Behind Every Unsuccessful Man - - The Country Girl - - (1954, USA, B/W, 104 min)

Recommended. I started this collection of short reviews because so many of my close friends asked me for my opinions on movies. It’s grown into over 800 strong, 120,000 words. I mention this because I was recently asked about this movie; as a totally enthralled Grace Kelly (Rear Window) acolyte, one would expect I had seen her only Oscar^©-winning performance. I now have and The Country Girl is a very good movie, a refined take on alcoholism, addiction, and fame . . . more A Star Is Born than Lost Weekend. Bing Crosby (Going My Way) gives a reasonable interpretation, perhaps reflecting his youthful drinking. Kelly, as Crosby’s wife, deserved her 1955 Academy Award, beating out Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina. Rarely has the co-dependency question been more thoughtfully raised, although cf, The Days Of Wine And Roses. But William Holden (Sabrina) - - who suffered and died of alcoholism - - provides the saddest irony.