Hollywood Story (1951)

Hollywood Story (1951)

„Hollywood Story“ is a 1951 film noir directed by William Castle, based on a story and the screenplay by Frederick Kohner and Frederick Brady.

Talent agent Mitch Davis brings his old friend, New York theatrical producer Larry O’Brien, to the National Artists Studios, an abandoned movie studio, where Larry plans to make his first Hollywood film. As soon as the elderly guard, John Miller, shows them the office of famed silent film director Franklin Ferrara, Larry becomes intrigued with the idea of making a movie about Ferrara’s still-unsolved murder.

Against Mitch’s advice, the producer throws himself into researching the murder, and tracks down and hires Ferrara’s old writer, Vincent St. Clair. Soon, all of Hollywood is buzzing about the story, and the old studio is once again bustling with activity and the presence of old-time silent film stars Larry has cast.

Ferrara had three visitors on the night he was killed: stars Amanda Rousseau and Roland Paul, and Ferrara’s personal secretary, Charles Rodale, who was rumored to be Ferrara’s brother, and who disappeared following the murder.

Police Lt. Bud Lennox offers Larry help if trouble occurs. Larry’s financial backer, Sam Collyer, bursts in and demands that Larry cancel the film, storms out, but later apologizes and pledges his support. As Larry works late that night, someone shoots at him through the office window.

Larry is knocked out by an unseen assailant, and when he comes to, he finds Rodale’s dead body next to him clutching a note reading „GR1466.“ When Larry visits Paul the next day to question him about Rodale, Lennox is already there to arrest Paul, who escapes. Soon after, Sally reveals that Paul is her father, and that his marriage to her mother, which was kept a secret for publicity reasons, ended when Amanda fell in love with Ferrara.

Larry returns to his office, where he discovers that „GR1466“ was Sam’s old phone number, then finds the .32 caliber bullet that killed Ferrara. Knowing that Sam has a gun of the same caliber, he confronts his partner, who admits that Ferrara was killed with his gun. Sam then describes how he was framed for the murder: Someone steals Sam’s gun, and when Ferrara phones him in a panic, Sam runs to his office, only to find him dead and Sam’s love letters to Amanda on his desk.

Sam tells Larry that he kept quiet about the murder because he thought Amanda had killed the director, and then gives Larry the family medallion which Ferrara had been clutching when he died. Larry brings the medallion to a priest and calls Lennox, Sally and St. Clair to his office. There, Larry reveals that Ferrara’s brother Phillip murdered Ferrara and then killed Rodeo so he would not be identified. When he explains that the figure on Ferrara’s medallion is St. Clair, the family’s patron saint, St. Clair draws a gun. Larry deduces that St. Clair, who could not write, killed his brother out of jealousy, and pinned the murder on Sam, who had insulted him. St. Clair shoots Lennox and leads Larry on a chase through the studio, which culminates when Larry shoots him. St. Clair dies in the same spot as his brother did twenty-one years earlier. Months later, Larry’s movie is a hit, as is his wedding to Sally.

A 1951 American Black & White mystery film directed by William Castle, produced by Leonard Goldstein, written by Frederick Brady and Frederick Kohner, cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie, starring Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan, Henry Hull, Fred Clark and Jim Backus. Joel McCrea appears as Himself, uncredited. Silent stars Francis X. Bushman, Betty Blythe, Helen Gibson, and William Farnum are featured.

The film was an attempt by Universal Pictures to take advantage of the success of Paramount’s „Sunset Boulevard“ (1950). The story is fiction but loosely based on the real-life 1922 murder of film director William Desmond Taylor, which ruined the film careers of Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Minter. The case has never been solved. While this film reaches a fictional conclusion, it closely follows the circumstances of the real-life event.

Another good one from William Castle. This was the last film Castle made under his three-year contract with Universal. He shot many scenes at the old Charlie Chaplin studio to ensure it had the feel of old Hollywood. The movie led to Castle being offered a contract to return to Columbia.

The film has great locations and great atmosphere. There are views of buildings up and down Hollywood Blvd., including Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the Roosevelt Hotel, Charlie Chaplin Studios on La Brea Ave., the Sunset Strip, Universal Studios, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Nicely constructed murder mystery, with some decent red herrings, Castle knows how to evoke old Hollywood without getting trapped in antiques. Art direction is top notch, the acting is fine, and the story is really entertaining. It’s a fine example of the unassuming picture that does everything so right that it becomes a minor masterpiece.

Cast:

• Richard Conte – Larry O’Brien
• Julie Adams – Sally Rousseau / Amanda Rousseau
• Richard Egan – Police Lt. Bud Lennox
• Henry Hull – Vincent St. Clair
• Fred Clark – Sam Collyer
• Jim Backus – Mitch Davis
• Houseley Stevenson – John Miller
• Paul Cavanagh – Roland Paul
• Katherine Meskill – Mary
• Louis Lettieri – Jimmy Davis
• Francis X. Bushman – Francis X. Bushman
• Betty Blythe – Betty Blythe
• William Farnum – William Farnum
• Helen Gibson – Helen Gibson
• Joel McCrea – Joel McCrea
• John Crawford – 1st Detective
• William Fawcett – Actor as Beggar in Commissary
• Robert Sherman – Actor in Full Dress
• Mike Lally – Airport Arrivee
• William Marks – Assistant Director
• James J. Casino – Attendant
• Allen O’Locklin – Attendant
• William H. O’Brien – Café Waiter
• Jack Reynolds – Cameraman
• Peter Brocco – Charles Rodale
• Barry Norton – Christmas Parade Spectator
• Chet Brandenburg – Crew Member
• Charles A. Gibbs – Detective
• Charles Sullivan – Detective
• Douglas Evans – Director
• Elmo Lincoln – Elmo Lincoln
• June Whitley Taylor – Juliet Davis
• Gloria Petroff – Kathy
• Harris Brown – Mortuary Employee
• Bing Conley – Parade Spectator
• Herschel Graham – Parade Spectator
• Edwin Tuttle – Parade Spectator
• Robert R. Stephenson – Police Sergeant
• Frank O’Connor – Policeman
• Jean Mills – Pretty Blonde in Café
• Eddie Kane – Producer
• Forbes Murray – Producer
• Charles Sherlock – Projectionist
• Russell Dennis – Publicity Man
• Olan Soule – Radio Commentator
• Robert Haines – Restaurant Patron
• Cosmo Sardo – Restaurant Patron
• Richard Neill – Richard Neill
• William Vedder – San Juan Capistrano Sexton
• Tony Barr – Seedy Hotel Night Clerk
• Rico Alaniz – Spanish Actor
• Joseph Mell – Sylvester
• Joseph Bryan – Waiter
• Jimmy Gray – Waiter
• Victor Romito – Waiter
• Marjorie Eaton – Weird-Looking Woman
• William Castle – William Castle
• Lon Chaney – The Phantom (edited from „Phantom of the Opera“) (archive footage)
• Mary Philbin – Christine Daaé (edited from „Phantom of the Opera“) (archive footage)

„Mord in Hollywood“ (Hollywood Story) ist ein Film Noir aus dem Jahr 1951 unter der Regie von William Castle, basierend auf einer Geschichte und dem Drehbuch von Frederick Kohner und Frederick Brady.

Der Talentagent Mitch Davis bringt seinen alten Freund, den New Yorker Theaterproduzenten Larry O'Brien, zu den National Artists Studios, einem verlassenen Filmstudio, wo Larry seinen ersten Hollywood-Film drehen will. Als der ältere Wachmann John Miller ihnen das Büro des berühmten Stummfilmregisseurs Franklin Ferrara zeigt, ist Larry sofort von der Idee fasziniert, einen Film über Ferraras immer noch ungeklärten Mord zu drehen.