Inside Daisy Clover Reviews

Too much, too soon, for Daisy and for us. Gothic Hollywood-insider account of a Garland-like waif-star suffers from weak characters and minimalist (to say the least) plot. Gavin Lambert's screenplay (from his novel), throws us one big, hammy campfest scene, followed by another that expects us to take it seriously. Wood's teen star comes close to conjuring up Mickey Rooney in his show-in-the-barn phase; Ruth Gordon is abominable as a sort of Gladys Baker (Marilyn Monroe's mother) character; and Christopher Plummer plays his scenes like he's trying to run through a swimming pool. It's only Redford's narcissistic gay star that holds interest. (He won a Golden Globe as "Star of Tommorrow" for the role.) The songs by Andre and Dory Previn are, amazingly, musical ciphers, which is both disappointing and surprising. Most songwriters would give their eyeteeth for an excuse to write rich, full-blooded Golden Era showbiz songs.