Taglines: The public disrobing of a generation.
The Goddess movie storyline. Emily Ann Faulkner (Kim Stanley) grew up unloved by her self-absorbed party-loving mother, who openly stated that they would have given up Emily Ann if given the chance. Craving adoration, Emily Ann always knew she wanted to be an actress – really, a movie star – but ends up being a lonely child. Even in her teen-aged years, Emily Ann, while trying to attract the attention of boys, doesn’t know how to react when they get too close to her overtly sexual come-ons.
Through two marriages which produced a daughter, Emily Ann still drives those around her away by not knowing how to deal with intimacy. Emily Ann eventually does get her wish of being a world renowned Hollywood movie star, renamed Rita Shawn. With her fame comes the adoration – the idolization – she has always craved. But will this goddess status fulfill her as a person?
The Goddess is a 1958 American film noir drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Kim Stanley and Lloyd Bridges. Written by Paddy Chayefsky, the film is an in-depth character study about the life of a troubled and lonely girl who becomes a movie star adored by millions, but is miserable in her private life. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
The story is said to be based loosely on Marilyn Monroe. According to an article at tcm.com, “Some critics have conjectured that The Goddess was based on the career of Ava Gardner, but most think its primary model was Marilyn Monroe, who studied at the Actors Studio at the same time Stanley did.”
The Goddess was filmed, in part, in Ellicott City, Maryland, which serves as the childhood home of Rita and provides the backdrop for the closing scene. The interior scenes were filmed at the Gold Medal Studios, the Bronx, New York; in addition to Maryland, location filming was also done in Hollywood, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills and at the Fox Village Theater, Westwood, California.
The Goddess (1958)
Directed by: John Cromwell
Starring: Kim Stanley, Lloyd Bridges, Steven Hill, Betty Lou Holland, Burt Brinckerhoff, Bert Freed, Gerald Hiken, Elizabeth Wilson, Joan Copeland, Joyce Van Patten, Joanne Linville
Screenplay by: Paddy Chayefsky
Production Design by: Leo Kerz
Cinematography by: Arthur J. Ornitz
Film Editing by: Carl Lerner
Costume Design by: Frank L. Thompson
Art Direction by: Ted Haworth
Music by: Virgil Thomson
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: June 24, 1958
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