The Girl Who Had Everything
- March 27, 1953 (1953-03-27) (U.S.)
The Girl Who Had Everything is a 1953 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Armand Deutsch for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film features William Powell in his last MGM feature and one of his last film roles before retirement.
The screenplay was written by Art Cohn based upon a 1928 play by Willard Mack and the 1927 novel A Free Soul by Adela Rogers St. Johns. The play and novel were also the inspiration for an earlier film adaptation titled A Free Soul (1931).
Plot
Jean Latimer lives with her widowed father, defense lawyer Steve Latimer. who had recently agreed to defend gambler Victor Ramondi against charges of gambling and organized crime. Prior to the trial, Jean's long-term boyfriend Vance Court proposes marriage, but she demurs.
During the trial, Jean meets Victor and they immediately have undeniable chemistry on their first date. Jean confides in Victor that she is worried about her father's alcoholism. Although Victor presents himself in a gentlemanly manner to Jean, she is intrigued by Victor's dark side. Victor outbids Vance in an auction for an expensive colt that he later offers to Jean as a gift.
Steve is aware of Victor's tricks and deceitfulness, and he warns Jean. However, she continues to pursue Victor. She agrees to take a short vacation with Steve in order to clear her head. However, after only a few days, she cannot handle the separation from Victor and soon departs for New York to see him.
Upon arrival in New York, Victor sees a newspaper article describing that the trials against him may reopen following the discovery of classified information provided by a mystery witness, later revealed to be Steve. Victor is enraged, knowing that Steve has the power to expose his crimes, ruining both his reputation and his chances with Jean. The two men threaten each other in a heated argument. While Steve cannot directly testify against Victor in court, he threatens to call witnesses who can attest to Victor's murder of two mobsters. Victor threatens Steve with physical harm if he should travel to Washington to testify. In his anger, Victor strikes both Steve and Jean. Despite Victor's subsequent apology, Jean finally realizes that her father was correct about Victor and cancels the engagement.
Victor departs, and while he is stopped at a traffic light in his car, he is shot and killed by a man in an adjacent truck. When reporters seek interviews the following day, the Latimers characterize Victor as a gambler who lost his own game. Jean and Steve reconcile and embrace.
Cast
Actor | Role |
---|---|
Elizabeth Taylor | Jean Latimer |
Fernando Lamas | Victor Y. Ramondi |
William Powell | Steve Latimer |
Gig Young | Vance Court |
James Whitmore | Charles "Chico" Menlow |
William Walker | Julian |
Emory Parnell | Horse Auctioneer |
Robert Burton | John Ashmond |
Reception
In a contemporary review, critic Marjory Adams of The Boston Globe wrote: "From an audience viewpoint, the story doesn't live up to the title. It's only a fairly average film, with a lot of phony sentiment and situations which are, to be perfectly frank, so trite that at times they border on caricature." However, Adams praised the film's wardrobe, adding: "So you can feast your eyes on the cinema style show and forget some of that awful dialogue. It's too bad the film wasn't done in color."[3]
According to MGM records, the film earned $739,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $479,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $116,000.[1]
References
External links
- The Girl Who Had Everything at IMDb
- The Girl Who Had Everything at AllMovie
- The Girl Who Had Everything at the TCM Movie Database
- The Girl Who Had Everything at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- v
- t
- e
- Fast and Fearless (1924)
- Battling Buddy (1924)
- Bringin' Home the Bacon (1924)
- Thundering Romance (1924)
- Rough Ridin' (1924)
- Double Action Daniels (1925)
- Full Speed (1925)
- Gold and Grit (1925)
- Galloping On (1925)
- The Desert Demon (1925)
- A Streak of Luck (1925)
- The Saddle Cyclone (1925)
- Fast Fightin' (1925)
- On the Go (1925)
- Double Daring (1926)
- The Bonanza Buckaroo (1926)
- Deuce High (1926)
- The Twin Triggers (1926)
- College Days (1926)
- The Bandit Buster (1926)
- The Dangerous Dub (1926)
- Rawhide (1926)
- Twisted Triggers (1926)
- Josselyn's Wife (1926)
- The Meddlin' Stranger (1927)
- The First Night (1927)
- The Obligin' Buckaroo (1927)
- Ride 'em High (1927)
- The Galloping Gobs (1927)
- The Desert of the Lost (1927)
- Tearin' Into Trouble (1927)
- The Ridin' Rowdy (1927)
- Roarin' Broncs (1927)
- White Pebbles (1927)
- Skedaddle Gold (1927)
- The Cyclone Cowboy (1927)
- Pals in Peril (1927)
- The Soda Water Cowboy (1927)
- The Ballyhoo Buster (1928)
- The Flyin' Buckaroo (1928)
- The Cowboy Cavalier (1928)
- The Valley of Hunted Men (1928)
- Saddle Mates (1928)
- Desperate Courage (1928)
- Border Romance (1929)
- The Utah Kid (1930)
- The Dude Wrangler (1930)
- Wings of Adventure (1930)
- Under Montana Skies (1930)
- The Thoroughbred (1930)
- Grief Street (1931)
- The Lawless Woman (1931)
- Murder at Dawn (1931)
- Forgotten Women (1931)
- The Devil Plays (1931)
- Neck and Neck (1931)
- Forgotten (1931)
- Beauty Parlor (1932)
- Escapade (1932)
- Forbidden Company (1932)
- Cross-Examination (1932)
- The King Murder (1932)
- The Midnight Lady (1932)
- Probation (1932)
- Slightly Married (1932)
- The Secrets of Wu Sin (1932)
- Thrill of Youth (1932)
- Women Won't Tell (1932)
- A Man of Sentiment (1933)
- Murder on the Campus (1933)
- Rainbow Over Broadway (1933)
- Love Is Dangerous (1933)
- City Park (1934)
- Stolen Sweets (1934)
- Green Eyes (1934)
- Cheating Cheaters (1934)
- Secret of the Chateau (1934)
- The Quitter (1934)
- Strange Wives (1934)
- Last of the Pagans (1935)
- The Voice of Bugle Ann (1936)
- Tarzan Escapes (1936)
- Dangerous Number (1937)
- Night Must Fall (1937)
- Double Wedding (1937)
- Man-Proof (1938)
- Love Is a Headache (1938)
- The First Hundred Years (1938)
- The Toy Wife (1938)
- The Crowd Roars (1938)
- Three Loves Has Nancy (1939)
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
- Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)
- The Earl of Chicago (1940)
- 20 Mule Team (1940)
- Wyoming (1940)
- The Bad Man (1941)
- Barnacle Bill (1941)
- Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941)
- Apache Trail (1942)
- Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
- White Cargo (1942)
- Three Hearts for Julia (1943)
- Above Suspicion (1943)
- Cry 'Havoc' (1943)
- Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
- The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
- Thrill of a Romance (1945)
- What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (1945)
- Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945)
- Fiesta (1947)
- This Time for Keeps (1947)
- On an Island with You (1948)
- A Date with Judy (1948)
- The Sun Comes Up (1949)
- Big Jack (1949)
- Challenge to Lassie (1949)
- Malaya (1949)
- Black Hand (1950)
- Three Little Words (1950)
- Vengeance Valley (1951)
- The Great Caruso (1951)
- The Unknown Man (1951)
- It's a Big Country (1952)
- Carbine Williams (1952)
- Ivanhoe (1952)
- The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)
- The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
- All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953)
- Knights of the Round Table (1954)
- The Student Prince (1954)
- Athena (1954)
- The Prodigal (1955)
- The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955)
- Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957)
- Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957)
- Jailhouse Rock (1957)
- The House of the Seven Hawks (1959)
- Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959)
- The Tartars (1961)
- The Honeymoon Machine (1961)
- The Horizontal Lieutenant (1962)
- Follow the Boys (1963)
- Fun in Acapulco (1963)
- The Golden Head (1964)
- The Truth About Spring (1965)
- That Funny Feeling (1965)
- The Last Challenge (1967)
- The Scorpio Letters (1967)
- Vultures of the Sea (1928)
- The Vanishing West (1928)
- The Fatal Warning (1929)
- The King of the Kongo (1929)
- The Lone Defender (1930)
- King of the Wild (1931)