Too Much; Too Soon (1958) Review

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(More customer reviews)From about 1940 to 1950 Diana Barrymore made appearances in about a dozen or more films, some headlining, but mostly in bit parts and small roles. While there is small reference to her career as an actress, the focus of the film, "Too Much Too Soon" is more towards Barrymore's personal life.
Diana Barrymore was born in 1921, the daughter of film legend John Barrymore and the writer Blanche Oelrichs. She died in 1960, at age 38.
Although there are a few minutes at the beginning of "Too Much Too Soon" devoted to her teenage years, the film really picks up around the time Diana is 19 and on Broadway. As a result of her Broadway stint, the powers that be in Hollywood decide to make her a series of offers in order to cash in on the Barrymore name.
In January 1942, Diana leaves the stage for Hollywood and in short order, takes on her husband number one (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) without much ado. Things are rosy for a while, but Diana's drinking problem gets in the way and it's all downhill from there. A few years later at age 23, even Diana reportedly considered her acting carrer as being a washout.
So much of her journey was detoured due to alcoholism, poor decisions and failure to reconcile personal weaknesses. Diana's life becomes a nightmarish landscape which ultimately results in her crash landing in a rehab institution.
"Too Much, Too Soon" is a Hollywood classic. It has held up extremely well since its realease over fifty years ago. First released to movie audiences in 1958 this Warner Brother release was directed by Art Napoleon. The screenplay was based on Diana's autobiography written by Diana Barrymore and Gerold Frank. The music score was by Ernest Gold.
The film stars Dorothy Malone and Errol Flynn with Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Ray Danton, Neva Patterson, Murray Hamilton and Martin Milner.
Although he gets second billing, Errol Flynn "...steals the show as John Barrymore," according to the package liner notes attributed to film critic Leonard Maltin. However, it's very strange to see Flynn portray his old pal John Barrymore in a way that parallels Flynn's own life. As compared with the dashing figure he cut in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and other swashbucklers, Flynn looks much older than his 50 years, a victim of his own lifestyle. Flynn died about a year after making this film.
I first saw this film on television as a teenager. However, to see this film in its entirety without commercial interuption was revealing. While there are no special features or even an interactive menu allowing screen access, you can fast forward or backward at ten minutes intervals using the > buttons on your remote.


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