Save your money for something good and enjoyable

hyped garbage

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"The Country Girl" is Grace Kelly's Oscar winning movie about an alcoholic singer and stage actor who digs deeper into his bottle after the accidental death of his son, and the long-suffering wife who tries to keep him on the straight-and-narrow when he attempts a comeback. Bing Crosby plays Frank Elgin, a rising star who loses track of his young son during a photo shoot with a record company when the boy suddenly wanders off into traffic and dies. His record turns into a one-hit-wonder that is mostly forgotten because Frank abandons the music biz after the tragedy. He has also been paying the bills as a stage actor, but has ruined his reputation by being an unreliable drunk until director Bernie Dodd (played by William Holden), desperate for a leading man for his new play, convinces his producer that Frank is perfect for the lead as long as he cleans him up. Throughout the movie, Bernie thinks Frank's wife Georgie is holding him back by belittling him and micromanaging his career, thus enhancing his insecurities and driving him to continually drink. In other words, as you will see, Bernie is clueless as to what is really going on. Grace Kelly is an early adapter of the-- I'm too beautiful to be taken seriously so the only way I can get an Oscar is if I'm made to look unattractive and given a dark dramatic role that is against type--strategy. It does work for her though. I really bought into her angst and regret as the pain of her daily ordeal of propping up Frank's ego and keeping him away from the booze becomes more clear. Even though Bernie is frustrated with Georgie, he slowly starts to fall in love with her because HELLO! this is Grace Kelly, and no matter how frumpy her clothes are and how pale the makeup is, she's still her, and the movie does show a few scenes of a happier Georgie where all that is washed away and you see the diamond in the rough she really is without Frank's downward spiral to deal with. Bing Crosby is too old for the part and Grace Kelly is too young for hers, but because of their great chemistry together I was able to get past it. Bing Crosby earned a Best Actor nomination by pivoting from his usual crooning self to miserable washed-up showman with ease. George Seaton's Oscar winning screenplay explores how the loss of a child can affect both husband and wife and the ways they deal with it--good or bad, and whether they can rise above it. Definitely worth a watch.

Not only is THE COUNTRY GIRL, released in 1954, one of my favorite dramas, but it is one of my favorite Bing Crosby movies as well. Bing gave the performance of his life in this film. The Country Girl was adapted by George Seaton from a Clifford Odets play of the same name, which tells the story of an alcoholic has-been actor struggling with the one last chance he's been given to resurrect his career. It stars Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and William Holden. Seaton, who also directed, won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. It was entered in the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.Kelly won the Oscar for Best Actress for the role, which previously had earned Uta Hagen her first Tony Award in the play's original Broadway production. The role, a non-glamorous departure for Kelly, was as the alcoholic actor's long-suffering wife.The win was a huge surprise, as most critics and people in the press felt that Judy Garland would win for A Star Is Born. NBC even sent a camera crew to Garland's hospital room, where she was recuperating from the birth to her son, in order to conduct a live interview with her if she won. The win by Kelly instead famously prompted Groucho Marx to send Garland a telegram stating it was "the biggest robbery since Brinks." Given the period of its production, the film is notable for its realistic, frank dialog and honest treatments of the surreptitious side of alcoholism and post-divorce misogyny.In a theatre where auditions are being held for a new musical production, the director, Bernie Dodd, watches a number performed by fading star Frank Elgin and suggests he be cast. This is met with strong opposition from Cook, the show's producer.Bernie insists on the down-on-his-luck Elgin, who is living in a modest apartment with his wife Georgie, a cold and bitter woman who has aged far beyond her years. They are grateful, though not entirely certain Elgin can handle the work.Based on comments Elgin makes about her privately, Bernie assumes that Georgie is the reason for Frank's career decline. He strongly criticizes her, first behind her back and eventually to her face. What he doesn't know is that the real reason Elgin's career has ended is the death of their five-year-old son Johnny, who was hit by a car while in the care of his father.Mealy-mouthed to the director's face, Elgin is actually a demanding alcoholic who is totally dependent on his wife. Bernie mistakenly blames her for everything that happens during rehearsals, including Elgin's requests for a dresser and a run-of-the-show contract. He believes Georgie to be suicidal and a drunk, when it is actually Frank who is both.Humiliated when he learns the truth, Bernie realizes that behind his hatred of Georgie was a strong attraction to her. He kisses her and falls in love.Elgin succeeds in the role on opening night. Afterward he demands respect from the producer that he and his wife had not been given previously. At a party to celebrate, Bernie believes that now that Elgin has recovered his self-respect and stature, Georgie will be free to leave him. But she stands by her husband instead...

This film has several notable performances, most prevalently Grace Kelly as Georgie Elgin, and Bing Crosby as her alcoholic husband/theater entertainer.Elgin is attempting to make a comeback and his wife ostensibly is trying to help him. William Holden portrays Dodd, who is a manager, and also helping Elgin to get back on stage. Notice how the prominent verb is "helping". Everyone is helping the chronic alcoholic (Crosby) who is well beyond help (other than professional) at this point.Grace Kelly delivers a flawless performance as co-dependent in denial, but she still has time to be saved. There is a side-story with Holden falling in love with her but this seem rather extraneous as there is already considerable substance to the story. Kelly appears frumpy, yet a deeper and caring character here. I enjoyed her performance here which is opposite the typical socialite and shallow roles she often was relegated to (other than Hitchcock films, the fluffy musical "Touch of Class" and other light fare, in which we cannot see her true acting ability).Crosby is also superb as Elgin, a broken man leaning on his wife, drinking cherry cough syrup (in those days half alcohol) and pretending he isn't addicted. The denial of the alcoholic and his spouse is explored here, quite something considering the time this film was made, when things such as alcoholism, mental issues, and domestic violence were swept under the rug.Overall a moving film worth viewing more than once. 10/10.

Musical stage star Bing Crosby (as Frank Elgin) is all washed-up in the theater; after the accidental death of his son, he seeks solace in alcohol. Mr. Crosby's dowdy wife of ten years, Grace Kelly (as Georgie Elgin), is both domineering and co-dependent. Ex-hat check boy, and Cosby fan, William Holden (as Bernie Dodd) becomes overly involved with the pair, while steering Cosby's boozy comeback. Mr. Holden is as dependable as always. Ms. Kelly is good, but sometimes too obvious in showing frumpiness. Surprisingly, Cosby, the least heralded dramatic actor of the threesome, outperforms his illustrious co-stars; he really crawls beneath the surface of his character, and manages to make an almost tuneless, lackluster story much more interesting.******* The Country Girl (12/15/54) George Seaton ~ Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Anthony Ross