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Rivalling Sunset Boulevard for its caustic take on Hollywood, Vincente Minnelli’s rip-roaring 1952 melodrama charts the fall of a ruthless, all-powerful producer (Kirk Douglas on top form) via flashbacks recalled by a writer (Dick Powell), an actress (Lana Turner) and a director (Barry Sullivan) – all of whom he made, and who now disown him when he’s down.
It’s packed with in-jokes and lightly disguised portraits of real-life Tinseltown figures; Douglas’ character is reckoned to be across between David O.Selznick and Vallewton.
But even without a knowledge of the background, this is sharp, cynical fun.
