Inside Daisy Clover

Last night I had the pleasure of watching my third Natalie Wood film of the week, and it was 1965's "Inside Daisy Clover," which I had never seen before. In this one, Natalie lives with her senile mother (Ruth Gordon, in her first picture since the '40s) in a little shack on Angel Beach, California. She sends a recording of herself singing to studio head Raymond Swan (Christopher Plummer...yes, in the same year that he appeared in "The Sound of Music"...quite a year for him), who sees something in her and turns her, practically overnight, into "America's Valentine," and a movie sensation. Daisy soon starts to realize that the Hollywood life has its perils and pitfalls, and eventually marries another popular star, Wade Lewis (the ridiculously, almost angelically handsome Robert Redford), who turns out to be gay, or at least wildly bi. A nervous breakdown of sorts and a run-in with the satanic Swan lead to a suicide attempt for poor Daisy, before she sees the light. Anyway, this film is not as great as I was hoping it would be, but is still pretty darn good. Like 1963's "Love With the Proper Stranger"--another Natalie film, and one that I watched the other day--it was directed by Robert Mulligan, but is not as fine as that earlier film. And it is not as fine, I thought, as the film that Natalie and Redford appeared in the following year, "This Property Is Condemned." Still, as I say, it does have much to offer. The promotional film that introduces Daisy is a wowser, filled with amazing special FX (especially for the mid-'30s), although the song that Daisy sings in it hardly sounds as if it comes from that era; it almost sounds like a 1960s Vegas lounge act kind of number. As would be expected, Natalie and the other performers are all aces. Almost forgot to mention that Roddy McDowall is in here also, playing Swan's unctuous assistant. All in all, great fun, if nothing classic, but so good to see Natalie once again proving the critics wrong. The gal really COULD act!

I remember this movie was highly publicized in the 1960s, but it had no appeal to me then as a teenager. As an adult, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Natalie Wood plays an oddball 15-year-old. It took every ounce of her acting skills, since she was nearly 30 when she made the film. And it requires a willing - heck, make that mandatory - suspension of disbelief on the viewer's part. But it's worth it.

Wood plays against type, since she's not the suave glamor princess she usually played in other movies. And the movie itself is pretty odd, particularly in a scene where Wood's character has to repeatedly over-dub a musical number. And somewhat shockingly, during the otherwise serious dramatic arc of Inside Daisy Clover, you will suddenly be treated to several minutes of what is - at least in my dark-humor-loving eyes - one of the funniest, laugh-out-loud suicide scenes I've ever seen.

Particularly if you're a Natalie Wood fan, this film is quirky, fun, and worth watching.

This film seems way ahead of it's time, made in 1965 it's one of the first to show a darker side of Tinsel Town. Natalie Wood plays a tomboy who's plucked from obscurity and becomes a teen singing star. Her character is almost immediately jaded by the experience, manipulated by a studio head and a dubious male heartthrob, played by a stunning looking Robert Redford. Ruth Gordon once again stands out as the teen stars' mother. Christopher Plummer is excellent as the smooth studio head with Roddy McDowall as his cold assistant. Katharine Bard plays Plummers' wife, and her character is fascinating. She seems to float and flow when she moves and her character sums up the film's overall feel. Distant, detached and alien yet seething with anger and disappointment.

The problem with the film is that it's very dark in tone. That is to say the slick big budget production is overshadowed by a strange menace, highlighting the fact that the studio system was basically a people factory, uncaring and cannibalistic. Audiences at the time must have been very confused, expecting a light, breezy musical. Instead it's a realistic yet stylized downer, reminiscent of Valley of the Dolls, which was yet to come. There's very little genuine romance, sentiment or humor, just a steady flow of odd scenes.

This is one of those movies that many have never heard of, it remains obscure despite it's almost epic appeal. It's certainly worth a look, but just try to nail it down to any specific category.

Brassy, singing tomboy near Hollywood in the 1930s gets a screen test and is soon thrust into the crazy spotlight of Tinsel Town. Ham-handed soaper intends to paint show business as cool, decadent and uncaring, but director Robert Mulligan is unable to set an appropriate tone, and his bad guys are enigmatic shadies who conspire in whispers. This combined with Natalie Wood's raucous rendering of a 15-year-old results in some problems. Still, the look and atmosphere of the film are really extraordinary, and Christopher Plummer gives off sparks of neurotic heat as the head of the movie studio. Robert Redford is a good screen match for Natalie, although his love-interest role is steeped in the hypothetical; Wood herself runs hot and cold, though she has some very strong early moments. The pacing might've stood some picking up, and the movie is much too long, but it looks stylish and has a lot of talent behind it. **1/2 from ****

A rather strange film upon revisit. For those who have loved Aldrich's LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE and BAREFOOT CONTESSA--This one is for you. Granted Natalie Wood is playing young when the actress was in her late 20's--but her legend is alive and well in this film. Plummer is amazing, as is the actress who plays his manic depressive wife. The film is beautifully shot in and around LA, and the Kurt Weill'ish musical score by Previn is superb. A decidedly campy look inside the film studios of the Forties, but intriguing, interestingly acted, superbly scored, photographed, and one of those strange films in which the leading lady who died tragically offers many amazing moments to remember. The film was horribly reviewed when it was first released--but time and the personal stories, both successful and tragic, of many of its actors, give the film a certain fascination in 2002. Unfortunately it has not yet been released on DVD--but it must be seen in wide screen and not in the pan and scan version available on VHS. Gavin Lambert did the screenplay based on his own novel. . .and it works.