‘Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet’ Movie Review: Doctor Tribute to Actress

Andrew Stevens offers a loving but not biographical tribute to his late mother, the legendary actress Stella Stevens, in his documentary recently screened at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The film convincingly makes the case that its subject is famous for his performances in such pictures. The Poseidon Adventure And Nutty Professorboth as an actress and a social activist, is severely repressed. Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet It aims to correct that impression and, thanks to numerous clips of him in action and effective commentary from the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Vivica A. Fox, it succeeds beautifully.

The filmmaker (who appears often) admits that in the early years, at least, his relationship with his mother was rocky. Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Stevens married at age 16 and had Andrew, her first and only child, six months later. The marriage soon broke up, and when she moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, she illegally took Andrew with her to California. His father and grandfather later showed up and encouraged him, leading to an ugly custody battle and Andrew not having a real relationship with his mother until he was 16.

Stevens was soon signed to 20th Century Fox, where she was developed as a starlet in the mold of Marilyn Monroe and Mamie Van Doorn. Her sex-pot image was further confirmed when she appeared as a Playboy centerfold, although she made a desperate attempt to buy back the nude photos from Hugh Hefner, who refused.

His career took off quickly thanks to such films Lyle Abnerin which he played a musical called “Appasionata Von Climax”, surprisingly. Say one for me with Bing Crosby, for which he received a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

“Some of the funniest parts I’ve played are nymphomaniacs,” Stevens amusingly points out in one of the many interviews shown here. Some of them are shown through archive clips from various talk show appearances, while others are recreated using the same actress (Lindsey Kongsor). While the device is jarring at first, it admittedly breathes life into Stevens’ words. But the filmmaker sometimes gets too carried away with this, as when he unnecessarily uses an actor to play a film critic reading an excerpt from a review.

There are plenty of juicy anecdotes and revelations in the documentary, one of the most valuable being Stevens’ co-star Bobby Darin’s account of standing up too prominently while shooting a kissing scene. She also revealed that she had no desire to be in it with Elvis Presley. Girls! Girls! Girls! And only then was she promised to star opposite Montgomery Clift in his next film. The Clift project never materialized, and she could never bring herself to see Presley.

We learn of her many romances, including an affair with notorious and much-married Hollywood fixer Sidney Korshik and a long relationship with actor Skip Ward, who took advantage of her financially and often Infidelity.

The documentary makes a strong case for Stevens’ talent – especially his great comedic chops, as shown in several clips of his work, including one of his cameos. Bonanza For which he won praise. He kept his opponent Jerry Lewis in Nutty Professor and shined in old-time comedies. How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life opposite Dan Martin, with whom she previously appeared in the Matt Helm spy spoof. Silencer. He received critical acclaim for his brilliant turn in 1970’s Sam Peckinpah. The Ballad of Cable HogAlthough the film was a flop. When she appeared in hit films, such as the hugely popular Disaster Pick The Poseidon Adventureit did not give much traction to his career.

She later became a celebrity for black audiences, thanks to her groundbreaking interracial love scene with Jim Brown in the black exploitation hit. to slaughter And it’s the campy villain’s turn. Cleopatra Junes And gold casino. But what she really wanted to do, as they say, was straighten up. He finally got his chance in 1989 with an indie feature the fieldstarring her son Andrew (he later returned the favor by directing her in a 1991 B-movie). Terrorism within II), and the feminist documentary, gave American Heroinewhich was never released.

In addition to plenty of clips from her characters and television appearances, the documentary features charming home movies, personal photos, and insightful commentary from a variety of personalities, including film historians Leonard Malton and Courtney Joyner. But it’s Tarantino who proves surprisingly spot-on, clearly gushing about Stevens’ performance with the passion of a true fan. (Introduction The Last Starlet At the festival, Andrew admitted that he basically gave the ball to Tarantino and let him run with it.)

While Stevens’ big-screen career eventually fizzled out, he never stopped working, appearing in dozens of direct-to-video films and TV series until his final appearance in anything. . Megaconda. In 2010 “If the idea of ​​being an actress is to work, it worked. It worked a lot,” explains Tarantino.

Her final days were tragic, as she slowly succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease until her death in 2023 at the age of 84. To the chagrin of her son and many of her fans, she was not included in the annual “In Memoriam” segment of the Academy Awards and never received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The latter is a wrinkle that should be corrected — especially if Stella Stevens: The Last Starlet Gets the exposure it deserves.