What Price Hollywood?
What Price Hollywood? is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett with Lowell Sherman. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Jane Murfin, and Ben Markson, is based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns and Louis Stevens.
| What Price Hollywood? | |
|---|---|
 Theater window card | |
| Directed by | George Cukor |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman David O. Selznick |
| By | Gene Fowler Rowland Brown |
| Screenplay by | Jane Murfin Ben Markson Allen Rivkin (uncredited) |
| Story by | Adela Rogers St. Johns Louis Stevens (uncredited) |
| Starring | Constance Bennett Lowell Sherman |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
| Edited by | Del Andrews Jack Kitchin |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO-Pathé Distributing Corp. |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $416,000[1] |
| Box office | $571,000[1] |
Plot
Brown Derby waitress Mary Evans (Constance Bennett) is an aspiring actress who has an opportunity to meet film director Maximillan Carey (Lowell Sherman) when she serves him one night. He is very drunk but is charmed by the young girl, and he invites her to a premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Adhering to his policy of living life with a sense of humor, he picks her up in a jalopy rather than a limousine and then gives the parking valet the car as a tip.
Max takes Mary home with him after the event, but the next morning remembers nothing about the previous night. She reminds him he promised her a screen test and expresses concern about his excessive drinking and flippant attitude, but he tells her not to worry.
Mary's first screen test reveals she has far more ambition than talent, and she begs for another chance. After extensive rehearsals, she shoots the scene again, and producer Julius Saxe (Gregory Ratoff) is pleased with the result and signs her to a contract. Just as quickly as Mary achieves stardom, Max finds his career on the decline, and he avoids a romantic relationship with her for fear she will be caught up in his downward spiral.
Mary meets polo player Lonny Borden (Neil Hamilton). He genuinely loves her and, although he is jealous of the demands made on her by her career, he convinces her to marry him, against Julius and Max's better judgment. Lonny becomes increasingly annoyed by the dedication of his movie star wife to her work, and finally walks out on her. After their divorce is finalized, Mary discovers she is pregnant.
Mary wins the Academy Award for Best Actress, but her moment of glory is disrupted when she's called upon to post bail for Max after he's arrested for drunk driving. She takes him to her home, where he wallows in self-pity despite her encouragement. Later, alone in Mary's dressing room, he stares at his dissolute image in the mirror and compares it to a photograph of himself in earlier days. Finding a gun in a drawer, he kills himself with a bullet to the chest.
Mary becomes the center of gossip focusing on Max's suicide. Hoping to heal her emotional wounds, she flees to Paris with her son and reunites with Lonny, who begs her to forgive him and give their marriage another chance.
Cast
- Constance Bennett as Mary Evans
- Lowell Sherman as Maximilian 'Max' Carey
- Neil Hamilton as Lonny Borden
- Gregory Ratoff as Julius Saxe
- Brooks Benedict as Muto, Diner Who Will Put Mary In Pictures
- Louise Beavers as Bonita, Mary's Maid
- Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as James, Max's Butler
- Torben Meyer as Nick, Headwaiter at Brown Derby
Production
The film's original title was The Truth About Hollywood. Adela Rogers St. Johns loosely based her plot on the experiences of actress Colleen Moore and her husband, alcoholic producer John McCormick (1893-1961), and the life and death of director Tom Forman, who committed suicide following a nervous breakdown.[2]
Producer David O. Selznick wanted to cast Clara Bow as the female lead,[3] but executives at RKO's New York offices were hesitant to invest in a Hollywood story because similar projects had been unsuccessful in the past. By the time Selznick convinced them the picture had potential, Bow was committed to another film.[4]
Constance Bennett considered What Price Hollywood? her best film.[5][6]
Four years after the film was released, Selznick approached Cukor and asked him to direct the 1937 version of A Star Is Born starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. The plot was so similar to What Price Hollywood? that Cukor declined. RKO executives considered filing a plagiarism suit against Selznick International Pictures because of the obvious similarities in the story, but eventually opted not to take any legal action.[7][8] Cukor went on to direct the 1954 musical version of A Star Is Born, starring Judy Garland and James Mason.
Reception
In a review published on December 31, 1931, Variety called the film "a fan magazine-ish interpretation of Hollywood plus a couple of twists" and added "George Cukor tells it interestingly. Story...has its exaggerations, but they can sneak under the line as theatrical license."[9]
In the 21st century, TVGuide.com rates it three out of four stars and comments: "Though the conclusion is a pat romantic ending, this is a strong drama that shows the real Hollywood behind the glamorous facades."[2]
According to RKO records, the film lost $50,000.[1]
Awards and honors
Adela Rogers St. Johns and Jane Murfin were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story but lost to Frances Marion for The Champ.
References
- Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p39
- "What Price Hollywood?". TVGuide.com.
- Smyth, J. E. (June 1, 2006). "Hollywood 'Takes One More Look': Early Histories of Silent Hollywood and the Fallen Star Biography, 1932–1937". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 26 (2): 179–201. doi:10.1080/01439680600691701. ISSN 0143-9685.
- Behlmer, Rudy, Memo from David O. Selznick. New York: The Viking Press 1972
- Bennett, Joan; Kibbee, Lois (1970). The Bennett Playbill. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 226. ISBN 9780030818400.
- Kellow, Brian. The Bennetts: An Acting Family. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 169. ISBN 9780813123295.
- McGilligan, Patrick, George Cukor: A Double Life (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991) ISBN 0-312-05419-X
- Levy, Emanuel, George Cukor: Master of Elegance (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1994) ISBN 0-688-11246-3
- "What Price Hollywood?". Variety. January 1, 1932. Retrieved March 4, 2020.