Going Hollywood (1933)

Sylvia is the French teacher at Briarcroft's School for Girls, but she wants to find romance. When she hears Bill on the radio, she decides to leave and thank him. But he is on his way to ... See full summary »

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writer:

Donald Ogden Stewart (screen play)

Stars:

Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marion Davies	...	Sylvia Bruce
Bing Crosby	...	Bill Williams
Fifi D'Orsay	...	Lili Yvonne
Stuart Erwin	...	Ernest P. Baker
Ned Sparks	...	Conroy
Patsy Kelly	...	Jill
Bobby Watson	...	Thompson
Three Radio Rogues
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henry Armetta	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

Sylvia is the French teacher at Briarcroft's School for Girls, but she wants to find romance. When she hears Bill on the radio, she decides to leave and thank him. But he is on his way to Hollywood with Lili to make a movie. When Sylvia gets to Hollywood, she finds that seeing Bill again is almost impossible, but she gets a job in the chorus. Then when Lili quits the picture, Sylvia is tapped to play her character. But the part she wants is with Bill, a part that Lili seems to have.

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Plot Keywords:

french | drunkenness | schoolteacher | romantic rivalry | manhattan new york city | 

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Genres:

Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 December 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paid to Laugh

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$914,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$962,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marion Davies requested Bing Crosby as her co-star, but William Randolph Hearst, the financial backer of Cosmopolitan Productions, refused because he did not like Crosby's singing style. Composer Arthur Freed, however, convinced Hearst that Crosby would be good for Davies' sagging career. Davies also requested Fifi D'Orsay be cast as "Lili", and Hearst agreed despite his wish to cast Lili Damita in that role.

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Quotes

Bill 'Billy' Williams: [singing] Out where they say, "Let us be gay," I'm goin' Hollywood. I'll ballyhoo greetings to you, I'm goin' Hollywood. Hey, while you sleepyheads are in that hay, I'll be dancing - I'm gonna be dancing with a sun-kissed baby. And I'm on my way - here's my beret, I'm going Hollywood!

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Connections

Featured in Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Beautiful Girl"
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
(First performed in the movie Stage Mother (1933))
Sung by Bing Crosby at a recording session

User Reviews

Bizarre, but worthwhile

Strange plot casts Marion Davies as, essentially, a stalker. After hearing Bing Crosby on the radio, she throws over her old >life to follow him to Los Angeles. Davies is appealing, as >usual, and there are some nice comic bits from Patsy Kelly. The >highlight, however, is Crosby singing his early classic >"Temptation".