It is so daring, it is so ambitious, it is so thrilling and weird and pointed and powerful. I never knew where it was going.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Other writers have well summarized the plot, so I will only comment that the writers give us plenty of plot complications but the storyline is refreshingly easy to follow. This is more than just soap opera sex, as the corporate infighting is related well to issues of the founding family, with the corporate developments very well set forth.I'm a car freak, so I find the silly looking cars in the film a good example of the challenge faced by the Olivier character (Loren Hardeman) in designing and building a sensible car that will actually appeal to a great number of buyers. Hey, were this an easy task, GM would never have gone bankrupt a few years ago. And, this storyline reminds us how huge auto companies have become--rather than being run by family such as the Hardemans here or even the Fords (Ford actually hired an airplane guy from Boeing to run the company). My fellow car freaks might also want to view the "Wheels" from the Arthur Hailey novel....but then that film lacks Kathy Beller so why bother????Speaking of whom....I would watch Kathy Beller read the phone book for two hours (she is that gorgeous, love her long hair for starters) I think I am being objective when I say her performance is topflight, and I am amused that some other writers feel the same way (she was also great in an eighth (?) season "Hawaii Five-0" episode, Beller fans). This film also gives us other great performances from Duvall and Down ......but oh you reviewers are soooo right about Olivier. I've always found his work overdone and hammy, but, here, ham is served with every word from him. Fortunately, Olivier does not ruin the pleasure of this film....so enjoy a ripping tale of corporate intrigue with plenty of sex to "complete" the story.....

Vice nicely photographed, with some 360 degree shots in the mix, and acted out by a cast of competent performers, this film is satisfactory viewing overall, despite its excesses of sex and nudity. Also on the down side, the dialogue is often lame, it is often overly sentimental, has poor music choices, and the flashbacks are not fitted in with the rest of the story as best as is possible. However, some aspects of the plot are of mild interest, and the cast is reasonably good, in particular, Kathleen Beller. Still, it is mostly the wonderful work of the director of photography that keeps it worth watching. Even if quite flawed, it is worth the look: not really a great film, but one that is okay for light amusement.

Imagine a 1970's TV mini-series with added scenes of nudity and adult language and a somewhat bigger budget and the result is "The Betsy". Based on one of the gazillion cookie-cutter novels of Harold Robbins, the film looks and sounds just like a mini-series that slipped by the censors. Olivier (in the midst of one of his WORST periods for hammy overacting which also includes "The Boys From Brazil" and "The Jazz Singer") is a mega-rich automobile tycoon who has been ousted from his company to live in sedate luxury, albeit in a wheelchair. He follows the racing career of Jones closely and, after a nasty accident, convinces him to come and work for him in creating the third international car (after the Model T Ford and the Volkswagen.) This one is to be called The Betsy after his great-granddaughter Beller. Unfortunately, his nefarious grandson Duvall runs the company and doesn't want something as bothersome as a car to interfere with his profits from diversification into such products as dishwashers. This sets up a heated rivalry between Jones and Duvall. While this contemporary story plays out, Olivier flashes back to the 1930's when he was at his peak of power and he had his way with various women. Here, he contends with wimpy son Rudd and Rudd's lovely wife Ross who will one day give birth to Duvall. The stories play out alternately until the end when various connections detail how one tale is directly related to the other. The cast is fairly stellar for the most part, though few of the actors make any great impact. Olivier speaks in an inane and unexplained accent and overemotes ridiculously throughout. Fortunately, he's still rather entertaining nonetheless as his character gets several amusing things to say in the film. Jones is appealing and considerably more low-key than Olivier (anyone would be!) His fans will be surprised to see him in this traditional leading man type of role (and sporting an impressively chiseled torso.) Duvall (who, for some reason, appears shorter in this film than at any other point in his career!) nibbles his own share of the scenery as he tries to stay afloat in the melodramatics. Alexander retains her dignity as his neglected wife and Ross looks about as good as she ever did as his mother in the flashback scenes. A welcome dose of glamorous bitchery comes in the form of opportunistic and promiscuous Down. Her various high fashion costumes also bring occasional titters. Beller (the same chipmunk who would eventually land on "Dynasty" for a while in the '80's) is an acquired taste. Her Kewpie face and waist-length hair can annoy, yet her bare-everything swimming pool scene has earned her a few fans. She has one particularly ugly canary yellow dress which assaults the senses as well. Many other familiar actors pop in along the way including Swenson, Robert Guillaume's old sparring partner from "Benson". The title car seems a little goofy (people are supposed to drive around in a compact car that has Betsy emblazoned on the side?) and some of the dramatics seem pretty pointless. Maybe it was the time the film was made. The whole thing is a trashed-up precursor to "Dallas" and "Dynasty". There's even a stilted and tentatively presented homosexual relationship thrown into the mix. The sets, budget, costuming and cast elevate it to some degree and there are many unintentional laughs along the way. It is more than a little disconcerting, however, to see "Wuthering Heights" Heathcliff banging a French maid on his bed while his wife is downstairs carrying out a wedding reception for their son!

This is one of my two favorite Bad Movies I Love, the other one being "Trapped by the Mormons." I watch this after seeing nothing but Italian Neorealism and French tragedies for a couple weeks, to remind myself of what really bad films look like, and how wonderful they can be when life has gotten too serious.Think of this film as being "Dynasty" with a bigger budget. The basic concept is American Excess At Its Finest. If it had been shown during the Communist era in Russia, I'm sure it would have been great propaganda for the evils of capitalism."The Betsy" involves cars instead of oil (as in "Dynasty"). Olivier has the Blake Carrington part, except that John Forsythe is much better in the role. (I read Olivier's bio, and in it he does indeed state that when he got older and had to support one current and two former wives, that doing things for the money was a fine thing.) Leslie Anne Down has the Joan Collins role. Katherine Ross has the Linda Evans role. I don't know whose role Tommy Lee Jones has, but it's the General Stud Muffin Deluxe part, and yes, in his youth, he could pull it off.Anyhow, this is the perfect film to see when you've had a bad week and need pure, stupid escapist fare -- sort of like why we all were addicted to "Dynasty" and "Dallas" for years!