The Country Girl (1954)
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Bing Crosby does the Academy Award-bid bit in the atypical role of a self-pitying alcoholic, but it was his co-star, a deglamorized Grace Kelly, who won the Oscar for her performance in The Country Girl. This adaptation of Clifford Odets' play stars Crosby as Frank Elgin, a once-famous Broadway star who's hit the skids. Hotshot young director Bernie Dodd (William Holden), a longtime admirer of Elgin, tries to get the old-timer back on his feet with a starring role in a new play. But Dodd must contend with Elgin's hard, suspicious wife Georgie, who seemingly runs roughshod over her husband. Dodd holds Georgie responsible for Elgin's lack of self-confidence and his reliance upon the bottle--a suspicion fueled by Elgin himself, who insists that Georgie has been suicidal ever since the death of their son. When Elgin goes on a monumental bender during the play's out-of-town tryouts, the truth comes out: it is Elgin who is suicidal, and Georgie has been the glue that has held him together. Adopting a now-or-never stance, Dodd forces Elgin to stay off the sauce long enough for the play to open--and, in spite of himself, falls in love with Georgie. A few Hollywood liberties were taken with the Odets original, including a slightly altered ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 104 mins
Complete Cast:
- Bing Crosby - Frank Elgin
- William Holden - Bernie Dodd
- Gene Reynolds - Larry
- Eddie Ryder - Ed
- John W. Reynolds - Henry Johnson
- Frank Scannell - Bartender
- Hal K. Dawson - Actor
- Charles Tannen - Photographer
- Allan Douglas - Mian
- Don Dunning - Expressman
- Chester Jones - Ralph (Dresser)
- Jack Kenney - Actor
- Richard Keene - Actor
- Grace Kelly - Georgie Elgin
- Anthony Ross - Phil Cook
- Jacqueline Fontaine - Singer and Actress
- Robert Kent - Paul Linger
- Ida Moore - Woman
- Ruth Rickaby - Second Woman
- Howard Joslin - Actor
- Les Clark - Actor
- Jon Provost - Jimmie
- Max Wagner - Expressman
- Jack Roberts - Man
- Bob Alden - Bellboy
- Director(s):
- George Seaton
- Writer(s):
- George Seaton
- Producer(s):
- William Perlberg, George Seaton
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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- 1954 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
- 1954 - National Board of Review - Best Actress
- 1954 - National Board of Review - Best Actor
- 1954 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress
