Fedora
Release date: 1978-06-29
Votes: 143
Genres: Drama, Mystery
An ambitious Hollywood hustler becomes involved with a reclusive female star, whom he tries to lure out of retirement.
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Perhaps not one of Billy Wilder's most famous of films, but this penultimate effort is certainly one of his more intriguing. The story is told starting from the moment of the death of the actress "Fedora" (Marthe Keller) and so it is basically about the circumstances that led to her being hit by a train (suicide/accident?). William Holden ("Dutch Detweiler") has seen better days as an Hollywood producer, and so determines to try and lure the legendary star from her reclusive existence in her Greek villa; surrounded by a rather acolytic coterie as obsessed with their own interests as with those of the actress; and at points we are not quite sure of the extent to which her housebound existence is entirely voluntary. Hildegard Knef ("The Countess") and José Ferrer ("Dr. Vando") add further to this mystery that seems as much of a swipe at the excesses, and vacuousness (splendidly epitomised by the good looking but shallow Michael York) of Hollywood as it is about the sadly maladjusted woman. Aside from Knef - who is on great form, the acting is a little uninspiring - there are some resemblances to "Sunset Boulevard" but I felt only marginally; this has neither the intense drama, nor the intimacy of that story - and Holden couldn't come anywhere near the performance he had delivered back in 1950. I did enjoy it; despite the print I saw being poor and rather shockingly edited (hacked?) but the denouement is pretty much telegraphed after about half an hour and so it loses out on any great degree of depth. Perhaps the very shallowness and fickleness Tom Tryon was identifying in his book?
Movie Recommendation
The Phantom Carriage1921-01-01An alcoholic, abusive ne'er-do-well is shown the error of his ways through a legend that dooms the last person to die on New Year's Eve before the clock strikes twelve to take the reins of Death's chariot and work tirelessly collecting fresh souls for the next year.More...
Scarecrow1973-04-11Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.More...
A Man for All Seasons1966-12-13A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.More...
The Distinguished Citizen2016-09-08After refusing big and prestigious awards all over the world, Mr. Mantovani, Literature Nobel Prize winner, accepts an invitation to visit his hometown in Argentina, which has been the inspiration for all of his books. It turns out that accepting this invitation is the worst idea of his life. Expect the unexpected when you have used real people as characters in your novels!More...
The Bad and the Beautiful1952-12-25Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer, Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer, James Lee Bartlow; a star, Georgia Lorrison; and a director, Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers.More...
Avanti!1972-12-17A successful businessman goes to Italy to arrange for the return of his tycoon-father's body only to discover dad died with his mistress of long standing.More...
Hold Me Tight2021-09-08At dawn, Clarisse takes a last look at her husband and two sleeping children, hesitates to leave a note, and hits the road. A desperate escape that gradually reveals its layers as Clarisse — who seems to have an extra-sensory connection to the family she has left behind — loses herself in the world.More...
A Bunch of Bastards2023-05-31An isolated villa, a family just like the others. Michele has remarried beautiful Damiana, and lives with her and her daughter Fiore, a seductive teen with whom he has an intricate relationship. In the middle of the night, Sergio, an ex-con, bursts in the villa and abducts the family. his mission: retrieve and bring back to Caligola, the man who hired him, some important documents, now seeminlgy buried somewhere in the greenhouse near the house.More...
Buddy Buddy1981-04-02During a high profile Mafia testimony case, a contract killer checks-in a hotel room near the courthouse while his next door depressed neighbor wants to commit suicide due to marital problems.More...
A Double Life1947-12-25A Shakespearian actor starring as Othello opposite his wife finds the character's jealous rage taking over his mind off-stage.More...
Brutal Tales of Chivalry1965-10-01After World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by keeping black-market and illegal items out of their open-air market. Taking advantage of the mess, Iwasa and his gang take hold of goods from the US military, black-market and controlled items in order to become the most powerful group in Enko area.More...
The Front Page1974-11-01A journalist suffering from burn-out wants to finally say goodbye to his office – but his boss doesn’t like the idea one bit.More...
Betty Blue1986-04-09A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.More...
The Tin Drum1979-05-02Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.More...
Rifkin’s Festival2020-10-01The story of a married American couple who go to the San Sebastian Film Festival. They get caught up in the magic of the festival, the beauty and charm of Spain and the fantasy of movies. She has an affair with a brilliant French movie director, and he falls in love with a beautiful Spanish woman who lives there.More...
Twilight Zone: The Movie1983-06-24An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."More...
21 Bridges2019-10-24An embattled NYPD detective, is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred on who he is pursuing, and who is in pursuit of him.More...
Dumb and Dumber To2014-11-1220 years since their first adventure, Lloyd and Harry go on a road trip to find Harry's newly discovered daughter, who was given up for adoption.More...
Ghost in the Shell1995-11-18In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.More...
The Last Duel2021-10-13King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.More...
Similar Movies
The Cat's Meow
2001-10-08Semi-true story of the Hollywood murder that occurred at a star-studded gathering aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.The Death & Life of J...
2019-03-13A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he once shared with the former, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.Winter Sleep
2014-06-13Aydın is a hotel owner and a retired actor in rural Turkey. As winter emerges he begins navigating the conflicts within the relationships with his wife, sister and existence.The Last Movie Star
2018-03-30An aging screen icon gets lured into accepting an award at a rinky-dink film festival in Nashville, Tenn., sending him on a hilarious fish-out-of-water adventure and an unexpectedly poignant journey into his past.Glamour Dolls
2017-03-07This is the story of two male prostitutes who want to become professional actors and how they struggle to get into show business.Hollywood
2007-12-05Hollywood, CA, a place of refuge for dreamers from all over the world. Enter a small town girl from Kansas who comes to LA to hit it big....a jaded Detective who's looking for a way out....and her disappearance that binds them. Perhaps he would find her, perhaps he would find himself.The Informers
2008-11-05A collection of intersecting short stories set in early 1980s Los Angeles, depicts a week in the lives of an assortment of socially alienated, mainly well-off characters who numb their sense of emptiness with casual sex, violence, and drugs.Where the Day Takes Y...
1992-01-11King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The de facto leader of a group of teenage runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg. When Heather, a beautiful girl from Chicago, starts hanging out with King and his crew, it changes the dynamic of the gang. However, it seems as though nothing will alter their dangerous lifestyle.Sunset Boulevard
1950-08-10A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.Children of Paradise
1945-03-15In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.Bugsy
1991-12-10New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womanizer with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.The Player
1992-05-08A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?The Majestic
2001-12-21Set in 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer gets into a car accident, loses his memory and settles down in a small town where he is mistaken for a long-lost son.Ed Wood
1994-09-28The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.Wind Over the City
1996-11-16In a small, poor town, a young worker falls in love with an actress from a traveling theater troupe and tries to keep her close, dreaming and working hard to rebuild a new town while the troupe increasingly faces decline and the end of its run.Rampage: The Hillside...
2006-01-10Kenneth Bianchi, one of the two serial rapists and killers who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s, is giving police station interviews to psychiatrist Samantha Stone, who has disquieting lifestyle issues of her own. It falls to her to delve into the details of the case to determine the veracity of Bianchi's claims of multiple personality disorder, but in so doing, she is forced to relive the horrific crimes, one of which occurs at her very doorstep.The Blackout
1997-06-11A debauched Hollywood movie actor tries to piece together one wild night in Miami years earlier which remains a drug-induced blur, and soon finds out that some questions about his past are best left unanswered.The Show
2019-06-16Sometimes the drama backstage is better than anything on it... Sometimes the drama backstage threatens to destroy everything on it.Someone Somewhere
2019-11-08Someone Somewhere tells five intertwining stories of hopeful but unsuccessful people in the City of dreams - Los Angeles. What happens when you realize that everything you ever wished for is something you will never have? That maybe you are just not good enough?Frank and Ava
2020-12-07A destitute Frank Sinatra pursues sultry starlet Ava Gardner while campaigning for the lead in 'From Here to Eternity'.