Actress Lauren Bacall poses for a

photograph in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 16, 2005.(AP/file

photo)

BEIJING, Aug. 3(Xinhuanet)-- Film legend Lauren Bacall, a great woman and sophisticated actress, has a few unkind words to say about Tom Cruise, chiding the well-paid Hollywood star for his¨vulgar〃 behaviour and questioning his acting ability.

In an interview in the Aug. 8 issue of Time magazine, now on newsstands, the 80-year-old actress says,"When you talk about a great actor, you're not talking about Tom Cruise."

"It's inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially, but I think it's kind of a sickness," she said.

Tom Cruise with fiancee Katie Holmes for

the British(AFP/file photo)Cruise's red-carpet smooches with Holmes and a series of exuberant and very public expressions of love for his new fiance, led to criticism that the once very private star was seeking cheap publicity for his blockbuster movie"War of the Worlds" which was released in June.

Bacall also had some less than complimentary words for Cruise's acting skills as she bemoaned the liberal way labels like"great" and"legend" were sprinkled over Hollywood stars.

Last fall, Bacall made similar remarks about Cruise's ex-wife Nicole Kidman, her co-star in Birth. While promoting the movie, Bacall became irritated when an interviewer described Kidman as"a legend."

"She's not a legend," Bacall said."She can't be a legend at whatever age she is.... You have to be older." Enditem

(Agencies)