Cyd Charisse that was supposed to humanize her character. Kirk Douglas later wrote in his 1988 autobiography that "this was such an injustice to Vincente Minnelli, who'd done such a wonderful job with the film. And an injustice to the paying public, who could have had the experience of watching a very dramatic, meaningful film. They released it that way, emasculated." The Maserati Kirk Douglas drives is a 3500 GT Spyder. Reception Critical Initially, the film wasn't well-received by critics or the public. Bosley Crowther in his New York Times review of August 18, 1962 wrote: "The whole thing is a lot of glib trade patter, ridiculous and unconvincing snarls and a weird professional clash between the actor and director that is like something out of a Hollywood cartoon." The film's reputation has greatly improved over time. David Thomson called it "underrated," writing in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film that it was "invested with such intense psychological detail that the narrative faults vanish." Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote that it was "one of [Minnelli]'s last great pictures...The costumes, decor, and 'Scope compositions show Minnelli at his most expressive, and the gaudy intensity—as well as the inside detail about the movie business—makes this compulsively watchable." Box office According to MGM records, the film earned $1 million in the U.S. and Canada and $1.5 million elsewhere, resulting in an overall loss of $2,969,000. Variety said it earned over $1 million in rentals in the US and Canada. See also List of American films of 1962 References External links 1962 films 1962 drama films American drama films Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films scored by David Raksin Films about filmmaking Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles Films based on American novels Films set in Rome Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films CinemaScope films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films