Review of The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) by Gary L — 27 Jul 2014

This film is fundamentally about how leadership works, and the kind of personal moral sacrifices that some people are willing to make to achieve success. It is set in the film industry, so it must have been quite fun for the participants to make - they were given unparalleled freedom to tell the truth about their industry without fear of reprisal.

It almost seems like the producers and the academy were highly motivated personally to tell this story. Lana Turner had the best part I've ever seen her in. Walter Pidgeon - who I always see playing classic second fiddle corporate leaders in old MGM classics, plays one here, but one who is well aware that he benefits from being a "number two man" to quote his character's self-description in "Executive Suite" (also worth seeing).