The bravado of Bing Crosby’s performance as a washed up, alcoholic singer/actor offsets the dreadful miscasting of Grace Kelly as his plain, unhappy wife, THE COUNTRY GIRL. When Frank Elgin (Crosby) gets a chance to make a big comeback in a new musical but drops out during tough rehearsals to co-star again with the bottle, his "stage mother" wife (Kelly) gets him back on the wagon and the boards. Thanks to her pushing, prodding, cajoling and threats, he triumphs. Even though COUNTRY GIRL is Hollywooded up from Clifford Odets' original play, the film is still pretty potent today, owing not only to Der Bingle's Oscar-nominated acting, but also William Holden’s as the fiery director. But oh, the spectacle of the future Princess Grace trying to look drab with no makeup, thick glasses and a woolly sweater - and then, when she falls for Holden, suddenly turning glam. And she got an Oscar for that! (Trivia note: Tony Bennett introduced a lovely, plaintive song called "Country Girl" that captures the story perfectly, but it's not on the soundtrack.)
THE COUNTRY GIRL (1954)
Bing goes dramatic - Grace goes without makeup
The bravado of Bing Crosby’s performance as a washed up, alcoholic singer/actor offsets the dreadful miscasting of Grace Kelly as his plain, unhappy wife, THE COUNTRY GIRL. When Frank Elgin (Crosby) gets a chance to make a big comeback in a new musical but drops out during tough rehearsals to co-star again with the bottle, his "stage mother" wife (Kelly) gets him back on the wagon and the boards. Thanks to her pushing, prodding, cajoling and threats, he triumphs. Even though COUNTRY GIRL is Hollywooded up from Clifford Odets' original play, the film is still pretty potent today, owing not only to Der Bingle's Oscar-nominated acting, but also William Holden’s as the fiery director. But oh, the spectacle of the future Princess Grace trying to look drab with no makeup, thick glasses and a woolly sweater - and then, when she falls for Holden, suddenly turning glam. And she got an Oscar for that! (Trivia note: Tony Bennett introduced a lovely, plaintive song called "Country Girl" that captures the story perfectly, but it's not on the soundtrack.)
