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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Jean Negulesco's "The Best
of Everything" is a curiosity of sorts. It
headlines the names of Joan Crawford (Amanda
Farrow) and Louis Jourdan (David Savage) even
though neither star appears in anything but brief
cameo. Clearly, this is Fox's cheap attempt to use
"big" names -- that at this point in their
respective careers, were not quite so "big"
anymore -- to tell the rather generic story of
four girls working in a typing pool at Fabian's
Publishing Company. Caroline Bender (Hope Lange)
wants a career. Her role model is Amanda. Gregg
Adams (Suzy Parker) is biding her time. Her heart
is set on the stage. Barbara Lemont (Martha Hyer)
is working because she's divorced with a child.
But she hasn't given up on love all together.
April Morrison (Diane Baker) the good time gal
gets the short end of the stick -- no pun
intended. She gets pregnant.
Into this mix comes corporate exec', Mr. Shalimar
(Brian Aherne) to whom today's bevy of steno-pool
lovelies would have a class action sexual
harassment lawsuit pending. The story only gets
more conventional from here, with alcoholism,
death and an abortion filling the rest of the
screen time with melancholy melodrama that is
largely forgettable. The screenplay is infamous
for its clichéd sexual politics, tossing about one
liners like, "Find yourself another man...I'm
throwing you out...and leave the key" or "I had
the ideal husband...too bad he wasn't mine"
flippantly eschewing changing attitudes in the
battle of the sexes. Oh yes, before I forget,
Stephen Boyd is completely wasted as Mike Rice --
a rich man whose intentions are only sometimes
honorable.
In keeping with Fox's very strange way of picking
films that the studio deems worthy of inclusion
into their Studio Line Classic Series -- "The Best
of Everything" doesn't really live up to either
that status or its own title. If you will recall,
Fox also chose "Return to Peyton Place" -- a
terrible little nothing of a sequel to "Peyton
Place" as a Studio Series entrée, while excluding
such titles as "Hello Dolly" or "Call Me Madame"
from that roster -- and even more to the point --
while titles like "In Old Chicago," "The Dolly
Sisters" and "Wilson" remain absent from the
currency of our digital format.
However, "The Best of Everything" does come with a
rather impressive anamorphic transfer. Colors are
rich, bold and vibrant. After years of viewing
various discolored incarnations on VHS and
television, seeing this film again is rather like
a completely new experience. Fine details are
nicely realized. Contrast levels are solid. A
minimal amount of grain and fading is detected.
The audio is stereo, if decidedly dated. An audio
commentary is the only extra. Forgivable,
considering there's not much here to recommend a
deluxe handling. |
