Star! (1968)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Powerful

good back-story, and good acting

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

I don't care what the critics say. This was still another excellent Julie Andrews vehicle and she is magnificent as the late Gertrude Lawrence. The latter, a star in her own right, tempestuous, and in a way, afraid of life and what it had to offer her. Career oriented she had a daughter who seemed to want to keep her distance from her.Daniel Massey was wonderful as Noel Coward. He seemed to become Lawrence's guidance counselor; she knew who to run to each time there was a crisis in her life.The film traces Lawrence's humble beginnings to her success in British revue and ultimately on Broadway.To keep the film upbeat, nothing is mentioned regarding her death in 1952 while performing The King and I on Broadway.

Over the years, this big budgeted elephantine musical biography of British stage legend Gertrude Lawrence has gotten a rather smeared reputation thanks to its lack of box-office success. Even a much edited down version of the film ("These Were the Good Old Days") failed to attract viewers, and I can't recommend that version at all, having seen it originally on T.V. in that form. It is the three hour long circus that actually stands out, and if not excellent, certainly has some great moments.People mainly remember Lawrence as the original Mrs. Anna in "The King and I" on Broadway long before Yul Brynnur was considered "the star" of the show. Lawrence had a long association with such show-biz icons as the Gershwins (introducing "Someone to Watch Over Me" in "Oh, Kay!") and Noel Coward (originating the role of Amanda in the much revived play "Private Lives"). She also, according to this, was one heck of a personality, not one to mess with, and searching for love, yet driving each of the men she met and often married crazy. The one person who understood her and allowed her to just be herself was the playwright and actor Noel Coward, played here with both humor and humanity by Daniel Massey who deservedly was nominated for an Oscar.The musical sequences are smashing, from the early days of her life in music halls (singing "Pickadilly" while smashing a heckler in the face with his own tomato) and giving other chorus girls a taste of their own medicine in some very funny musical numbers, one starring Jack Buchannan, then London's biggest musical comedy star. Lawrence takes off, doing both musical revues, dramas and comedy's, takes over Broadway in the mid 20's through early 40's (the film stops with her smash hit in "Lady in the Dark"). Missing is the last decade of Lawrence's life. Sadly, during the run of "The King and I", Lawrence became ill and suddenly passed away. The original cast album of that show proves she was no Julie Andrews when it came to singing (being sometimes quite off pitch) but still magnetic and able to give the King of Siam a run for his elephants.The big highlight of the show is "Jenny", the big circus production number from "Lady in the Dark". Andrews is radiant, sliding down a rope onto the stage and dancing up a storm. I don't think that she had previously done such a high-energy number, only topped years later in her Oscar Nominated role in "Victor Victoria". Robert Wise, who directed her in "The Sound of Music", failed to strike lightning twice, but the film's reputation has improved over the years, even if some people consider it quite long and even obnoxious in places. But give the film a chance and you may actually find it charming and informative as to a slice of what life in the theater during its golden age was like.

Given that STAR! was cruelly dismissed by critics and public in 1968, I was surprised to find that despite its length, it does entertain with a fine performance by JULIE ANDREWS as the famous stage performer (who did occasional films) and by RICHARD CRENNA and DANIEL MASSEY in good supporting roles.Andrews makes the most of every musical number--and there are plenty of them--demonstrating her enormous talent along with a flair for a more sophisticated style of acting miles apart from her "Mary Poppins" or "Sound of Music" image. And the staging of these musical portions makes excellent use of the WideScreen photography, emphasizing the lavish budget expended on costumes and sets.The central reason for the film's lukewarm reception at the box office is surely the fact that no attempt is made to make Miss Lawrence a truly likable person. She is shown, flaws and all, throughout--quarreling with those around her as she puts herself, first and foremost, above all other considerations. It seems that only Richard Crenna (as the man she eventually marries) is able to stand up to her stubborn nature with a will of his own.Coming on the heels of Julie's outstanding success in previous musicals, it's easy to see why audiences found it difficult to accept her as Gertude Lawrence--when actually, she gives a very strong performance. The script has to share some of the blame. It's a lumbering thing as it attempts to frame the story with newsreel accounts of Lawrence's life before ending the tidbits of information by delving into the main structure of the story.For fans of Julie who enjoy hearing her belt out song after song in various stages of Miss Lawrence's career, the film does homage to Julie Andrews herself more than to the famous stage thespian.

As a fan of Julie Andrews I watched Star! even after hearing some not-so-nice things about it. My overall thoughts were although it is watchable, it is very flawed. The film is very lavish, the costumes, settings and scenery are all sumptuous, and the production numbers are spectacular and full of razzmatazz. Berlington Bertie was a real delight especially. In terms of performances, Julie has certainly been better, but she does a decent job as Gertrude Lawrence and looks beautiful, a real scene stealer in the production numbers and there are some very poignant scenes with her daughter as well. Daniel Massey however fares much better as Noel Coward, and Richard Crenna and Michael Craig offer strong work too. On the other hand, Star! has a number of failings, the pacing can be quite sluggish at times and the story is predictable and elephantine. I don't think it helps that the film is perhaps too long. Then we have a script that does have some soap-opera elements to it, direction that is somewhat uneven fine in the production numbers but plodding sometimes in the more moving parts and some of the romantic elements don't quite convince. Overall, worth watching, it looks great, with some nice performances and terrific music & choreography but the story and script could have done with more work. 5/10 Bethany Cox