Malice in Wonderland

First of all Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon was mostly lies and he said she said. Secondly hedda worked for louella not the other way around as one of the reviews said. I love almost anything with Elizabeth Taylor. All in all a good movie.

Your enjoyment of this will depend on an interest in Golden Age Hollywood, if you have it than this is an pleasant diversion with a high voltage movie star and an accomplished actress. If you don't than there isn't much here to hold your attention. The real pair of women were far more venal than they are portrayed here but for a TV movie this isn't bad. Liz is fine although her decision to approximate Parson's droning speaking voice while accurate doesn't enhance her performance, it's just distracting. The top performance comes unsurprisingly from Jane Alexander. She gives nuance and meaning to Hopper that surely wasn't in the script. Most of the supporting cast is bland and forgettable, it is surprising to see Tim Robbins pop up in the small role of Joseph Cotton. The production design and in particular the wardrobe is very high quality and adds a nice sheen to the proceedings.

Back in the 40's and 50's one of the most powerful people in the world was Hedda Hopper. She had a big chunk of America champing at the bit to find out the latest dirt of celebrities. Louella Parsons worked for her for several years, and (after being taken advantage of one-too-many times) decided to branch out on her own.

This bio TV movie plays out some of the story of these Gossip Columnist giants. Each one wanted to get the BIG Scoop on the latest Hollywood scandal. These women worked very hard, working all of their contacts, to get the story.

Their mutual dislike for one another is well-portrayed. This movie shows the rush for fame quite well. I enjoyed the performance of Liz Taylor (as Hedda Hopper); she was perfect to play this larger-than-Life character. And, I liked Jane Alexander's role (as I enjoy most of her portrayals). There are many familiar faces in the cast (also a nice thing).

It's a TV movie based on a book about the rivalry between Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons as Hollywood gossip queens between 1928 and 1944. Jane Alexander does a great job as Hedda and even moves and sounds like her. Elizabeth Taylor, on the other hand, seems a tad too glam for the dowdy Louella. Story tells of Louella's entrenchment in Hollywood as a reporter for William Randolph Hearst, who was partnered with MGM thru his Cosmopolitan Picture production company. The deal not only divided the costs of Marion Davies' films for MGM, but pretty much guaranteed massive publicity for MGM films thru Hearst's media empire of newspapers, magazines, and radio stations. But Louella got too powerful so Louis B, Mayer (according to this movie) arranged the struggling Hedda to write gossip for a local non-Hearst newspaper.

The two women battle for scoops, praise their favorites, and viciously attack anyone who has crossed them. The film goes into the battle over Citizen Kane ad studio attempts to kill it.. Much name dropping and all the usual and familiar gossip about John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, Marion Davies etc.

I first came across these two harpies when I read Kenneth Anger's superb "Hollywood Babylon". His waspish descriptions of this brace of bitches is both hysterically witty and makes you eager to learn more about them. I bought "Hedda and Louella" by George Eells from The Strand book shop in New York but found it rather plodding - I didn't wade too far into the tome. Apparently, this film is based on that book and I was hoping it would be a condensed precis that would make me re-engage with the book, but it didn't. My word, is it dull! The script is dull, the direction - is there any? - is dull and the performance of most of the actors with the exception of Dame Liz and Richard Dysart (who disappointingly plays Louis B. Mayer as a human being instead of the baby eating ogre Kenny Anger makes him out to be). Oh for the film version of "Hollywood Babylon"!