The Best of Everything

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The business world of the late Eisenhower era has rarely been more chicly drawn than in The Best of Everything, a juicy soap opera of the "working girl" school. Hope Lange lands a secretarial job at a Manhattan publishing house, eventually rising to an editorial position--but not before witnessing the back-biting, fanny-pinching snakepit that is the corporate workplace circa 1959. The spunky trio of Lange, Diane Baker, and Suzy Parker have romantic misadventures aplenty; Baker falls in with smarmy young Robert Evans (he had the tan even back then) and aspiring actress Parker lands in the clutches of heartbreaker stage director Louis Jourdan. The film's males are truly pigs in gray flannel suits. Beefcake slab Stephen Boyd offers solace to Lange, while Martha Hyer is around to provide yet another example of a woman suffering for the sake of a married man. Despite all the young female talent (redhead Parker was one of the most beautiful women of the fifties, a top model with a brief movie career), nobody holds serve when Joan Crawford bulls her way on screen. As a senior magazine editor (and a presumably cautionary example of the bitter career woman), Crawford eats the other actors like hors d'oeuvres. Jean Negulesco's staid direction never notices how trashy and plodding the material is, stressing instead the designer prettiness of CinemaScope: the interiors are a parade of cool colors and postwar furniture, the location shots of Manhattan streets are as gorgeous and nostalgic as an ancient engraving. --Robert Horton

Description

Rona Jaffe's best-selling novel comes to life in this witty tale about the personal and professional lives of the men and women in a New York publishing firm. Heading a huge cast. JOAN CRAWFORD "gives an excellently etched performance" (Hollywood Reporter) as a tough-talking editor who can't seem to win at love. There are a few more interesting stories around the office than there are in the manuscripts at Fabian Publishers. Among the principal players: a new secretary (HOPE LANG) who quickly gets her boss's (CRAWFORD) job and romances a handsome editor (STEPHEN BOYD); a Colorado secretary (DIANE BARKER) who falls for the wrong man (ROBERT EVANS); and a would be actress (SUZY PARKER) who's jilted by a two-timing director (LUIS JOURDAN). Slick and glossy, The Best Of Everything is a panorama of office politics before women's liberation.

Customer Reviews:

Vintage Soap Opera.......2007-04-30

It's interesting to watch how late 1950's society is depicted in this film. Men are lecherous, chain-smoking booze-hounds with one thing on their minds (time hasn't changed men that much, but "sexual harassment" has) & women are in the workplace only passing time until they find a husband & settle down. Some of the dialog is cringe-worthy but yet it's charming in an innocent, passé way. I love the opening credits that show a romantic, exciting view of Manhattan with Johnny Mathis singing "The Best Of Everything" on the soundtrack. I want to jump right into some scenes, filmed on N.Y. streets, circa 1959 & experience a time I've only seen on film & in photographs. Some scenes in this movie reminded me of Melanie Griffith's "Working Girl." Especially when Hope Lange (who's a cross between Grace Kelly & Dolores Hart) gets bombed in handsome Stephen Boyd's apartment, he tucks her in & just watches her sleep (like Melanie, she wants to know if "anything" happened between them the following day). Joan Crawford is definitely comparable to Sigourney Weaver's horrible female boss except she was outwardly nasty (with a soft core), but Sigourney's character was sweet on the outside & horrible on the inside. I found it distressing how the Suzy Parker character (Gregg) started out as an independent woman with career goals to be an actress, who supposedly didn't need a man to complete her, ended up. She becomes a stalker/lunatic/nut-job when she lets the man she falls in love with drive her bananas after he's done with her. I loved the character Mary Agnes, the office gossip, with her thick New Yawk accent. If you enjoy films like "Valley Of The Dolls", "Where The Boys Are", & "Come Fly With Me" you'll like this one too. (BTW I don't know why Joan Crawford is on the cover of this DVD! Her role is small, much like Susan Hayward's in "Valley of The Dolls". Here's alittle bit of trivia: Hope Lange & Diane Baker stroll down Christopher Street chatting about 30 minutes into the film. In the background you can see The Stonewall Inn bar, where the gay liberation movement began in the late 60's with the Stonewall riots).

One more beautiful soundtrack by Alfred Newman.......2007-01-04

Though one may not recognize `The Best of Everything' as one of those best of the best among the Hollywood films, there is something different here and it's simply the original soundtrack by the late Alfred Newman.

One of those soundtrack craftsmen, the king of `leitmotif', Mr. Newman proves once more his inspiration and technique in what may be related to music for films.

Interesting for featuring the beautiful Johnny Mathis rendition for the main title, which became a smash hit single for Mathis in 1959.

The Best of Everything.......2007-01-04

I love this movie. It gives you some insight on what the attitude was toward women trying to succeed in the workforce and in life back in the late 50's and early 60's. I've always liked Hope Lange and she does a wonderful job with this role. Truly a must have movie.

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.... AND THEN SOME!.......2006-12-21

The time and place is 1959 New York City and lovely Caroline Bender (Hope Lange "Peyton Place,"(1957) "Pocketful of Miracles," (1961) has just joined the steno pool at Fabian Publishing Company. Also in the office is beautiful Gregg Adams (Suzy Parker "Kiss Them for Me" (1957) and sweet, but a tad bit scatterbrained, April Morrison (Diane Baker "Marnie" (1964) "Strait-Jacket" (1964) who are working 9 to 5 while searching for Mr. Right. This is a glossy soap opera of sorts, which reminds me a lot of films like "Peyton Place," and "Valley of the Dolls." The best scenes in the movie, however, are the ones with "bitch boss" Ms Farrow (played wonderfully by screen legend Joan Crawford). In one memorable scene Joan is on the telephone with her lover, who won't leave his wife for her, so Joan screams into the phone: "You and your rabbit faced wife can go straight to hell!" Classic! And the funny thing is she slams the phone down before she completely finishes her sentence! Hilarious!

Caroline is torn between her dreamy ex-fiancée Eddie Harris (Bret Halsey "Return to Peyton Place" (1961) and office hunk Mike Rice (Stephen Boyd "Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) while moving swiftly up the corporate ladder and into Ms Farrow's office! Gregg Adams wants to become the toast of Broadway by allowing herself to fall into the hands (and the bed) of the play's director, David Savage (Louis Jourdan "Gigi" (1958) which ends in tragedy. April is seduced by rich and suave Dexter Key (Robert Evans) and believes after she tells him that she is pregnant, they are off to be married -sorry, another tragedy! It seems Ms Farrow has come to her senses and is giving up the glamorous life for the married life -but then she returns to the office for her old job and says, "it's just too late for me." Caroline comes to her senses and realizes she must give up her dream of winning back Eddie and she and Mike go walking together down the busy New York streets as the credits roll.

The dvd transfer is clear and the Technicolor brilliant! You'll enjoy the soundtrack (especially Johnny Mathis' song at the first of the movie "The Best of Everything.") with a clear and crisp track. Dvd includes theatrical trailer for "The Best of Everything" and several other 20th Century Fox films. This one is for the "Peyton Place" and "Valley of the Dolls" fans (like me!) and belongs on the same dvd collection shelf nestled comfortably between the two!

See you in the snake pit... .......2006-09-04

I first watched this movie because cinamatic legand Joan Crawford was one of the stars in it. Joan plays Amanda Farrow, a rather bossy publishing executive. However, her part is small and the movie has little to do with her character. It's a fine picture, though.

At first glance, "The Best of Everything" looks like "9 to 5" meets "The Devil Wears Prada." But after the first twenty minutes I was convinced that this was a much more complicated tale about relationships taking place in the Big Apple.

The main plot focused on three clerical workers at the same publishing firm, played by Hope Lange, Diane Baker, and Suzy Parker. Each women has their own trials and tribulations. But I think the one thing that they all have in common is that the men in their lives are all cads. I would say that just about all the men in this film are rather unsympathetic and uncaring. Is this how men really were in the 1950's? I hope not.

Normally I'd reserve two maybe three stars for a picture like this. But since it's Joan's "last great picture" (not counting "Baby Jane," of course) it deserves four.

Average customer rating:

Vintage Soap Opera
One more beautiful soundtrack by Alfred Newman
The Best of Everything
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.... AND THEN SOME!
See you in the snake pit...

The Best of Everything
Starring: Hope Lange , Stephen Boyd , Suzy Parker , Martha Hyer , and Diane Baker
Director: Jean Negulesco
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007QS23O