The Casting Couch

This "documentary" was produced in the era of the VHS "sell through" title and tells a lot of well worn tales of a Hollywood for which the parade had long passed by. The production is based on a book of the same name by "Selwyn Ford" a pen name for the team of Derek Ford and Alan Selwyn whose work in the exploitation movie world of 1970's UK has some followers. Their volume covers much the same ground as Kenneth Angers "Hollywood Babylon" books. But as the title suggests the focus is on those whose rise to fame was aided by trading sexual favours for parts. Susan George acts as presenter in the links filmed in a Soho preview theatre basically introducing clips culled from Public Domain titles. Some like Hedy Lamarr's nude debut in a film which her husband attempted to suppress, ultimately unsuccessfully, have a well documented provenance. Others like Joan Crawford's rumoured appearance in a stag film remains unsubstantiated by the clip used here where the identity of the young lady involved is masked by the poor quality of the image. Legend has it that Crawfords rival Bette Davis was the only female star not to provide her favours for advancement. However gossip especially the salacious kind about the gods of the silver screen is always saleable. As a long line of publications like Confidential magazine testify. So thanks to the joy of market research the Producers discovered they could make a profit from a minimal investment and this project was born. The subjects of this film were long gone 20 years ago when this was made so they are probably unknown to modern movie fans of today but if you're a nostalgia nut this is worth seeking out. Kenneth Anger has promised a new volume of "Hollywood Babylon" when the subjects have passed away and therefore cannot sue so maybe an update is due.

Standard 1990s documentary, backdrops, stage settings, and George acting like a news speaker/talking head.

No surprises in the content, a lot of talk about old scandals like Fatty Arbuckle, death of Harlow's husband, etc.

Joan Crawford's early piccadilloes in front of a camera take up most of the show; other legends are frequently name-dropped with little of interest to speak of. Ginger Rogers serves as an example: she made an early screen test which brought her to the attention of RKO but it has never been shown in public as far as is known and as a result is of considerable interest to her fans.... so she is highlighted in the publicity with a "1929 screen test." But in the event, it is a segment of one of her very early shorts, the 9 minute clip "Office Blues" which was re-discovered long ago and has been widely available for probably 20 years. Her actual early screen test for Columbia, as a lawyer, remains missing.

This little example serves to point out that the film is nearly all hype, still.... interesting enough for those interested in 1910s-1930s film industry.