Too Much, Too Soon *** (1958, Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr) – Classic Movie Review 10,364

The 1958 biopic Too Much, Too Soon tells the tragic true story of actress Diana Barrymore (played by Dorothy Malone), who travels to Hollywood to look after her boozing actor dad John Barrymore (played by Errol Flynn) and then takes to the bottle herself. 

Co-writer/ director Art Napoleon’s 1958 biopic Too Much, Too Soon tells the tragic true story of actress Diana Barrymore (played by Dorothy Malone), taken from her memoirs, who travels to Hollywood to look after her hard boozing actor dad John Barrymore (played by Errol Flynn) and then ironically takes to the bottle herself.

Try though they might, her three husbands Vincent Bryant, John Howard and Robert Wilcox (played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Ray Danton, and Edward Kemmer) can’t do much to help her.

The always underrated Malone is excellent as Diana Barrymore in this well-played, extremely sad drama, with poignant, ideal casting of the drinking Flynn as John, whose life and career took a parallel journey (and they were buddies too).

Inevitably the ‘and then, and then’ script rambles over the two hours plus running time. But the performances and direction keep it focused, and it avoids seeming too voyeuristic or opportunist.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) won the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Male. However, his first film was the 1949 House of Strangers. He became a huge TV star in the series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. His films include Harlow, A Fever in the Blood, Wait Until Dark and Airport 1975.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr’s character of Vincent Bryant was Bramwell Fletcher in real life, fictionalised for legal reasons. Real names were used for John Howard, who had been arrested on white slavery charges, and Robert Wilcox, who was dead.

Diana Barrymore had previously been fictionalised in the popular movie The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with the character played by Lana Turner.

The cast are Dorothy Malone as Diana Barrymore, Errol Flynn as John Barrymore, Efrem Zimbalist Jr as Vincent Bryant, Martin Milner as Lincoln Forrester, Neva Patterson as Diana’s mother Michael Strange, Ray Danton as tennis player John Howard, Ed Kemmer as Robert Wilcox, Robert Ellenstein as Gerold Frank, and Shirley Mitchell as Mrs Magda Snow.

American poet, playwright and theatre actress Blanche Oelrichs (October 1, 1890 – November 5, 1950) first used the male pen name Michael Strange when publishing her poetry to distance her society reputation from its erotic content, but it became her name.

Ray Danton, who plays the tennis professional John Howard, received tennis coaching from American amateur world No. 1 tennis champion Tony Trabert.

The 1957 autobiography Too Much, Too Soon is written by by Diana Barrymore and Gerold Frank. Warner Bros took an option on the film rights in December 1956 even before the book had been published for between $100,000 and $150,000.

Errol Flynn, who was a close friend of John Barrymore’s, Flynn flew back to Hollywood to make the movie and was arrested after only a few days for public drunkenness, stealing an off-duty policeman’s badge and trying to kiss a young woman. But he denied he was drunk and was released from jail on bail after an hour.

Flynn said he wanted to: ‘Delve into Jack Barrymore’s inner self, not to imitate him – that was too easy. I wanted to show a man with a heart, a man eaten up inside – as I knew him to be in those final days when I was close to him – a man full of regrets and all ready to die, but with one last thing to live for, the love of his daughter, Diana, his desire to get back her love.’

Too Much, Too Soon is directed by Art Napoleon, runs 121 minutes, is made and released by Warner Bros Pictures, is written by Art Napoleon and Jo Napoleon, based on the autobiography by Diana Barrymore and Gerold Frank, shot by Nicholas Musuraca and Carl E Guthrie, produced by Henry Blanke, and scored by Ernest Gold.

Diana died in 1960, two years after the release of the film on April 17, 1958.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,364

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