I don't know if anyone was using their noggin when they cast Joan as a carnival dancer who ends up on the right side of tracks. It is incomprehensible that anyone who speaks with such crisp, clear English and has such a fabulous 90210 'do could be standing on some cheap stage, wearing a cheap veil and waving her hands around in a pathetic attempt to be erotic (the audience is mainly made up of teen-age boys). The thing is -- why they felt they needed this as a "set-up" is beyond me. It was totally unnecessary.
I'm not going to belabor the plot because everyone else has done so, but what is interesting about this film is that we have no idea who Joan was before she was a carny dancer. She seems like she arrived from another planet and quickly figured out how to talk and walk like a human being. It is utterly bizarre.
Next, with Zachary Scott as her first (instant) true love and David Brian as her second (eventually clues in that he really is her) true love, "Flamingo Road" careens between visions of "Mildred Pierce" and "The Damn Don't Cry." All I could think about were those films while I watched this leaden potboiler lumber along. Yeah, there are some great snappy lines of dialogue (not enough); yes, Sydney Greenstreet (who, no matter what he does, cannot drop his British accent) makes a great villain, and yes, Joan can still wear a waitress skirt and sling hash with the best of them -- but so what? Who cares?
Here we have Joan go from 10 cents a toss veiled dancer to being the lady of a vast mansion on Flamingo Road -- instructing her birdbrain "maid" when and where to serve tea, and redecorating the entire place as if she was Martha Stewart's mother. It's incomprehensible.
The other thing that I've started to notice after OD'ing on Joan films (and I adore her) is that if a man looks at her once, that's it -- the hot sex, love and marriage are one kiss away -- and there better not be another babe in the room -- or on the screen. And yet, "Flamingo Road" features the very pretty (and young) Virginia Huston as Annabelle Weldon, the woman who Zachary Scott marries, even though he's still in love with Joan (and yet, why? What the hell do they have in common?). Also, in most of Joan's movies (as with Streisand's), Joan is always told how pretty she looks and what a great girl she is. Yeah, well, she was pretty at one time, and she was a girl, but she is neither in this film.
At any rate, the movie eventually becomes a repeat performance of so many other Joan movies, which was basically: the poor girl works her way up to the rich girl. The problem is: We've been there done that, and no matter what she does, Joan can't save this clunker. I love you Joan, but this was a big "yawn." Thumbs down.
I'm not going to belabor the plot because everyone else has done so, but what is interesting about this film is that we have no idea who Joan was before she was a carny dancer. She seems like she arrived from another planet and quickly figured out how to talk and walk like a human being. It is utterly bizarre.
Next, with Zachary Scott as her first (instant) true love and David Brian as her second (eventually clues in that he really is her) true love, "Flamingo Road" careens between visions of "Mildred Pierce" and "The Damn Don't Cry." All I could think about were those films while I watched this leaden potboiler lumber along. Yeah, there are some great snappy lines of dialogue (not enough); yes, Sydney Greenstreet (who, no matter what he does, cannot drop his British accent) makes a great villain, and yes, Joan can still wear a waitress skirt and sling hash with the best of them -- but so what? Who cares?
Here we have Joan go from 10 cents a toss veiled dancer to being the lady of a vast mansion on Flamingo Road -- instructing her birdbrain "maid" when and where to serve tea, and redecorating the entire place as if she was Martha Stewart's mother. It's incomprehensible.
The other thing that I've started to notice after OD'ing on Joan films (and I adore her) is that if a man looks at her once, that's it -- the hot sex, love and marriage are one kiss away -- and there better not be another babe in the room -- or on the screen. And yet, "Flamingo Road" features the very pretty (and young) Virginia Huston as Annabelle Weldon, the woman who Zachary Scott marries, even though he's still in love with Joan (and yet, why? What the hell do they have in common?). Also, in most of Joan's movies (as with Streisand's), Joan is always told how pretty she looks and what a great girl she is. Yeah, well, she was pretty at one time, and she was a girl, but she is neither in this film.
At any rate, the movie eventually becomes a repeat performance of so many other Joan movies, which was basically: the poor girl works her way up to the rich girl. The problem is: We've been there done that, and no matter what she does, Joan can't save this clunker. I love you Joan, but this was a big "yawn." Thumbs down.