sidney has directed this movie. Kim Novak,Jeff Chandler,Agnes Moorehead,Charles Drake are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1957. Jeanne Eagels (1957) is considered one of the best Biography,Drama,Romance movie in India and around the world.
A largely fictionalized account of the career of actress Jeanne Eagels, whose fame was both on stage and on the screen in the 1910s and 1920s, is presented. After losing in a rigged carnival beauty pageant, winning which she believed would be her first step to becoming a serious actress, Jeanne joins the traveling carnival itself under the guidance of the pageant organizer, Sal Satori, who features her in a variety of carnival stage shows. But it's when the carnival approaches New York City that Jeanne demonstrates how she truly mapped out her road to acting fame even before meeting Sal. Under the tutelage of renowned acting coach Nellie Neilson, Jeanne, who does possess true acting talent, is given her big acting break and does achieve fame on the Broadway stage, and ultimately also in Hollywood films. Jeanne is not averse to doing whatever is required to advance her career, even at the expense of others. Achieving fame so quickly takes its toll on Jeanne, who turns to alcohol and ...
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Jeanne Eagels (1957) Reviews
Uneven Performance in an Uneven Film
"Jeanne Eagels" can almost be considered a "lost" film, since it is so rarely seen nowadays. That seems a shame. Yes, it suffers from standard "biopic" problems (cliched script, superficiality, etc.), but it is an interesting curiosity piece. Kim Novak, fresh onto the acting scene, actually acquits herself quite well in the role. There is an air of the troubled woman about her from the beginning, and the way she keeps adopting different personas shows Jeanne's desperate search for an identity. Contrary to the other reviewer here, I think that the drunk scenes are quite effective, without ever being pretty or played for comedic purposes. She succeeds in making Jeanne unlikable at times, which is a brave choice for the era. Unfortunately, the script and direction aren't the best, and some of Novak's more interesting choices contrast with other scenes that just don't come off as well. It's definitely worth a look though. I would argue that Novak's style is more "modern" than many other actresses of the era. Whether she always succeeds or not, she clearly looks for the reality of each scene, and is less interested in acting and more interested in "being." There are moments when I think she comes close to "being" Jeanne Eagels, making this forgotten film worth a second look.
The only thing this movie has in common with Jeanne Eagels is her name
I saw this movie when I was a kid and waited with baited breath to see it again nearly forty years later. I should have skipped it. Hellacious acting, scene chewing by Miss Novak and a story that is nowhere near anything that happened in the life of Ms. Eagels. The only reason I watched it is because it was the last film Gene Lockhart appeared in and his role is so small that if you blink, you'll miss him. (He comes on at the 3/4 mark as the Equity Board President.) It's so totally fictional they have Kim Novak in the last scene singing a song and dancing in a movie called "Forever Young", while Jeff Chandler's character sits blubbering like a total tool. (Eagels never made such a movie, nor did she ever make a musical. Her last movie was The Letter, where she played a murderess.) There is also a very offensive racist scene where Eagel's football player husband (some truth here, as her husband Ted McCoy was a college football player) is showing some black kids outside the studio where she's making a silent film (another fictional film she never made) how to hold a football and he tells them "to hold it like a watermelon". And this film was made at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement! It's a shame that Universal holds the rights to Eagels' final film The Letter. (made by Paramount...Universal holds the rights to all of the pre-1950's movies.) Modern movie goers will never have a chance to see the real Jeanne Eagels and will have to settle for this fictional dreck of a motion picture and assume it's the gospel truth.
Kim Novak at her "campy" best
OK....so this is not a classic film depicting the life of Jeanne Eagels however it has it's moments. First of all Kim Novak was a hot property at the time and she is gorgeous and oh so camp as Miss Eagels. Also captured in the film is the flavor of the era and the costumes are dazzling especially the one Novak wears as Princess Dardanella at a carnival where she gets busted by the police. The ultimate is when she prances on stage as Sadie Thompson in "Rain" to the tune of "Wabash Blues"....its actually a treat. Miss Novak is supported by a good cast including Jeff Chandler, Agnes Moorehead, Charles Drake, Murray Hamilton and especially Virginia Grey as has-been Elsie Desmond (one of Miss Grey's personal favorite roles).
A MUST for Kim Novak Fans!
This is truly a movie worth viewing, if only for the chance to see KIM NOVAK portray another talented actress, the late Jeanne Eagles. Kim's acting is superb, although the screenplay is a tad flat. Agnes Moorehead gives her usual fine performance, and Jeff Chandler does he usual stiff acting routine. I do think that Jeanne's story should be re-told in an updated version, but until then, this movie captures that time frame of the 1920's very well. It would have been nice to view in color, but the black and white print lends itself well to that time era. All in all, an entertaining film, and a rare chance to see Kim Novak in a Hollywood-bio piece. Wouldn't it be nice if this movie were on DVD?
Can't say I wasn't warned
I remember my acting teacher years ago talking about this movie and saying, boy, Kim Novak really thought she was ACTING. "Jeanne Eagels" is a highly fictionalized biography of the great stage star who also acquitted herself well in films before her death at the age of 39. Directed by George Sidney, the movie also stars Jeff Chandler as Satori. His character existed, under another name, and unlike in the film, Eagels was married to him for a time. Virginia Grey has a small but showy role as a has-been who gives Eagels a script she wants to do, Rain, which turns out to be Eagels' signature play. That entire incident never happened (exceot of course that Eagles did play Sadie Thompson), but it provides some good drama in the film. The main problem with this film is the atrocious acting of Kim Novak and Jeff Chandler. Novak was just getting started in her career, and she was the whole package - incredibly beautiful, a body to die for, a sultry speaking voice, and star quality. This type of scenery chewing dramatic role just wasn't her thing. She has such a lovely quality in Picnic; later on, she would do well in comedies and lighter films. Why Harry Cohn thought she could do this is beyond me. Chandler is way, way over the top - he did better in straightforward leading man roles. A disappointing directing job from George Sidney. Novak deserved better. It's to her credit that she gave it a go. Thankfully, it didn't hurt what turned out to be a fine career.