After ten years with a domineering mother, pretty teenager Dorothy Malone (as Diana Barrymore) goes to visit her father, legendary actor Errol Flynn (as John Barrymore). They get along well, but Mr. Flynn reveals himself as irresponsible and leaves Ms. Malone for a yacht party. When she grows up, Malone moves into her father's Hollywood mansion. The Gothic palace has been stripped of most furniture. Flynn lives with a caged eagle and companion John Dennis (as Walter Gerhardt), who tries to keep the boss sober. Malone decides to follow in her father's footsteps and become an actress...
"Too Much, Too Soon" (subtitled "The Daring Story of Diana Barrymore") is fine when dealing with Flynn, the eagle and Mr. Dennis. Flynn's follow-up to "The Sun Also Rises" (1957) gave him an opportunity to cap his career as "best dissipated supporting actor"; no doubt drawing from experience, his sobering characterization gives the film some real depth. But, he's far from the story's main subject. Poor Malone, shot to look like a little girl in the opening scenes, is put through episodic segments resembling 1950s documentaries warning young women that alcohol will lead them to nymphomania.
***** Too Much, Too Soon (4/17/58) Art Napoleon ~ Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ray Danton
"Too Much, Too Soon" (subtitled "The Daring Story of Diana Barrymore") is fine when dealing with Flynn, the eagle and Mr. Dennis. Flynn's follow-up to "The Sun Also Rises" (1957) gave him an opportunity to cap his career as "best dissipated supporting actor"; no doubt drawing from experience, his sobering characterization gives the film some real depth. But, he's far from the story's main subject. Poor Malone, shot to look like a little girl in the opening scenes, is put through episodic segments resembling 1950s documentaries warning young women that alcohol will lead them to nymphomania.
***** Too Much, Too Soon (4/17/58) Art Napoleon ~ Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ray Danton