bobbyatgloss

Do NOT watch this movie if your goal is to get a glimpse into the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the life of Mary Miles Minter or anything authentic about the silent days of filmmaking.

Keith Coogan plays a rock video director who purchases the home of William Desmond Taylor. Upon finding old reels of film and playing them on an ancient projector, he becomes subject to visits from the film stars on the reels. Mary Miles Minter, Wallace Reid, Fatty Arbuckle, Mary Pickford, Mabel Normand and Billy Baldwin (supposed to be Charlie Chaplin, but I guess they couldn't use his name) all appear in his house while their films are playing.

NONE of the actors playing these characters even remotely resemble the stars of the 20's. Sean Young as Mary Miles Minter has an incredibly short hairdo and nothing of the MMM demeanor. An early scene shows her as a flapper doing the Charleston on the wing of Wally Reid's plane. Ummm... excuse me, but wasn't Mary Miles Minter the long curly-haired girl-woman who was close to Mary Pickford in her roles and public persona? Obviously there was no character research done at all for the personalities represented in this film.

There is one scene wherein the movie star characters confront Mary Miles Minter's mother (Charlotte Shelby) and hurl accusations that she was the killer of William Desmond Taylor. It is all paint-by-numbers, nothing new is revealed or explored and it seems like a gratuitous insertion to placate viewers who may be curious about MMM and the death of William Desmond Taylor.

Keith Coogan is deplorable. His acting is rote, his unappealing physique is bared too often and his character is bereft of any form of reality. Sean Young is sleepwalking. Diane Ladd provides the only glimpse of talent playing Mabel Normand; much too old for the role, but at least they got the wig right. Steven Railsback as William Desmond Taylor is miscast, affected and given the tiniest amount of screen time. Sally Kirkland plays Keith's agent/sex-toy and does a pretty good job but is wasted with this awful script and premise.

For those fans of gratuitous nudity ... YES there are plenty of shots of Sally Kirkland's implants in addition to breast shots of Sean Young. Apparently Keith Coogan is such an irresistable stud that these attractive woman MUST unclothe for him. Yawn.

Lana Turner fresh off a two year "break" in film-making, returns to the screen with MGM and George Cukor. Her time off (due to suspension from refusing MGM's crappy scripts) resulted in a marriage to multi-millionaire Bob Topping and the resulting (and slightly double-chinned) effects of partying and drinking champagne for the duration.

She's supposed to be a "fresh-faced" model from a small town who makes it big in NYC. It's quite a stretch at her age (30)since the role belongs to a MUCH younger actress, but she IS Lana Turner and still beautiful. But don't expect an explosion of Cukor's magic combined with Lana's beauty; it's not happening.

This movie is watchable if you love Lana or Cukor, but the real draw in this film is Ann Dvorak. She plays a washed-up, alcoholic and depressed super-model who mentors Lana briefly upon her arrival in the Big Apple and she steals EVERY scene she's in. The first 20 minutes of this film are the best and belong to Ann Dvorak all the way.

Ray Milland is sleepwalking, boring and unbelievable as the married man smitten with Lana. Not to mention that someone who looks like Lana would hardly be attracted to him! But his wheelchair-bound, suffering and loving wife is played beautifully, deeply and touchingly by Margaret Phillips in one of her only 3 film roles. She is so good that she actually inspires Lana to "act" in the scene they share (gasp!). Barry Sullivan can always be relied upon to play the creepy guy and Lana gets off some good n' nasty verbal shots at him.

There's definitely some glamour moments, but they are far too rare. As George Cukor had noted during filming, costumer Helen Rose was "bereft of talent" and Lana wears some of the geekiest looking and unflattering outfits. But every now and then a mink coat, the right angle and lighting and some stylish camera work highlight the magic of director Cukor and star Turner. But poor Sidney Guilaroff must have been on valium; watching the tight curls on the the side of Lana's head multiply, shrink or stare at you like a group of peonies is part of the show.

The original ending was met so badly at pre-release screenings that a new ending was filmed later on command of the studio. Could it really have been worse than the one released?!?!!

This movie's got a good enough plot that it's been made at least 4 times, so you know that part's covered. It's a good story that holds up and moves at a good pace. The cast of stars are caught at interesting times in their varying careers. Dietrich is riding the Destry saloon girl role in a carbon copy of the original that belabors a huge oversized Gibson-girl wig and multiple extraordinary outfits befitting Marlene "the star". She brings her distinctive charm to the role and has a tongue-in-cheek ball with the sexually loaded script, but her role has nothing extra-special or magical. John Wayne is full of swagger and charm and working his way up the ladder towards the title of big stud cowboy on campus. Randolph Scott is turning the corner of his career into Westerns also; abandoning those light comedy or milquestoast leading roles and showing a glimpse of the hardnose tough guy & questionably moral cowboy that he came to be in later career moves. This is the penultimate film for Richard Barthelmess and his role is a morose and bitter one that fits his personal situation of a star who had had his day in the sun and was ready to step-down. Kudos, big laughs and a robust round of applause to the best delivery, lines and most entertaining scenes which are all handled by Marlene's maid - Idabelle - played beautifully and naturally by Marietta Canty. She WILL have you laughing out loud! This film is chock full of sexual innuendo, lust-filled motivation and snide comments; all subtly and enjoyably delivered.