The Bad and the Beautiful

Play trailer

The Bad and the Beautiful

1953

1h 58m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) is a child of Hollywood who ruthlessly toils his way to the top of the studio system, discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) and writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) along the way. Although Shields manipulates them and leaves each in despair, they find success in Hollywood, thanks in part to Shields, and must decide whether to repay him when he offers them a collaborative project.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Melodrama at its most confident, The Bad and the Beautiful is an ode to moviemaking that offers unblinking insight into the ugly egos that have shaped Hollywood history.

Read Critics Reviews

James Morgan

Sight & Sound

08/31/2020

Brilliant as the film undoubtedly is, ingeniously shaped and textured, it remains, with its lack of a developing centre, too insubstantial.

Go to Full Review

Times (UK) Staff

The Times (UK)

08/31/2020

Instead of satire there is false sentiment.

Go to Full Review

TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

08/31/2020

Though some of the characters may be bad and others beautiful, few are either real or believable.

Go to Full Review

Dave Giannini

InSession Film

02/27/2024

This world goes on without us, and a mostly anti-Hollywood film can be read in more than one way, which is wildly more interesting than anyone more specific ending.

Go to Full Review

Joshua Brunsting

The CriterionCast

09/01/2020

Bad proves Minnelli to be one of the most assured and powerful names in the world of cinematic melodrama, and his ability to bring to the genre the sense of tension found more often in noir pictures, really makes this film a singular and esoteric entrant.

Go to Full Review

Jane Corby

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

08/31/2020

The Bad and the Beautiful is a lot of film, and seems always on the verge of getting somewhere. But it never does.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Kyle M

@RT77296778 Oct 29

Whether factually speculated by behaviorally coded ethics, this exceptional outlook glimpsing Hollywood is firmly handled with attribute earnest and exquisitely engaging from the sharply performed cast, insightfully and empathetically analyzing the business depth in filmmaking. (B+)

See more

RICHARD S

@RT70538590 Apr 21

This was even better than the last time I watched it. Excellent cast, excellently directed and produced. One of the best of its kind. (One blooper: Powell's character sees news headline about his wife's death before he arrives at scene to identify her freshly dead body at distant scene of accident!)

See more

acsdoug D

@acsdoug 04/02/2024

I'm not a fan of movies about making movies. This one isn't too bad though.

See more

kevin o

@RT14496334 03/30/2023

...when you read critics dumping on this film its a perfect example of someone trying to sound smart and coming off just silly. This is a perfect film from start to finish.

See more

Nizar N

@RT00283363 02/13/2023

The reviews of this movie are mixed, and there is a reason behind this. On the one hand it counts as one of the greats that were made about Hollywood and moviemaking, such as Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, Paris When It Sizzles, and others. On the other hand, it seems too dry and formal. The plot is hollow that 90 minutes would suffice, but with the slow pacing the movie extends to a little less than 2 hours, rendering it tedious. The only thing that would compensate is the cast, but even that falls short to a childish dialogue and acting that looks staged. What Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) says in The Bad and the Beautiful applies to the movie itself: "You're acting now, playing the doomed daughter of the great man. Well, let me tell you something. The acting isn't good enough."

See more

Russ G

@RT78760655 09/06/2022

Pure drivel. There are only two reasons to watch this: Lana Turner and Gloria Grahame. Is the acting that bad, or is it the script?

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Vincente Minnelli

Director

Lana Turner

Georgia Lorrison

Kirk Douglas

Jonathan Shields

Walter Pidgeon

Harry Pebbel

Dick Powell

James Lee Bartlow

Barry Sullivan

Fred Amiel

The Actress

60%

48%

The Actress

Watchlist

The Cobweb

67%

47%

The Cobweb

Watchlist

Two Weeks in Another Town

89%

61%

Two Weeks in Another Town

Watchlist

The Last Time I Saw Paris

70%

48%

The Last Time I Saw Paris

Watchlist

All Fall Down

40%

52%

All Fall Down

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Unscrupulous movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) is a child of Hollywood who ruthlessly toils his way to the top of the studio system, discarding movie star Georgia (Lana Turner), director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) and writer James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) along the way. Although Shields manipulates them and leaves each in despair, they find success in Hollywood, thanks in part to Shields, and must decide whether to repay him when he offers them a collaborative project.

Director: Vincente Minnelli
Producer: John Houseman
Screenwriter: George Bradshaw, Charles Schnee
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Loew's Inc., Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 5, 2008
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Mono, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now