Actor Tony Franciosa leaves girlfriend Joan Blackman to try his luck in NYC. A year later, he's befriended theatrical hustler Dean Martin but gotten nowhere. She moves in and they marry, then another year goes by and she understandably feels like he should get a proper job, particularly after losing a baby. By this time we've met platinum blonde Shirley MacLaine, and theatrical agent Carolyn Jones (who's rather good), but nothing goes right for our aspiring actor, who is betrayed by Martin and even survives the Korean war only to be branded a communist (I guess things were just changing - the year after, Kennedy would cross a picket line to watch the blacklisted Spartacus).
Screenplay from his own play by James Lee, the ending is perhaps a shade too hopeful for the preceding events.
Joe LaShelle was Oscar nominated, though in our from-VHS copy it's difficult to judge (though interestingly he shot MacLaine again the next year in the Apartment). Film is as rare as a Penny Red, but worth seeing if possible. We were lucky to just make it to the end (almost) as the disc developed irremediable problems. The studio he visits is presumably Paramount, who made the film.
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