{{short description|1953 film by George Cukor}} {{About|the 1953 film|the 1928 film|The Actress (1928 film)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = The Actress | image = TheActress.JPG | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[George Cukor]] | producer = [[Lawrence Weingarten]] | based_on = {{based on|''Years Ago''<br />1946 play|[[Ruth Gordon]]}} | screenplay = [[Ruth Gordon]] | starring = [[Spencer Tracy]]<br />[[Jean Simmons]]<br />[[Teresa Wright]] | music = [[Bronisław Kaper]] | cinematography = [[Harold Rosson]] | editing = George Boemler | studio = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] | distributor = [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's Inc.]]<ref>{{AFI film|id=50736}}</ref> | released = {{Film date|1953|9|25|Los Angeles|1953|10|12|New York|ref1=<ref name="scheuer"/>|ref2=<ref name="crowther"/>}} | runtime = 90 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $1,424,000<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}.</ref> | gross = $914,000<ref name="Mannix"/> }} '''''The Actress''''' is a 1953 American comedy-drama film directed by [[George Cukor]] and based on [[Ruth Gordon]]'s autobiographical play ''Years Ago''. Gordon also wrote the screenplay. The film stars [[Spencer Tracy]], [[Jean Simmons]] and [[Teresa Wright]], and it features [[Anthony Perkins]] in his film debut.
==Plot== In [[Wollaston (Quincy, Massachusetts)|Wollaston, Massachusetts]] in 1913, teenage student Ruth Gordon Jones dreams of a theatrical career after becoming mesmerized by a performance of ''[[The Pink Lady (musical)|The Pink Lady]]'' at a Boston theater. She writes a fan letter to leading lady [[Hazel Dawn]], who replies with encouragement for Ruth to pursue her dreams.
Ruth schemes to withdraw from school and move to New York City. However, her father Clinton Jones, a former seaman now working a menial factory job, wants her to continue her education and become a [[physical education|physical-education]] instructor. Ruth is courted by Fred Whitmarsh, a [[Harvard University|Harvard]] student who falls in love with her and proposes marriage.
When Ruth is afforded the chance to audition for a leading producer, she disobeys her father and deflects Fred's romantic overtures to keep the appointment. However, her audition proves disastrous and crushes her confidence and enthusiasm. She confesses to her father what she has done, and although initially angry, he offers to support her during her first few months in New York if she agrees to obtain her high school diploma. Despite his promise, Clinton is not sure how he will find the support money, and he is anxious about his job security. He depends upon his annual bonus, but his employer is slow in paying it.
Her enthusiasm restored, Ruth arranges to move to New York after graduation. On the departure day, Clinton loses his job after confronting his boss about his bonus, leaving him with no money to give to Ruth. When Clinton sees that Ruth is determined to proceed to New York without his monetary support, he gives her his most prized possession, his treasured [[monocular|spyglass]] from his seafaring days, to sell in New York. The family watches at the railroad station as Ruth departs.
==Cast== * [[Spencer Tracy]] as Clinton Jones * [[Jean Simmons]] as Ruth Gordon Jones * [[Teresa Wright]] as Annie Jones * [[Anthony Perkins]] as Fred Whitmarsh * [[Ian Wolfe]] as Mr. Bagley * [[Kay Williams]] as [[Hazel Dawn]] * [[Mary Wickes]] as Emma Glavey * [[Norma Jean Nilsson]] as Anna Williams * [[Dawn Bender]] as Katherine Follets * [[Jackie Coogan]] as Inopportune (uncredited)
==Production== [[Ruth Gordon]]'s autobiographical play ''Years Ago'', directed by her husband [[Garson Kanin]], debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at New York's [[Lena Horne Theatre|Mansfield Theatre]] on December 3, 1946, starring [[Fredric March|Frederic March]] and his wife [[Florence Eldridge]]. The play was Gordon's second as a playwright; her first, ''[[Over 21 (play)|Over 21]]'', in which she also starred, ran on Broadway for 221 performances.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Calta |first=Louis |date=1946-12-03 |title=Ruth Gordon Play Will Open Tonight |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=42}}</ref>
In May 1947, MGM was reportedly seeking to obtain the screen rights to Gordon's play for a sum speculated to be as high as $450,000. The studio initially planned to team Spencer Tracy with [[Judy Garland]] for the film adaptation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=1947-05-05 |title=Pinza 'Toyland' Star; Metro Seeks 'Years Ago' |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=2, Part II}}</ref>
In September 1950, [[RKO Pictures]] was nearing a deal for the film rights, with [[Jerry Wald]] and [[Norman Krasna]] to be the film's producers and Kanin to write the screenplay and direct.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1950-09-04 |title=Wald and Krasna to Do 'Years Ago' |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=11}}</ref> However, MGM was the studio that eventually secured the property.
[[Debbie Reynolds]] had been considered for the lead role but had conflicting commitments to ''[[Give a Girl a Break]]'' and ''[[The Affairs of Dobie Gillis]]''. Jean Simmons, a hot property recently freed from her [[RKO Pictures]] contract, was announced in November 1952.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |date=1952-11-20 |title=Jean Simmons to Costar in 'Years Ago'; Sheridan Deal Leads to Majorca |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=15, Part II}}</ref>
The film's title was changed from ''Years Ago'' to ''Fame and Fortune'' in December 1952,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1952-12-24 |title=Movieland Briefs |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=12}}</ref> the title under which the film entered production the following month.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1953-01-10 |title=Production Schedule |work=[[Community newspapers in Hollywood, California#Citizen-News (1931–1970)|Citizen-News]] |location=[[Hollywood, California]] |page=5}}</ref> Production was completed by the end of January 1953<ref>{{Cite news |date=1953-01-24 |title=Production Schedule |work=[[Community newspapers in Hollywood, California#Citizen-News (1931–1970)|Citizen-News]] |location=[[Hollywood, California]] |page=6}}</ref> and the title was changed to ''The Actress'' before the film's release.
==Reception and accolades== In a contemporary review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', critic [[Bosley Crowther]] called the film a "delightful small-theatre surprise" and wrote: "Mr. Tracy's portrait of Papa in this tale of a stubborn father's love for a lone daughter whom he gruffly cherishes is a many-faceted gem, alternately sparkling glints of pathos, spiritual loneliness and swift, corrosive wit. Sparked by excellent writing from Miss Gordon and fine direction from George Cukor's fund of skills, Mr. Tracy conveys a human being who may be understood as much as he is enjoyed. One scene toward the end of the picture, in which he briefs the hard tale of his boyhood, is done with a perfection that is equal to the writing and the placing of the scene."<ref name="crowther">{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=1953-10-13 |title=The Screen: Four Films Have Their New York Premieres |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=34}}</ref>
Critic [[Philip K. Scheuer]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote: "'The Actress' is unmistakably a talking picture, but it packs so much wry humor. wit and sadness into what it has to say that you'll hardly notice. Indeed, the sudden but fitting ending may catch you unprepared. Anyhow, Cukor keeps his camera more flexible than most action directors—in any dimension."<ref name="scheuer">{{Cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Philip K. |date=1953-09-26 |title=Three Stars Dominate Moving, Amusing Film |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=10}}</ref>
According to MGM records, the film earned $594,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $320,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss to the studio of $965,000.<ref name="Mannix" /><ref name="tracy">James Curtis, ''Spencer Tracy: A Biography'', Alfred Knopf, 2011 p654</ref> It recorded admissions in France of 15,493.<ref>[https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boxofficestory.com%2Fbox-office-alain-delon-c22669761%2F39&sandbox=1 Box office for Anthony Perkins in France] at Box Office Story</ref>
=== Awards === ''The Actress'' was nominated for an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design, Black-and-White]]. Tracy won the [[Golden Globe Award]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Motion Picture Actor in a Drama]], and he was nominated for a [[BAFTA Award|BAFTA]] for Best Foreign Actor. Simmons was named [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] by the [[National Board of Review]], and Gordon's screenplay was nominated Best Written American Comedy by the [[Writers Guild of America]] despite being far more dramatic than comedic.<ref>IMDB [http://imdb.com/title/tt0045471/awards Awards]</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0045471}} * [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-actress-am34684 ''The Actress'' at AllMovie] * {{TCMDb title|25752}} * {{AFI film|50736}} * {{IBDB title|1489|Years Ago}}, play on which film is based
{{George Cukor}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Actress, The}} [[Category:1953 films]] [[Category:1953 comedy-drama films]] [[Category:American comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Biographical films about actors]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:Films about actors]] [[Category:Films about theatre]] [[Category:American films based on plays]] [[Category:Films directed by George Cukor]] [[Category:Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance]] [[Category:Films set in 1913]] [[Category:Films set in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]] [[Category:1953 English-language films]] [[Category:1953 American films]] [[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Ruth Gordon]]