Memorable Apology Scenes in the Movies: The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

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The Bad and the Beautiful, directed by Vincente Minnelli, tells the story of a film producer who alienates all around him. It stars Kirk Douglas, bad and beautiful.jpgLana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, and Gloria Grahame.  The Bad and the Beautiful holds the record for most Oscars won (five) by a movie that was not nominated for Best Picture. Kirk Douglas was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, but lost to Gary Cooper in High Noon. 

To honor his father's memory, Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) hires extras to act as mourners at the funeral.  Each extra was promised $11.  Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan), one of the extras, bad mouths the deceased during the funeral and Shields refuses to pay him.  Amiel then shows up at Shield's home.   We think there may be a fight, but Amiel has actually come to apologize:

AMIEL:  It's me.  Big Mouth.

SHIELDS:  You come for a fight or for your eleven bucks?

AMIEL:  The things I said at the funeral were childish and cheap.  I'm sorry. 

It's a simple, direct apology, totally devoid of defensiveness or the need to "explain."  The directness of the apology  completely disarms Shields who was ready for a confrontation.  Instead, Shields invites Amiel in for a drink and the start of a long, troubled relationship. 

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This page contains a single entry by John Kador published on February 22, 2010 9:16 PM.

Tiger Woods' Mea Culpa Statement Compared to Kador's Suggested Apology was the previous entry in this blog.

Apology of the Week: Texas Rangers Manager Ron Washington Apologizes for Cocaine Use is the next entry in this blog.

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