SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

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.

From its animated opening credits to the presence of such icons as George Nader and Julie Adams, this is one of those movies which could only have come out of the 1950s. It's glossy, it's superficial, it's utterly unconvincing in its depiction of behind-the-cameras Hollywood, and yet it has the sort of entertaining, audience-pleasing quality which a number of current movies seem to have lost. Of the four women who come to Hollywood via a talent search, each gets involved in a subplot which is neatly tied up before the final fade-out. Gia Scala gets lost in the shuffle but the other three women come across well, especially Elsa Martinelli who dominates every scene she's in with a slightly over-the-top performance. She and Julie Adams and Marianne Cook all have swimsuit scenes but Gia Scala does not.George Nader also has a swimsuit scene but the other two "hunks" whom Universal was grooming for stardom -- John Gavin and Grant Williams -- do not.Very little is actually shown of the film-making process and what is depicted is almost laughably unconvincing. Hollywood has always had a problem in filming "Hollywood" and this curio from the 1950s is no exception.

Actor Judson Pratt IS credited.Art Direction by Alexander Golitzen and "Haworth". It can be assumed this is Ted Haworth.Music Supervision by Joseph Gershenson; "Rhapsody for Four Girls" composed by Alex NorthAssistant Director: Dick Maybery (one "r")CinemaScope/Technicolor.Credits above are from the film print itself.Also, I have tried MANY times to get this credit added - to no avail: Jose Ferrer appears UNCREDITED as a movie director in this film.

Hollywood never seemed to have the knack of looking at itself with a reasonable eye,preferring to show the public what the public itself perceived as Hollywood. Still,this is an entertaining little epic with attractive stars and reasonably entertaining story.Nice color and pretty costumes with four lovely leading ladies to wear them.The drama is a bit glossed over but still makes a good movie as an example of the fifties type of movie.

This light Hollywood drama begins with a world-wide search for an actress to play the title role in an upcoming epic "The Story of Esther", since Manning Studios is having issues with their temperamental star Rita Holloway (Helene Stanton). Four are finally chosen: an Austrian(Marianne Koch), an Italian (Elsa Martinelli), a Frenchwoman (GiaScala) and an American (Julie Adams), all brunette beauties. There's some fascinating backstage, back-lot sequences, all shot on the Universal-International sets. A couple of shots of Adams in "Esther"wardrobe reveals her breathtaking beauty: Statuesque, jut-jawed with high cheekbones, lustrous dark hair, and stunning eyes. There's also an unexpected denouement at the end. The conventional plot line receives tremendous boost by being photographed in color and Cinemascope (although I haven't seen it in widescreen). The day and night beach scenes are striking and the music by Alex North is interesting. But at the end the four women don't seem complete, 1950s style, unless they get their man.