GusF Based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Gavin Lambert who adapted it for the screen, this is a brilliantly made damning indictment of the inherent insincerity of Hollywood. The film takes place in the Golden Age from 1936 to 1938 at the height of the studio system but many of its criticisms of Tinseltown were readily applicable to the 1960s and some even apply to 2016. It has a first rate script which does not pull any punches and the direction of Robert Mulligan, whose forte was sensitive period dramas, is wonderful. The film stars Natalie Wood in an utterly fantastic performance as Daisy Clover, a 15-year-old tomboy and livewire who lives in a dilapidated trailer on Angel Beach in California with her highly eccentric mother. Like many teenage girls in the 1930s, she dreams of making it big in Hollywood. When she sends a recording of her voice to the highly prestigious Swan Studios, her dreams come true and she is signed by the movie mogul Raymond Swan. However, she soon learns that fame is not all that it is cracked up to be as Swan and his wife Melora manipulate her at every turn in order to protect her burgeoning career and reputation. Most notably, they have her mother Lucile, otherwise known as the Dealer and played in a great performance by Ruth Gordon, committed to a mental institution after she nearly burns down her trailer and put out the cover story that she is dead. The Dealer may not exactly be June Cleaver but Daisy adores her mother and she is rightly extremely angry and upset when Swan tells her that she cannot see her anymore, though he eventually relents. Her death is the catalyst for Daisy's nervous breakdown later in the film but there were certainly other contributory factors. There are traces of many Hollywood starlets in Daisy. Her nickname of "America's Little Valentine" is reminiscent of Mary Pickford's "America's Sweetheart." In that she is much used and abused particularly by men, however, the similarities to the recently deceased Marilyn Monroe are the most pronounced. At 27, Wood was too old to play a 15-year-old but the strength of her performance is so strong that I forgot about the large age gap between actress and character after the first ten minutes. Of course, she first found success as a child star in the 1940s but I hope that her rise to stardom was less painful than Daisy's. She should have received a Best Actress nomination for the role.Although he is a little over the top in a few instances, Robert Redford, in one of his first major roles, is nevertheless very good as Daisy's fellow Swan Studios star Wade Lewis. A swashbuckling action hero in the mould of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, he is the apple of every teenage girl's eye and women wish that their husbands were exactly like him. Wade is such an interesting character as he really represents the stark difference between reality and Hollywood-style illusion. He wines and dines Daisy and uses the considerable charm at his disposal to get her to marry him. However, only after he leaves her in a dirty little Arizona motel does she learn the truth: he's gay and their marriage was one of convenience to hide that fact. This was likely inspired by Rock Hudson's marriage to Phyllis Gates in 1955, not least because Gates did not know that he was gay when they got married. Although it was unknown to the general public in the 1960s, his homosexuality was an open secret in Hollywood. There is some suggestion in the film that Wade may be bisexual but I do not believe that this is the case. He is an actor and he was merely playing the role that other people would have him play when he pretended to be attracted to Daisy. I get the feeling that we never get to see the real Wade as his sexuality means that he can never let his guard down as his career would be finished overnight. Unsurprisingly for the time, none of the words that I have used were used in the film but it is notable for depicting a gay man who was comfortable with his sexuality. He hides it for professional rather than personal reasons. When he first meets Daisy, he tells her that his real name is actually Lewis Wade as opposed to Wade Lewis and that is the only thing that the studio changed about him, which can be seen in retrospect as a defiant reference to his sexuality. In spite of his callous behaviour, I certainly do not think that Wade is a bad man but merely one is extremely self-centred.Although Redford has the most interesting role of any man in the film, the male lead is the great Christopher Plummer in an excellent performance as Raymond Swan. He presents himself as a warm, caring man to the outside world but this is merely a veneer. Swan is a ruthless Hollywood mogul who cares nothing for Daisy as a person, only as a money maker for his studio. He is verbally and physically abusive to her after she has her breakdown as his continued convalescence is costing him a great deal of money since she still has to finish her last film. He then tells her that he does not care what happens to her so long as she fulfills the terms of her contract. The only other actors to particularly stand out are Katharine Bard as Melora, who seems to be a very collected woman for most of the film until we find out that she attempted suicide when she found out that Wade was gay, and Roddy McDowall as Swan's assistant Walter Baines.Overall, this is an excellent film which very effectively excoriates the falsity and artificiality of the Dream Factory.

aceellaway2010 Amazes me how this movie receives so little attention. It is far more complex than many similar Hollywood themed films. Some great actors.. Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy MacDowell and the always extraordinary Ruth Gordon( quite heart rending here). Bearing in mind when it was made and who it was made by. It is a great story, obviously based on Judy Garland, but with a richness that is absorbing and never ceases to be entertaining. Natalie was about 27-28 at the time but she looks great and if you didn't know she was 28 , she does not look that much older than the part she is playing of a street wise old before her time kid. ( Someone in another review says she thought she was miscast and it should have been played by Tuesday Weld, and the reviewer endorses this opinion- well, much as I admire ms weld's talents, it is hard to imagine her as Daisy and harder still to see her improving upon Natalie's performance). I would recommend this movie to any film fan, and while not perfect (how many films truly are?) is much better than it's reputation allows.

Robert Gold I enjoyed the movie, even though it has its flaws.One of the problems is that Daisy is really not a sympathetic character. Yes, you feel very sorry for her when Christopher Plummer's character informs her that she is no longer allowed to visit her mother in the asylum. However, she never seems to be grateful for her fame and monetary success. Instead she runs off with Redford's character when she is supposed to sing with a children's choir. She is being groomed for movie stardom the same way Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Kathryn Grayson, Jane Powell, and countless other singing and non singing performers were as well. The viewer doesn't really feel sorry for her since she almost seems to create much of her unhappiness. It is true that teenagers don't always think maturely, but back then with her poverty and fatherless life, one would think Daisy might be more grateful with her chance for success. Natalie's own voice was not good enough to be used for the songs (except for the brief introduction of "You're Gonna Hear From Me"), and it's evident when you listen to the FSM Silver Age Classics double CD recording of the film. I like Jackie Ward very much as a singer, but I don't think she sounded much like Natalie Wood. Carole Richards sang for Cyd Charisse in Brigadoon and Silk Stockings, and she sounded like Cyd. Rita Hayworth's vocal dubber Nan Wynn also sounded like her. If the film contained a more believable sound, I might have been more convinced that Daisy was more realistic. For fun, go to You Tube and look up the videos of lostvocals3. He presents the songs with Natalie's recorded tracks. I have never been a huge Natalie Wood fan. I enjoy her work, and I have seen several of her films. I do think she turned in a good performance, even though she never looked fifteen years old. They could have made the character a bit older but then you would lose out on the parts where they commit her mom due to her being a minor and also Redford's marriage proposal isn't as necessary. However, she does turn in a solid portrayal.I wish Redford's character could have been shown dallying with a handsome hunk, but it was 1965 after all. I enjoyed his performance, but I would have liked to have learned more about his character and his career. Was his career ever in danger due to his drinking and sexual partners? Was he protected as long as his box office stayed strong? I also wish I could have seen some real reaction from Daisy when he reappears long after he leaves her in Arizona. How can he just come back with flowers after dumping her? Well, it's the character all right. He is self absorbed and lacks responsibility.Christopher Plummer's character is ruthless. After kissing Daisy and getting involved with a minor (after he chastises Redford's character on the same behavior), he later says he doesn't care what she does or what happens to after she completes the movie she is in the middle of shooting. That's it. Finish the picture and he can get a new girl to take her place. It's true. When Garland left MGM in 1950, there was Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, and Kathryn Grayson to fill in. I enjoyed Plummer's chilling performance.I too wish Roddy McDowall had more to do, but he was fine with his limited screen time. I liked Ruth Gordon and Kathryn Bard was strong too.I agree with the many reviewers and their comments on the hairstyles and clothing not being really from the 1930s. However, I still think the film does a good job at showing the studio system at that time.

SkyPowers This is exactly the type of film that could never be made today. The artistic freedom on display here is breathtaking and achingly nostalgic. No Hollywood cookie-cutter, it crosses genres faster than multiplex ticket-crasher going from beatnik to "A Star is Born' to "Sunset Blvd." to "All That Jazz" to "I Could Go on Singing" -- and somehow it works! Natalie Wood plays teenager Daisy Clover who sends a 45 vinyl record (it's the '30s) to Swan Studios and soon becomes America's "Little Miss Valentine." And she pulls it off, even though we saw her at the same age 10 years earlier in "Rebel Without a Cause." For aspiring writers and directors -- and for working ones -- I challenge you to find a film where the absence of dialogue is used with more effectiveness, in this case, underrated Natalie Wood saying nothing as her world whirls aorund her with dizzying speed, romanced by Wade Lewis (Robert Redford), mentored by Raymond Swan (Christopher Plummer), befriended by Mrs. Swan (Katherine Bard in a transcendent performance). These were the days when the paparazzi were literally owned by the studios. FYI Angel Beach is Santa Monica beach and you'll recognize the pier and the most filmed merry-go-round in history. I was fascinated how, in 1965, so many taboo subjects got through the ratings board. Worth it just to see one of the greatest screen marriage proposals ever.