It Happened in Hollywood (1937)

Director:

Harry Lachman

Writers:

Ethel Hill (screen play) &
Harvey Fergusson (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 September 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Hollywood

Cast

Richard Dix	...	Tim Bart
Fay Wray	...	Gloria Gay
Victor Kilian	...	Slim
Franklin Pangborn	...	Mr. Forsythe
Charles Arnt	...	Jed Reed
Granville Bates	...	Sam Bennett
William B. Davidson	...	Al Howard
Arthur Loft	...	Pete
Edgar Dearing	...	Joe Stevens
James Donlan	...	Shorty
Bill Burrud	...	Billy - The Kid (as Billy Burrud)
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Miss Gordon
Harold Goodwin	...	Buck
Charles Brinley	...	Pappy
Zeni Vatori	...	Joe Spogoli
Wade Boteler	...	Patrolman
Helen Brown	...	Nurse
Mary Jane Temple	...	Nurse
Robert Chisholm	...	Englishman
Zita Moulton	...	Englishwoman
Tom Chatterton	...	Bank Manager
Byron Foulger	...	Chet
Sam McDaniel	...	Black Porter
Miki Morita	...	Japanese Gardener
Arthur Wanzer	...	Addison
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Shakespearean Actor
Scotty Beckett	...	Boy
Delmar Watson	...	Boy
Tommy Bupp	...	Boy
Fred Walburn	...	Boy
Wally Albright	...	Boy
Sammy McKim	...	Boy
Richard Terry	...	Bank Robber / Driver
George Chesebro	...	Bank Robber
Eddie Laughton	...	Bank Robber
Don Brodie	...	Don - Sound Man Don
Eddie Fetherston	...	Eddie - Assistant Director
Beatrice Curtis	...	Eleanor - Script Girl
Edward Hearn	...	Cop
Lucille Lund	...	American Girl
Harry Strang	...	Joe Pratt
John Tyrrell	...	Burt
Cyril Ring	...	Rudy - Cameraman
Frank Ellis	...	Gorman
Georgie Billings	...	Tough Boy
Billy Wolfstone	...	Fat Boy
Charles Williams	...	Hymie - Photographer
Alexander Palasthy	...	Russian
Francis Sayles	...	Waiter
C.L. Sherwood	...	Bum
Bruce Sidney	...	Bank Manager
Philip Waldron	...	Clark Gable
Doc Dearborn	...	William Powell
Bob O'Keefe	...	James Cagney
Howard Bruce	...	Edward Arnold
Joan Beauchamp	...	Myrna Loy
Margaret Wormser	...	Loretta Young
John Bohn	...	John Barrymore
Arthur McLaglen	...	Victor McLaglen
James May	...	W.C. Fields
Eugene DeVerdi	...	Charles Chaplin
Charles Dow Clark	...	Joe E. Brown
Frank Brown	...	Harold Lloyd
Virginia Rendell	...	Mae West
Carol Dietrich	...	Marlene Dietrich
Frankie Farr	...	Eddie Cantor (as Franky Farr)
Earl Haddon	...	Bing Crosby
Berna Mack	...	Claudette Colbert
Don Eddy	...	Dancing Fred Astaire
Lillian Tours	...	Dancing Ginger Rogers
Beatrice Coleman	...	Ginger Rogers
Betty Dietrich	...	Greta Garbo
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ralph Brooks	...	Interne in Children's Ward (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Lester Dorr	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Edward LeSaint	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Dresser (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Bobs Watson	...	Boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry Lachman

Writing credits
Ethel Hill		(screen play) &
Harvey Fergusson		(screen play) &
Samuel Fuller		(screen play) (as Sam Fuller)
Myles Connolly		(story "Once a Hero")

Produced by
Myles Connolly	....	associate producer
William Perlberg	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Joseph Walker

Film Editing by
Al Clark
Otto Meyer

Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson

Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur S. Black Jr.	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Lodge Cunningham	....	sound engineer

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director (as M.W. Stoloff)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Sam Fuller Collection)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Movie company is supposedly shooting a scene at an actual bank at corner of Hollywood and Vine, but in reverse angle shots, it is clear that buildings on other side of street are fake sets.

Nice for Film Buffs

It Happened in Hollywood (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Richard Dix plays a silent screen cowboy who gets kicked out of Hollywood once sound pictures come into play. He loses all his money, which causes him to lose his ranch, which he was hoping to make a boy's home. He gets a chance at a comeback playing a gangster but can't stand letting down his fans by playing a bad guy. Since this was nearly twenty-years before Singin in the Rain it's rather interesting seeing a film take on the transition from silent to sound. This Columbia movie has been pretty much forgotten today but I think film buffs will find the story interesting and there's some more unique things here. There's a big subplot with Dix wanting to make good to a kid he made a promise to so he decides to throw him a Hollywood party. Greta Garbo, W.C. Fields, Charles Chaplin, Loretta Young, Mae West and Bing Crosby among others show up but it's their stand-ins doing the work. The whole point is to fool the kid into thinking he's surrounded by real stars but we see them as stand-ins, which is interesting as we're seeing the actual people who worked for the stars. I had heard about Eugene DeVerdi's take on Chaplin and must admit that it's pretty good. Fay Wray plays Dix's love interest and does a pretty good job even though her role is pretty much a throw away. Dix is his usual self and fans of his will enjoy his role here. This movie could have been a lot better but it's clear it was meant to be a "B" picture and on that level it works. I think silent buffs will get a kick out of its story while movie buffs will enjoy seeing the real star's stand-ins. Future director Samuel Fuller is credited as one of the three screenwriters.