The Betsy (1978)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Touches You

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

When another reviewer here wrote 'There's only one reason to watch this film. It's not the quality of the acting or the strength - or otherwise - of the plot. Rather, it's a study in excess, and my favourite excess in this film would have to come under L for lust. Kathleen Beller is extremely photogenic and I absolutely love the swimming pool scene !' I felt a whole lot better as this is the ONLY reason to watch this awful film. Kathleen Beller is one of those incredibly beautiful women with an amazing screen presence, who never really made it in films, she is a good actress but doing dross like this probably didn't help much. Oliver is just awful, how he can be so highly rated when he cannot even carry off an American accent is beyond me, it has been said he hams it up, but if you ask me he is just a bad actor who just happened to be in some great films directed by great directors and written by great script writers. This film just shows him up for the ham actor he always was. Just why Robert Duval ( who really is an excellent actor ) did this film is a mystery. Tommy Lee Jones just doesn't fit the role and didn't really become much of an actor until he was much older. This film is one of those that is so bad you watch it because you cannot quite believe how bad it is, but the Katleeen Beller pool scene will make any normal guys pulse race I can assure you of that!

This trashy adaptation of the Harold Robbins novel looks at the life and times of an automobile tycoon and his dysfunctional family. It plays like a feature film version of such 1970s shows as "Dallas" and "Dynasty," apparently meant to be so bad that it's good. The only problem is that it's so bad, it's bad. The pacing is too lethargic and the story is not particularly interesting. There's no guilty pleasure to be had here. It wastes a good cast, but one has to wonder what the actors were thinking in signing up for this potboiler. It is especially embarrassing to see Olivier hamming it up. The plot is ludicrous, the dialog is laughably bad, and the direction is pedestrian.

This is not the kind of movie you can recommend, but if you are in the mood for trash with a lot of glitter, this is the one for you. There are not many good adaptations from Harold Robbins novels, and this is not one of them. The all-star cast helps immensely but they might have brought a bit of fun to the proceedings, so we could think this wasn't torture for them to make.

Serious cineasts, GO AWAY! Watch this film for the pure pleasure of getting down and dirty in a potboiler. Lust! Greed! Passion! Murder! Seduction! Even MAFIA!And see Laurence Olivier ham it up like crazy with the goofiest accent you'll ever hear!Oh, yeah. I forgot ... Hate! Fear! Wealth! Decadence!