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The business world of the late Eisenhower era has rarely been more chicly drawn than in The Best of Everything, a juicy soap opera of the "working girl" school. Hope Lange lands a secretarial job at a Manhattan publishing house, eventually rising to an editorial position--but not before witnessing the back-biting, fanny-pinching snakepit that is the corporate workplace circa 1959. The spunky trio of Lange, Diane Baker, and Suzy Parker have romantic misadventures aplenty; Baker falls in with smarmy young Robert Evans (he had the tan even back then) and aspiring actress Parker lands in the clutches of heartbreaker stage director Louis Jourdan. The film's males are truly pigs in gray flannel suits. Beefcake slab Stephen Boyd offers solace to Lange, while Martha Hyer is around to provide yet another example of a woman suffering for the sake of a married man. Despite all the young female talent (redhead Parker was one of the most beautiful women of the fifties, a top model with a brief movie career), nobody holds serve when Joan Crawford bulls her way on screen. As a senior magazine editor (and a presumably cautionary example of the bitter career woman), Crawford eats the other actors like hors d'oeuvres. Jean Negulesco's staid direction never notices how trashy and plodding the material is, stressing instead the designer prettiness of CinemaScope: the interiors are a parade of cool colors and postwar furniture, the location shots of Manhattan streets are as gorgeous and nostalgic as an ancient engraving. --Robert Horton

Description
Rona Jaffe's best-selling novel comes to life in this witty tale about the personal and professional lives of the men and women in a New York publishing firm. Heading a huge cast. JOAN CRAWFORD "gives an excellently etched performance" (Hollywood Reporter) as a tough-talking editor who can't seem to win at love. There are a few more interesting stories around the office than there are in the manuscripts at Fabian Publishers. Among the principal players: a new secretary (HOPE LANG) who quickly gets her boss's (CRAWFORD) job and romances a handsome editor (STEPHEN BOYD); a Colorado secretary (DIANE BARKER) who falls for the wrong man (ROBERT EVANS); and a would be actress (SUZY PARKER) who's jilted by a two-timing director (LUIS JOURDAN). Slick and glossy, The Best Of Everything is a panorama of office politics before women's liberation.

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26 Reviews 5 star:  (18) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (26 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews   2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: TRULY The Best of Everything!, Jan 25 2004 By  Susan Cole (Alabaster, AL United States) - See all my reviews    This review is from: Best of Everything, the (VHS Tape) This is one of the best soap-opera-type films in history. It brings us back to a time when women went on job interviews wearing little hats and white gloves--before the Equal Rights Ammendment and sexual harrassment lawsuits in the workplace. The cast is phenomenal: Joan Crawford as the bitter career executive who missed out on a personal life; Stephen Boyd as the jaded, cynical, alcoholic editor geared to the "younger generation"; Robert Evans (in one of his few serious screen roles) as the sociopathic, rich playboy--and many others, all perfectly cast. This is a fabulous movie about corporate 1950s New York City and one you'll want to watch over and over. Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Subservient? Joan Crawford????, May 12 2003 By  "dryheatdude" (Palm Springs, CA USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Best of Everything, the (VHS Tape) Okay, yes - women, both in and out of the workplace, were treated quite differently in 1959. But I hardly think anyone could categorize Amanda Farrow (Joan's character) as subservient. In fact, Amanda is pretty much a direct clone of the large-and-in-charge Joan who told the Pepsico board members "Don't f--k with me, fellas!" right around the time this film was shot. This is a great period piece to watch today. I love the IBM blue that is omnipresent in the offices, the primitive electric typewriters, the office gossip, the "girls" with curlers in their hair, the look of NYC at that time - and let's not even start on the women's clothes (one word - gloves)!! If only to honor the very recent passing of the ultra-glamorous Suzy Parker, this film needs to be released on DVD without delay! Oh, just one other little thing - another reviewer claims that Shirley Jones has a small part in this picture. Sorry, but tain't so, kids. I can only think the reviewer has mistaken Martha Hyer, who plays Mrs. Lamont, for Ms. Jones (they do have a lot in common physically). Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   I had forgotten..., Aug 21 2005 By A Customer This review is from: The Best of Everything (DVD) This is a great exercise in nostalgia - fictional & otherwise. I faintly remember seeing Hope Lange on TV when I was a young - very young - adolescent, but forgotten how well, lovely she looked until I viewed this DVD recently. The story isn't earthshaking but it's likable. Critics can praise the look of the movie; as they should. The sets, the colors, the costumes all should be trotted out as examples of things to remember. But when Rona Jaffee brings up how audiences gasped at the unveiling of Suzy Parker's gorgeous red hair, just remember (as I've done) that there is more than one beauty in this film. Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers:  › See all 26 customer reviews...		Most recent customer reviews See Vanity Fair Magazine, March, 2004 All of the reviews submitted here really explore the main points of this excellent film. For a behind-the-scenes article on the making of the film, plus lots of juicy tidbits of... Read more Published on Feb 13 2004 The Best of Everything Most of you hit the nail on the head with your reviews. It is a wonderful movie about "those" days back then. Read more Published on Oct 23 2003 When Girls Go Bad, Men Go Right After Them What a film! What a story! What a soundtrack! "Best" is a must have for any fan of glossy melodrama's. Read more Published on May 2 2003 When Girls Go Bad, Men Go Right After Them What a film! What a story! What a soundtrack! Released 2 years after 1957's blockbuster "Peyton Place", "Best" takes the same scenerio and puts it in a New... Read more Published on May 2 2003 Interesting Movie "The Best of Everything" is a very interesting movie that captured my interest when I saw it on tv a couple of years ago. Read more Published on Mar 31 2003 by M. Waters When Breasts were Everything . . . Okay, don't over analyze this film. It's not worth it. This is a great movie. I mean if you don't get that women are the subservient sex in the first five minutes, then you're... Read more Published on Mar 13 2003 by Kelly K. Coyle Reality, 1950's style. And a good story too. I saw this film back in 1959 when it first came out and I also read Rona Jaffe's book on which it was based. It was about the world of New York secretaries. Read more Published on Feb 2 2003 by Linda Linguvic A movie that only could of been made in the 50's All men are dogs, all women are idiots. That is the basic message of the movie and the little plot is about working women in New York (the sets to show this were pretty awful)... Read more Published on Jan 2 2003 by Beth Lush Life Trash, but I Love It! Yes, "The Best of Everything" can be seen as a trash version of "How to Marry a Millionaire" or "Three Coins in the Fountain": Three career girls all take an apartment... Read more Published on April 26 2002 by Linda McDonnell Excuse me if I'm too rough on this flick. I caught this movie again on television last night and felt compelled to comment about it while it was still fresh on my mind. Read more Published on April 21 2002 by Michael Ghee Search Customer Reviews