The Best of Everything (film)
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''The Best of Everything'' is a 1959 American drama film directed by
Jean Negulesco Jean Negulesco (born Ioan Negulescu; – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian-American film director and screenwriter.Oliver, Myrna"Jean Negulesco 1900–1993 ''The Los Angeles Times'', 22 July 1993. He first gained notice for his film noirs and later ...
from a screenplay by
Edith Sommer Edith Rose Sommer (August 21, 1917 - February 1, 1991) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and TV writer active from the 1940s through the 1970s. She worked with director Jean Negulesco on several films, and later worked extensively on soap ...
and Mann Rubin, based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Rona Jaffe. It stars
Hope Lange Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ...
, Stephen Boyd, Suzy Parker, Martha Hyer,
Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...
, Brian Aherne, Robert Evans,
Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), '' Lette ...
, and Joan Crawford. The film follows the professional careers and private lives of three women who share a small apartment in New York City and work together in a paperback publishing firm.
Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Acad ...
wrote the musical score, the last under his longtime contract as
20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
's musical director.


Plot

Recent
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...
graduate Caroline Bender is hired as a secretary at Fabian Publishing Company. She works for Amanda Farrow, a bitter, demanding, middle-aged editor who resents Caroline and suspects she wants her job. Caroline meets two other young women in the
typing pool A secretarial pool or typing pool is a group of secretaries working at a company available to assist any executive without a permanently assigned secretary. These groups have been reduced or eliminated where executives have been assigned responsibil ...
— April Morrison, a naïve rube from Colorado, and Gregg Adams, a glamorous aspiring actress — and the three women become roommates. April is assigned to work for the lecherous editor-in-chief Mr. Shalimar, who persuades her to work late one night in a ploy to sexually harass her. When she rejects him, he is undaunted and continues to pursue other young female employees. At an alcohol-fueled office party, an intoxicated Mr. Shalimar makes sexual overtures to Barbara Lamont while they are alone in her office. Sidney Carter, a coworker with whom she has an affair, intervenes to stop Shalimar after he hears Barbara yelling. Shalimar shows no remorse over the incident and suggests that, because Lamont has been married and divorced, she should expect such advances from male coworkers. Gregg is cast in a play directed by David Savage and the two become lovers. Gregg is demoted to understudy when she repeatedly flubs her lines. She becomes obsessed with David, whose affections turn to Gregg's replacement in the play. After David ends his affair with Gregg, she becomes mentally unstable and starts stalking him. While lurking outside his apartment, she is startled by a boisterous neighbor and panics. Gregg flees to a fire escape and falls to her death when her high-heeled shoe gets caught in the grating, causing her to stumble. April meets Dexter Key, a spoiled playboy, at a company picnic. They start an affair, but Dexter threatens to dump the romantic April unless she agrees to have sex. When April becomes pregnant, Dexter persuades her to ostensibly elope. Once they are en route, Dexter admits his marriage proposal is a ruse and he is driving her to a doctor for an abortion. Distraught at the idea of ending her pregnancy, April leaps from Dexter's moving car. She survives, but the impact causes a miscarriage and hospitalization. April becomes romantically involved with her attending physician. Caroline, upset after her fiancé Eddie Harris marries another woman, goes on a blind date with Paul Landis. The date ends awkwardly when Caroline spots a coworker, Mike Rice. After Paul leaves, Mike and Caroline get drunk, and she falls asleep at his apartment. At the office the next day, a badly hungover Caroline is worried she and Mike had sex, but he assures her nothing happened. While working for Amanda Farrow, Caroline adds her own editorial comments to the manuscripts submitted by writers. Shalimar takes notice of Caroline's comments and promotes her to the position of manuscript reader. When Caroline thanks Farrow for recommending her as a reader, Farrow admits she advised Shalimar ''not'' to promote her. Later Mike disparages Caroline's ambition and advises her not to become career-driven, but to seek marriage instead. Mike and Caroline consider becoming involved romantically, but their plans are interrupted by Eddie, who dines with Caroline while in New York on a business trip. Thinking Eddie wants to leave his wife and rekindle their relationship, Caroline visits his hotel room; she leaves after Eddie reveals he has no intention of divorcing his rich wife and only wants Caroline to be his mistress. When Farrow quits her job to marry a man and move to St. Louis, Caroline takes her place at Fabian. Caroline relinquishes the position when Farrow returns to New York after her marriage fails. While leaving the office one day, Caroline bumps into Mike. She lifts the veil and removes the black hat she is wearing to mourn Gregg's death and locks eyes with him; they walk away together as the film ends.


Cast

*
Hope Lange Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ...
as Caroline Bender * Stephen Boyd as Mike Rice * Suzy Parker as Gregg Adams * Martha Hyer as Barbara Lamont *
Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...
as April Morrison * Brian Aherne as Fred Shalimar * Robert Evans as Dexter Key * Brett Halsey as Eddie Harris * Donald Harron as Sidney Carter *
Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Paradine Case'' (1947), '' Lette ...
as David Savage * Joan Crawford as Amanda Farrow *
Ted Otis TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...
as Dr. Ronnie Wood


Production

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
producer Jerry Wald announced he was buying the rights to the novel of the same name in April 1958. In his first interview about the film adaption, Wald said: "There are 10 roles in this for young people, and I hope to get some of our outstanding actors such as Lee Remick,
Hope Lange Hope Elise Ross Lange (November 28, 1933 – December 19, 2003) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ...
, Diane Varsi, Suzy Parker, Robert Evans, Lee Philips and
Bob Wagner Robert C. Wagner (born May 16, 1947) is a former American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii from 1988 to 1995 and led the Rainbow Warriors to their first top 20 finish in 1992. Wagner graduated from W ...
." In further early casting considerations, Wald mentioned Joanne Woodward,
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...
,
Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
and Margaret Truman. Rona Jaffe officially sold the rights to her book for $100,000 in November 1958. She did not want any part in writing the screenplay, but instead wanted a cameo role: "I want to appear in the movie in a walk-on part. I would just appear briefly as one of the office's pool of stenographers", she said. Martin Ritt initially was set to direct, but he was replaced by
Jean Negulesco Jean Negulesco (born Ioan Negulescu; – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian-American film director and screenwriter.Oliver, Myrna"Jean Negulesco 1900–1993 ''The Los Angeles Times'', 22 July 1993. He first gained notice for his film noirs and later ...
in January 1959 reportedly because Ritt was upset with the casting of Suzy Parker. Ritt dismissed this rumor, saying the script was not his "cup of tea". When she learned that Wald was sick, Parker agreed to do the film, reporting for work in January 1959. (Parker had agreed to take the role in the summer of 1958, but a broken arm and a 14-month recovery delayed her appearance.) On playing a neurotic actress, Parker commented: "I know the type extremely well." During casting, several actors were considered, cast and replaced. In August 1958, Diane Varsi and Lee Remick were, along with Suzy Parker, attached to star in the film, but Varsi and Remick withdrew. Remick was forced to leave production in early 1959 due to physical problems. In September 1958,
Julia Meade Julia Meade Kunze (December 17, 1925 – May 16, 2016) was an American film and stage actress who was a frequent pitch person in live commercials in the early days of television in the 1950s. Early years Meade was born in Boston on December 1 ...
signed on for the film, planning to make her screen debut. She ultimately did not appear in the film. In January 1959, the unknown actress Diane Hartman was cast as Barbara Lamont, but she was replaced by Martha Hyer. Jack Warden agreed to a co-starring role in March 1959, but he did not appear in the film. Less than a month later, Jean Peters was planning to make her comeback in this film. Had Peters not been replaced, it would have been her fifth film under the direction of Negulesco. Another actress cast in March 1959 without appearing in the film was June Blair, who was set to play one of the starring roles. Joan Crawford was cast in May 1959, 10 days before shooting began. This was the first time she had accepted a supporting role since the silent era. Crawford was in heavy debt after the death of her fourth husband Alfred Steele, and needed the money. She commented on her role: "I'm on the screen only seven minutes. But I liked the part, and I want to do other movies and TV films if I can find what I want." She had recently been elected to the board of directors of Pepsi-Cola and planned to spend more time promoting the soft drink. Crawford insisted on having a Pepsi-Cola machine placed in the secretaries break room in the film. According to Diane Baker, much of Crawford's character was cut from the finished film, including a show-stopping drunk scene. This was reportedly due to the film's length.


Music

The score was composed and conducted by
Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Acad ...
, with orchestrations by Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer. Additional development of Newman's themes were done by
Cyril Mockridge Cyril John Mockridge (August 6, 1896 – January 18, 1979) was an England, English film and television composer who scored such films as ''Cheaper by the Dozen (1950 film), Cheaper by the Dozen'', ''River of No Return'' and ''The Man Who Shot Li ...
for two scenes. The songs "Again" and "Kiss Them for Me" (by Lionel Newman) and " Something's Gotta Give" (by
Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...
) are used as
source music Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama (e.g., film or video game) that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters. The term refers to diegesis, a style of storytelling. The opposite of source m ...
. The title song for the film was composed by Newman, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and performed by
Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
. Producer Jerry Wald first showed interest in Mathis for the title song in August 1958. The music, as recorded for the motion picture, was released on CD by '' Film Score Monthly'' in 2002.


Reception

In ''The New York Times'', critic Howard Thompson described the film as a "handsome but curiously unstimulating drama" and noted "the casting is dandy" with kudos to Lange. Commenting on Joan Crawford, the critic described her performance as "suave trouping". Thompson pointed out that "...for all its knowing air and chic appointments, the picture talkily lumbers onto the plane of soap opera, under Mr. Negulesco's reverential guidance."
Paul Beckley Paul V. Beckley (February 17, 1910 in Tulsa - November 29, 2008) was an American film critic, best known for his work with the ''New York Herald Tribune'' from 1941 to 1965. Before joining the Tribune in New York City he worked as a reporter for th ...
ended his review in the ''New York Herald Tribune'' with: "...Miss Crawford comes near making the rest of the picture look like a distraction." Crawford's peripheral role in the film generated much criticism. The men she was involved with romantically never appeared on the screen, and many of her scenes were cut, as mentioned above. Due to the film's success, a short-lived daytime soap opera of the same name was aired on ABC in 1970.


Oscar nominations

''The Best of Everything'' received two Oscar nominations during the
32nd Academy Awards The 32nd Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 4, 1960 at the RKO Pantages Theatre, to honor the films of 1959. William Wyler's Bible epic '' Ben-Hur'' won 11 Oscars, breaking the record of nine set the previous year by '' Gigi''. This t ...
: Best Original Song for the title song and Best Costumes-Color (
Adele Palmer Adele Palmer (October 21, 1915 – July 1, 2008) was an American costume designer who worked on more than 300 films during her long career. She was nominated for one Oscar. This was for the film '' The Best of Everything'', in the category of Be ...
).


See also

* List of American films of 1959


References


External links

* * *
Various releases on LP and CD of the music from the film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Of Everything, The 1959 films 1959 romantic drama films 20th Century Fox films Adaptations of works by Rona Jaffe American romantic drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Jean Negulesco Films scored by Alfred Newman Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City CinemaScope films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films