Hollywood Babylon: Films on the dark side of the Golden Age
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2022
- #classichollywood #classicmovies #classicmoviestars
Let's take a cinema trip away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to the seedy side of town. The land of Hollywood Babylon the places where the extras, wannabes and has-beens dwell. Here's a look at some films, some well known and some more obscure, that show some aspect of the lives of people who dwell on the fringes. The people reaching, hoping and striving for fame but who keep finding it just out or reach and. . . those who touched the bright lights of fame only to have it burn out.
These movies about Hollywood's golden age don't shy away from the dark side with their depiction of the Hollywood dream. It's Hollywood Babylon
Films:
Stardust (1940) Starring Linda Darnell and John Payne
What Price Hollywood (1933) Starring Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman
Sunset Boulevard (1950) Starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden
A Star is Born (1937) Starring Janet Gaynor and Frederic March
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
L.A. Confidential (1997) Starring Guy Pierce and Russell Crowe
The Star (1952) Starring Bette Davis and Sterling Hayden
The Big Knife (1955): Starring Jack Palance and Ida Lupino
They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969) Starring Jane Fonda and Michael Sarrazin
The Day of the Locusts (1975) Starring Karen Black and William Atherton
If you want more, here's my video detailing the making of LA Confidential:
• Video
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If you're interested in the films and books mentioned in this video I've listed where you can find them in the links below.
What Price, Hollywood? (1933) DVD: amzn.to/3x13xDT
Stardust (1940) DVD: amzn.to/3zmavWy
They Shoot Horses Don't They? (1969) DVD: amzn.to/3ma0a8I
They Day of the Locusts (1975) DVD: amzn.to/3m7h1J4
The Big Knife (1955) DVD: amzn.to/398HXoR
The Star (1952) DVD: amzn.to/3NPwNUL
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While this is no means an exhaustive list of films, these are the films that have resonated with me on the subject. Please leave your favorites in the comments. I’m a fan of the subject of “Hollywood on Hollywood” so I will definitely check out the ones I’ve never seen.
Would love to see a video from you on Mulholland Drive. The most recent "classic" on this topic, and a worthy entry imho. 🙏🎬
@@MoreMovies4u I tried to include it in this one but it needs its own video same with Hail Cesar.
@@CinemaCities1978 yay! 😊🙏🎬
love you'r vds
@@CinemaCities1978 Please Do Part 2 with more movies ❤️👍🏼
As Marilyn Monroe wrote: "Hollywood is a place where they'll pay a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul." 👄😥💔
Her words were profound
Andy Devine: "I never won an Oscar, but have loaned money to those who have."
Devine, one of the great character actors of the studio era! And I believe every word of it! 😂
Bill Cosby was cruel to Andy Devine on national TV. Humiliated him for no good reason. I couldn't abide him after that and never bought him as "America's Dad!"
@Coogan I do remember reading that quote in his obit in a newspaper. I have searched for it online but haven't found it yet.
Was he Friar Tuck in the Disney Robin Hood? Name seems familiar...
Andy was my dad's best friend
“I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.”
I love you Sunset Boulevard❤
Sunset Boulevard is phenomenal. Norma Desmond is a true icon.
you mean Gloria Swanson don’t you Norma Desmond was just the character and Sunset Boulevard. She was wonderful as was the rest of the cast
@@maureenmcdonough7018 both Norma and Gloria are icons! William Holden was brilliant in this movie. I love "Sunset Boulevard".
LA Confidential is one of my favorite movies. Thank you, this was very interesting,
"Mulholland Drive" is for me the most haunting film about the dark side of Hollywood. Though it's not from the golden age period, I love it's fantastic and surreal labyrinthine plot full of riddles and tragic ends... Naomi Watts is amazing in that movie. It's David Lynch's masterpiece.
Yes, a fantastic movie.
Yes, well anyway...This isn't about Mr Lynch.
I love the film. Somewhat with a misterious atmosphere though.
It's ONE of his masterpieces
Filmed almost entirely in metaphor so it's a difficult film for most to understand, but I agree, fantastic film, Lynch is a bona fide genius.
As someone who worked in the Industry for many, many years I learned that the ones who make it and keep it are the ones who have realistic and business like attitudes toward their work along with their talent and looks. Also, there are many wonderful careers in Hollywood that don't involve being in front of the camera. Like many, I started out to be an actress, got a taste of the seamier side and realized that I didn't really have the maturity, drive or talent to be "a star." I moved to the other side of the camera and had a mostly wonderful career with mostly wonderful people in production and media relations. A friend of mine moved into studio legal and did equally well. Hollywood is filled with talented, positive people doing many, many jobs in many facets of the Industry. We worked our backsides off and loved it.
The Casting Couch makes all the difference in the world.
It is nice to read something positive about your experience in Hollywood and the studio. Thanks .
Thanks for your witness. Shame about the Denialist/Woke despotism Hollywood is now under.
@@davidlafleche1142 Apparently, the only Hollywood star of the golden era who wasn't a product of it was Bette Davis.
I get the impression a lot of Hollywood stars were driven by some desperate need to be wanted, due to earlier lifetime traumas. Barbara Stanwyck is a perfect example.
Unfortunately, those that have had success in the industry know all too well that they’ve basically sold their souls for fame and oftentimes it’s unintentional and many don’t realize it until it’s too late.
After seeing "They shoot horses, don't they?", I did some research on the marathon dance phenomenon of the thirties, to see how realistic that movie was. My mind was blown. It's very accurate. The interesting thing is, the dance marathon craze began in the 20s, during prosperous times, when everyone loved a good stunt. It continued into the Great Depression era as a way to get a free meal. They were gradually banned on a county by county, city by city basis until they became unpopular. Fascinating phenomenon, well played.
Why were they banned?
The novel is even more dystopian....
@@pysq8 dancing is a ritual! It is a sin. It goes against God’s laws and Commandments
@@maggiemae7539 hahahahahaha.....
@@maggiemae7539 🤣
Vincent Minnelli's "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) fits the bill nicely. Also an early episode of The Twilight Zone from 1959 "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" starring Ida Lupino is worth watching. And may I add, you do excellent work.
Ida Lupino was a pioneering woman director in the film industry. Some of her best work was in directing mystery & fantasies. She was the only woman to ever direct an episode of "The Twilight Zone".💓
Anne Francis also loved Rod Serling and starred in the series.
I remember that episode from twilight zone -the main character was obsessed with her youthful days as an early era actress
Ida Lupino was underrated as an actor. She was a terrific actor and director. A very beautiful lady. RIP 🩷💥
I always felt the horrific Black Dhalia murder was related to some dark Hollywood secret.
Same.
"No one ever leaves a star" - Norma Desmond, "Sunset Boulevard".
Hello I just discovered your channel.
Please allow me to introduce myself.
Hi I'm Lola and I'm Linda Darnell's cousin.her second cousin was my late grandfather..and I must say I was surprised to see star dust as the opener.and thank you for telling her story as tactfully and respectfully as you did..I didn't come around till 83 but I grew up with my great grandfather and grandpa telling me about her and they said she was just as beautiful inside as she was on the outside.and she actually got less roles because she refused to couch hop so to speak..which I personally respect her for..but when I was younger well meaning folks would tell my mom your kids photogenic and adorable you should get her in tv or movies and my mom would say hell no I want her to have a child hood and that industry is for no one..my grandpa was a bit more succinct about his disdain for Hollywood he used Linda's story as a cautionary tale to me and the other grandchildren he was like never go out there without a good education and a plan b and a exit plan it's not for everyone and look what it did to your cousin.. please understand my family isn't against movies just the horrible way they're treated and misused.. people forget actors aren't better than anyone and are folks the good Lord loves same as you or I and they have families that love them and are somebody's loved one...I'm in my 40s now and I wish Linda could've seen a happy old age I think it would've been nice to have grown up with her..but we know how that ended..but thank you from myself and my mom and the rest of Linda's family in Texas..😊..ps if your interested ma'am my cousin and I another one we favor miss Linda a bit my cousin moreso than me her late mother when she was younger was her twin and she did local modeling and school shows in the 70 s and was scouted out and grandpa and great grandfather said no way..but she always thought it was great when people said she looked just like her.
My cousin is studying to be a drug and alcohol counselor and I'm a visual artist and pro autism advocate ( I have Asperger's and art in the North Texas University ( UNT) autism center but I bare my dad's name Campbell..feel free to check out the art if you wish..not a plug or self anything..but only theatre I ever did was HS and community..but I laugh a bit when I'm told I resemble her..I just smile and say thank you 😊..have a wonderful day
I'm so glad that you felt I did justice to the bit of Linda's story I told. Everything I've read about her always points out that she was one of the nicest and most down to earth stars on the Fox lot. I admit I will always find it crazy that she was making movies where she co starred as Ty Power's wife when she was 15!!!!
"The studio is God, the studio is King, and everyone serves the studio machine." Whew! What a line.
I remember how my perception of Hollywood changed once I started watching "Mysteries & Scandals" on the E! network in the late 90's.
I always appreciate how varied and unique the films are that you choose to highlight. I've only seen Sunset Boulevard, ASIB, WEHTBJ, and The Star, though.
Looks like I have a lot more to catch up on. Another wonderful analysis. 👌👌👌
I used to watch Mysteries and Scandals too. I remember that Black Dahlia episode , the Lupe Velez episode and especially poor Gail Russell. Once you peek behind the curtain of the dream factories you can't unsee how seedy it all is. I watched The Star for the first time when I was working on this video and I actually really loved it. Of all the films I watched it definitely had the most happy ending.
If Hollywood was that messed up back then imagine how messed up it is now 🙃
Yeah, but the studio system is gone, making a big difference.
@@Gertyutz bruh have you seen the news lately? 😂
Not only interesting content but very well narrated too. Excellent job
Glad you enjoyed it!
Incredible pacing and description style. 🙌
Ahhh this reminds me of the old 90s E! Show Mysteries and scandals. I loved that show! I remember looking at old Hollywood sooooo differently before seeing that series. All so fascinating
I used to watch that show too! I specifically remember the episodes on Gail Russell and Carole Landis.
AJ Benza? Whatever happened to him?
This old Hollywood buff really enjoyed this. Excellent job. Somewhere in my movie memorabilia collection, I have one of those old 1950s movie magazines and in it there is an article with the large headline " Has Marilyn Had It Because Of Old Age?"
It's from June 1962. She had just turned 36. She would die 2 months later.
Thanks for watching! You reminded me of an article I read somewhere (in one of the fan magazines) asking pretty much the same question about Greer Garson in the late 1940s. She was in her mid 40s. Oh Hollywood 😒
As a 13 year old at the time of Marilyn's death, I cried for about a whole day! Still miss her, but at least we still have her on film!
Hollywood's become a cesspool of professional victims who use their fanbases to air all their private, personal woes for attn & sympathy.
Everyday yet another poor wealthy & entitled entertainer is announcing their latest woe and the worst of the bunch is Selena whose made a career out of compulsively complaining so her fans (who made her rich & famous) will stroke her ego 24/7 like her latest bemoaning that fame nearly destroyed her life.
They're mostly self centered and depressing and I think a lot of them sound like the unhappiest, unhealthiest people on the planet.
Although set in the NY theater world, All About Eve is also a top-notch story about stardom and the price of fame.
I'm a big fan of All About Eve. Films with backstage Broadway drama definitely deserve their own video.
It's a tour of force for two women. Bette Davis and Ann Baxter. 'Fasten your safety belts. It's going to be a bumpy night!'...and it is.
All About Eve… what a movie!!😊
For me, it's Bette Davis at her very best.
Also the film 'Anna,' from the '80s, starring Sally Kirkland.
Linda Darnell’s own story was also a rather tragic one.
This was a terrific precis of H on H. 2006's "Hollywoodland" is another to consider since it concerned the sad life and career of Superman George Reeves. I appreciated how it portrayed Reeves as a capable but limited actor who quickly faded once his meal ticket was cancelled. As Superman, Reeves often seemed more like an impatient schoolmaster (with super powers). And I liked how "Hollywoodland" dramatized various perspectives on the possible causes of his death. Not a great movie, but a fairly good one.
Being only a movie lover, I always had a feeling that stars, who managed to keep some level of fame for a long time, have a business talent too. They manage not only to promote themselves, to befriend influential people, but also to do some other stuff in movie or theatrical industry, to successfully inves in smth or open some business. So they are not constantly just hanging out.
Also stars must be quite strong psychologically, cause there are always many envious people, haters, trolls.
Underneath all the glamour and success lurks so much tragedy, but I kind of love learning about the dark side. A number of movies featured here I haven't seen (or heard of) but need to check out. Thanks for another excellent video. 😻
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm also really intrigued by the Hollywood's seedy underbelly. If you get around to seeing some of the films mentioned in the video let me know what you thought them.
Now and again youtube throws you a delicious bone to get your teeth into and I know I’m going to have many hours of enjoyment viewing your vlogs.
I adore the golden age of Hollywood movies and hearing all the backstories. ❤
I'm so glad you found this channel because those are the stories I love to tell!!!
I spent a large chunk of my life sitting on sound stages, writing movie reviews and editing movie books. But all these years I’ve been confusing “Day of the Locusts” with “The Day of the Jackal.”
The Day of the Jackal is definitely a much more thrilling film. Locusts is a bit of a chaotic slow burn.
If you're looking for a copy of DOTL check the "horror" section. It's often there.
You remind me of something I noticed in the background of TV shows. There are a whole army of extras in the background of a TV show. Co-workers in an office, customers at a store, a bank, in a restaurant, etc. But 1 day realized that I rarely see them again, or they may be a minor character in a show & they fade out quickly. There are literally armies of extras/bit characters you never see again 😢!!
I think about that all the time. How every extra, supporting player and person in the background has a dream of fame and stardom that most of them will never reach. It is sad.
I know you couldn't include all films about the Hollywood studio system, but Vincente Minnelli’s “The Bad and the Beautiful” surely would have rated a mention. To me it’s the very best film about Tinseltown.
Linda Darnell was in one of my favorite movies, 'A Letter to three Wives'... I read how she died, either a hero, she saved a child, or she hid behind a couch. Sad.
That was such a good movie!
Wrote Marilyn Monroe: "Hollywood is a place where they give a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."😢
To me, Hollywood is just like Vegas, or anyplace people go chasing a dream. There will always be 1,000 to 1 odds against you, it's just a matter of circumstances, stubbornness, and the right connections.
Yeah ! When I was a kid I thought that it would be Heaven to be a stat at the great MGM studios and to be at a studio that had more stars that there were in Heaven . All of fans believed that Hollywood was a magic and wonderful place to live . We read it in all of those movie magazines . We were very naive young people .
Same. I watched so many old movies as a kid I had a really romanticized view of the studio era. Then I learned how the system really functioned.
This is exactly the kind of video I look forward to discovering on UA-cam.
It didn’t take much for me to immediately subscribe to your channel.
29 seconds, I couldn’t even make it to half a minute, and I knew, I was gonna love this channel as long as Bogey loved Bacall,
and that lasted up to his last martini. Make mine with double olives.
Wow! Now that's a compliment and a half! I'm glad you found your way to my neck of the youtube woods.
Delighted to find your channel today! Watching your marvelous work, while creating a humongous Hollywood project, in my cluttered little apartment. You probably didn't anticipate being a reminder of how very lucky I have been. (I drew cartoons you probably loved when you were little.). Memories of Mickey Rooney's acceptance speech where he said nobody wanted him when he was 40. There's always the hope of major show business success ......and your reminder that most people don't get any.
That Mickey Rooney quote is a real gut punch. He was a massive star, a talented and versatile performer and then he couldn't even catch a cold in Hollywood. You've got to be made of some really solid stuff to survive that.
Also, thank you for the hours and hours of joy an happiness your work has brought me and my kids!
@@CinemaCities1978 It was very difficult, and absolutely worth it. 💪🧜♀ 🐭 🥀 🧞♂ (Came back to see more of your work today.)
Don't forget David Lynch's Mulholland Drive from 2001!
This has been one of my favourites of your essays to watch. Some films I love and some Ive never watched which Ive written down as my next must sees. All of your videos are so wonderfully immersive. Thank you again!
I'm so glad yo enjoyed it! If you get the chance, please let me know which of the films you end up watching and how you felt about them.
OMG! LOL! 0:44 "By without any real trouble I mean, the character reaches stardom without having to deal with Poverty; Exploitation; or Abuse." WOW! Real talk. So, it's a fantasy! Thank you for the dose of reality. MUCH NEEDED! Because people still head to Hollywood like fools.
The Day of the Locust was a novel written by Nathaniel West (Weinstein) in the early 30s. He knew all about the industry as he was a part time screenwriter back then. His other famous novel is Miss Lonelyhearts that was also made into a movie (twice). The films you mentioned are all pretty recent. However, I do recall seeing a silent film where a small town girl goes to Hollywood and tries to make it there but finds it's all too much for her.
Was that "Ella Cinders" with Colleen Moore?
@@barbarak2836 I saw it decades ago. But it was very sweet and somewhat romantic. Thanks
It’s an amazing book. Not just because one of the main characters is called Homer Simpson.
It's Nathanael.
I named my son after him. I was reading DOTL at the time. I thought it was a great name & his mother agreed.
@@seaoftranquility7228 The Simpson's lampshaded that in the episode when a tv character had the same name. "Uh-oh spaghetti-o's".
This is very well done. Great research and your narration is dripping with the right amount of sarcasm. Including "The Big Knife" was excellent, had to see that only one time for it to sear into my brain, further viewings cemented it further. Thank you for this.
Thanks for watching! "The Big Knife" is such a brutal and nasty film. It definitely stays with you. The performances are top-notch, with a special mention going to Wendell Corey, in what I think is his best performance
I'm so glad that I came across your channel. Your video essays are very well written, researched and edited, in my opinion. Thank you so much for such videos. :)
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing! I’m glad you’re enjoying them.
Excellent documentaries on this channel. Great writing, the voice over is great, very professional.
Hard to believe as insightful & as well portrayed there’s only 759 thumbs in 9 months. Truly Hollywood Hard Knocks.
Thank You &
Many Blessings 🙏🇺🇸
youtube sometimes takes it time giving a video an audience. . .
I was surprised The Barefoot Contessa didn't make it on to the list
Interesting. And Academy Award winner Gig Young shot his wife and himself to death in 1978. Someone probably commented on that in the thread already, but that was a creepy story also.
Wonderful, all of it: text, editing, narration. Bravo. You ask for favourites- I’ve read through the comments to see if anyone mentioned “The Goddess”
All best wishes
I made this video a couple of years of ago before I'd seen The Goddess. I wish I'd included it because Kim Stanley's performance absolutely blew my mind. The only other performance that has hit me that hard was Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence.
Agreed. Stunning, both of them
So brilliantly done! So glad I found this channel ❤
Thank you so much!
My dad worked in Film/TV. He took me to Paramount one off day to visit this amazing set that was built for Day of the Locust.
Very cool!
Mulholland Drive is another good example. It's devastatingly heart breaking.
This was great! Thank you so much 😊 very interesting and well put together.
This is so awesome. Firstly, loved the edit, very nice job. Everything from the Confidential covers to Errol Flynn tucking into his studio supper. Amazing research and insight, an area well worth further exploration imo. Cant wait for part 2! 😀🙏 Also smiling at each Ty cameo 😁 They Shoot Horses Don't They? wowee! What a movie. Excellent coverage here. This video should have a million views by Christmas! That's just how many times i will watch it! 😆🙏❤🎬
thank you so much!!!! at one point during the editing I was seriously thinking "what is this even about!" 😂 I'm glad it all came out coherent in the end 😂. There may be a part 2, originally it was 27 minutes but I cut out the stuff on Eddie Mannix and Hail, Cesar. So there's second video in that material.
I remember the very first time I watched They Shoot Horses, by then end I was emotionally drained and devastated. I really do love that movie but it's one I can only watch every year or so. For this video, I watched parts of it way too many times.
Also: Ty Power 4EVA ❤😂
@@CinemaCities1978 You can feel the time and love poured in. Yeah, i hear you. That is a crushing film. Jane is SO good. Funnily enough, watching this made me want to see it again! 😄
"White Jazz" was my introduction to James Ellroy and I quickly backtracked to his previous novels. He captures the sleaze and ambience of LA in the Fifties brilliantly. His writing style is evocative and though sometimes his experiments with the "note taking" approach don't quite hit the mark, there's something about his books that keep me hooked.
So, I was interested to see how "L.A. Confidential" would work as a movie. It looked great and the actors were well cast, though I'd always picked Dudley Smith as being younger and much harder than James Cromwell made him seem, but Cromwell captured the deadly reptilian nature of the man so that evened things out. But the movie was really only a summary of the book, and so much was missing. Ellroy's plots are so intricate and dense, that they can really only be captured in book form, though I do agree that a series would be better suited to come to grips with them.
I saw "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "Day of the Locusts" when they first screened and thought both were great films. West's book/novella is excellent. "Horses" was riveting and I'd love to see it again, but it seems to have completely disappeared; a restored BluRay would be nice.
For a subject on how Hollywood chews people up and spits them out, a look at FRANCES FARMER would make an excellent choice.
A promising actress and star, her independent and sometimes belligerent attitude made her an immediate focus of nasty reprisals from studio heads, which saw an escalating series of disasters that ended in tragedy.
Your videos are so well done- excellent writing, narration and that background music. Thanks.
Thank you very much!
Thanks great information and old scenes,keep up the standard,from Australia.
Thank you. Loved that. Nice little surprise
Very nice trip down Hollywood's melancholy memories lane.
Don't forget, book folks, to also enjoy Kenny Anger's twin masterpieces Hollywood Babylon 1 & 2. Hooray! 😎
Yes! The books that introduced me to the dark side of the Hollywood dream.
Absolutely loved and greatly enjoyed this video. 👏👏👏
Constance Bennett was sensational! She’s forgotten. Too bad. In the 1930s she was a huge star.
I really like Constance Bennetts mix of savvy and sophistication.
Bennett is excellent in Two-Faced Woman. So good in fact that Garbo had her part trimmed in editing.
Just watched today and very much enjoyed that. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
That "Now like the song says 'Hooray for Hollywood'" is simply heartbreaking!!!!!
It isn't a movie that haunts me on this front but the sad life of Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith. She's in Lemora, was in a band with Joan Jette and had potential, but seems emblematic of young people who get lost in the streets of LA and die from drugs.
Just discovered your channel recently. LOVE IT!!!
thank you! I'm glad that youtube led you this way.
"The Oscar" starring Stephen Boyd jumps to mind, I'm sure I'll think of a few others the minute after I sign off.
Great Video!!! As a kid I remember being in a bookstore and reading through” Hollywood Babylon”. Couldn’t believe some of the things going in behind the scenes.
I love the movies you mentioned I haven’t sen any of them except Whatever happened to Baby Jane- saw parts of that as a kid- Bette Davis freaked me out in that role🤣
I am going to track down all
of the other movies you mentioned and watch them. I have known of many of these movies for years but never watched them. That is going to change.
Thanks again for a great video
I thought "Baby Jane" was absolutely terrifying. Ugh.
Very well done, thank you! Glad I found your channel, I think we're going to get along just fine.
Thank you and thanks for watching!
Actually, a hint to the dehumanisation of the Hollywood film industry back in the golden era was shown early in this video with all of a studio’s stars sat in rows eating a meal. Saw this footage before and it looked like most of them were there under sufferance, especially Clark Gable. Here you go general public - the zoo!
Xlnt video, well told and narrated. Background music fit the story. Please do more along this line.
I am very impressed by your documentary. Great music and movie footage and your voice is charming.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
I always heard, "Treat everybody you meet in Hollywood as potential axe murderer and you'll be OK!"
Thanks for a fascinating look at the dark side of Tinseltown. You have a new subscriber 👍
thank you so much for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for the video. "The Day of the Locust" is one of my favorite movies.
Glad to hear you a fellow fan of Locusts!
The book is excellent too!
Very nice recap on this place I call home. Thank you.
You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
"Inside Daisy Clover" with Natalie Wood & Robert Redford, was a flawed but close to home movie about Hollywood's darkside.
"...8,000,000 stories in the Cinema City"... and these have been several, masterfully intertwined. THANK YOU.
Surprised they left out "All About Eve."
I love that film, but it's about the New York theater world and not Hollywood. If I ever do a video on films that deal with backstage drama Eve is definitely included.
thank you for including my fav Linda Darnell. Such an underrated actress. Love her
You're very welcome!
Thanks for sharing !❤
Constance Bennett was terrific in every way! ❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
I fell in love with "L.A. Confidential" the first time I saw it on HBO.
Great film and book!
@@marknewton6984 You got that right good sir.
A wonderful show. Thanks for your efforts.
thanks for watching!
Love the way you tell the stories.
Glad you like them!
Have I mentioned L.A. CONFIDENTIAL is my favorite film? :) More recently, meanwhile, there are such Lynchian Hollywood take downs as MULHOLLAND DRIVE (also in my top 10) and INLAND EMPIRE. Other "Hollywood is a cesspool" flms include BARTON FINK and the goofily underrated Kevin Bacon vehicle THE BIG PICTURE. There are a handful of films that specifically deal with HUAAC's devastation of Hollywood, including THE FRONT and GUILTY BY SUSPICION (I have yet to see TRUMBO). HOLLYWOOD STORY is an odd little noir from 1951, starring the always reliable Richard Conte, in which a producer wants to make a movie about the murder of a director in 1929 (clearly William Desmond Taylor, but moved up 7 years). There is a subplot in THE COTTON CLUB in which Richard Gere's Dixie Dwyer gets "discovered" and becomes a star in "MOB BOSS," despite not being able to act. Attention, paging George Raft. THE BIG KNIFE, which is very good, was once paired at NOIR CITY with THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which is kinda sorta about Hollywood. I believe Kirk Douglas' character is based on Val Lewton.
LA CONFIDENTIAL is one of my favorite films. (Ellroy is one of my favorite authors, I've read WHITE JAZZ five times) I actually made a LA CONFIDENTIAL, but I took it down because it was one of the first videos I made on my channel and it was cringe. I plan on remaking it now that I've gotten better at UA-cam.
I am also familiar with "Hollywood Story," and I agree that it's a bit odd, but Conte is doing his best with what he's got. I saw "Trumbo," and while I thought "Guilty by Suspicion" did a better job, Bryan Cranston's performance was great.
Kirk Douglas' character in "The Bad and the Beautiful" was based on Lewton, Selznick, and Orson Welles.
@@CinemaCities1978 I knew about Lewton, but not Selznick and Welles. Thank you - you really know your stuff.
I have cooled on Ellroy, mostly because of how atrocious THE BLACK DAHLIA movie was. This is the curse of knowing far too much history, in this case about Elizabeth Short (I put white flowers on her Medford, MA memorial every year). That said, I loved MY DARK PLACES.
I just started making UA-cam videos this year, so I empathize with feeling cringe. Not sure how many I will make after my next (introductory) video, mostly because I think more like an essayist than a videographer. Also, my intermingled personal/historical style does not photograph easily, though I quite like the video I posted early this morning. You actually get to hear my voice this time - for better or worse. ;)
Looking forward to your revised take on L.A. CONFIDENTIAL at some point.
@@CinemaCities1978 Speaking of cringe, I just wrote a comment to my latest UA-cam video trashing said video. Well, not really the video so much as the making of the video. Taught myself a valuable lesson. :)
While watching this I couldn't help but think about Mulholland Drive. While the film is not about the studio system it is about dreams and nightmares and the downward spiral of a wannabe starlet played by Naomi Watts.
Trumbo is well worth the time
As I listen to video, can't help but be reminded of a game I played called LA Noir on XBOX that showed the seedy underbelly of Hollywood, great video 👍👍👍
That's I great game! I played it on playstation VR and it's a wild ride.
This was absolutely brilliant
I applaud you, this bio was first rate and right on the money!
Thank you ✌️❤️
You're so welcome!
One could also compile an incredibly long list of the 'successful' stars who were crippled by mental illness, depression, alcoholism, drugs, and plain old self sabotage. Let's all sing 'Want To Buy Some Illusions' and follow it up with 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams'.
what a golden gem your channel and you have a great voice to complement! keep up this amazing work!
Thank you! and thanks for watching!
You missed "Inside Daisy Clover" with Natalie Wood and Robert Redford.
StarDust is very good. I can't believe I've never heard of it before so thank you!
The Big Knife has one of my favorite casts. Jack Palance, Everett Sloane, and Ida Lupino. Wow!
Well done video.
Only have seen one of the several films you mentioned. I want to see them all now.
Very well done! Thank you!
Thank you so much for watching!
Congrats to the narrator this was so very good and so interesting thanks so much☺️
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?' Very compelling and cleverly done. Darkly funny, too. Like a sincere John Waters film.
Who has not thanked the gods for gifting them unacceptable flaws?💐
Please do a story on pre-code Hollywood
First rate work and presentation...all so sad, and so true!
Fascinating subject. This video made me read Day of the Locust and They Shoot Horses and then watch the movies.
Both of those books are fantastic.
Great choices. Really enjoyed
thank you for watching!
Great video
I recently discovered your channel...bravo from a long time classic film fan! 'Kiss Me Deadly' is a one-time removed commentary on fame and money as it's set in LA and Hammer's business intersects with the rich and famous, including the sports car set (he drives a Jag XK120 or 140) and a key part of the plot hinges on the murder of his Italian mechanic.
This reminds me of the podcast You Must Remember This, by Karina Longworth, and I mean that as a compliment.
Thank you! I enjoy that podcast so the comparison is a lovely compliment.
@@CinemaCities1978 I was hoping so.