What Price Hollywood? (1932)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Gene Fowler (writer) and
Rowland Brown (writer) ...

Release Date:

24 June 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The career of a waitress takes off when she meets an amiable drunken Hollywood producer.

Plot Keywords:

Waitress | Hollywood | Producer | Director | Drunkenness

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Constance Bennett	...	Mary Evans
Lowell Sherman	...	Maximillan 'Max' Carey
Neil Hamilton	...	Lonny Borden
Gregory Ratoff	...	Julius Saxe
Brooks Benedict	...	Muto, Diner Who Will Put Mary in Pictures
Louise Beavers	...	Bonita, Mary's Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Reed	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Hollywood Madness (USA) (working title)
Hollywood Merry-Go-Round (USA) (working title)
The Truth About Hollywood (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

First United Methodist Church - 6817 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Pathé Pictures

Trivia:

Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson's first movie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Mary Evans is admiring a magazine photo of Clark Gable]
Mary Evans: Hmmmm. Oh, boy!
[Mary places the magazine photo against her face and pretends Gable is her lover. She speaks in an exaggerated voice]
Mary Evans: Daaahling, how I love you my daaahling, I love you I do.
[she puts the magazine down and returns to her normal voice]
Mary Evans: It's getting late and I must scram.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

Happy Days Are Here Again

Bennett At Her Best

What that lady needed was a good script and a fine director. She had both in "Our Betters." And she had it here. And this one will break your heart.

The on-the-set ambiance is very plausible. Lowell Sherman is excellent as the tippling director who discovers waitress Bennett and becomes a heavier drinker. Gregory Ratoff is superb as the initially brusque but increasingly sympathetic producer Saxe.

Conusance Bennett is likable as the ambitious waitress. She gets us to smile as she starts out as a crummy actress but works hard at it. And she is directed to a superb performance when things for Sherman, her, and her husband Neil Hamilton get tough.