Crashing Hollywood (1938)

An ex-con, just out of prison, and his wife meet a screen writer on the train and decide that, since he's writing about crime without knowing much about it, collaborating with him would be ... See full summary »

Director:

Lew Landers

Writers:

Paul Yawitz (screenplay), Gladys Atwater (screenplay),

Stars:

Lee Tracy, Joan Woodbury, Paul Guilfoyle

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lee Tracy	...	Michael Winslow
Joan Woodbury	...	Barbara Lang
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Herman Tibbets
Lee Patrick	...	Goldie Tibbets
Richard Lane	...	Hugo Wells
Bradley Page	...	Thomas 'Tom' Darcy / 'The Hawk'
Tom Kennedy	...	Al
George Irving	...	Alexander Peyton
Frank M. Thomas	...	Detective Decker
Jack Carson	...	Dickson
Alec Craig	...	Movie Studio Receptionist
Jimmy Conlin	...	Crisby (as James Conlin)

Storyline

An ex-con, just out of prison, and his wife meet a screen writer on the train and decide that, since he's writing about crime without knowing much about it, collaborating with him would be better than starting a duck farm. Things get a bit sticky when the real gangsters show up and want to know how Hollywood knows so much about them.

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Plot Keywords:

train | gangster | hollywood | actress | ex convict | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Cerco de Hollywood

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

61 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original play opened in New York City, New York, USA on 14 August 1922, but closed after only 12 performances.

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Connections

Version of Lights Out (1923)

User Reviews

Decent

Crashing Hollywood (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A former gangster (Paul Guilfoyle) gets out of prison and takes his wife on a train to California where he plans on going straight by starting a duck farm. On the train he meets a screenwriter (Lee Tracy) and the two team up to make realistic crime pictures. All goes well until a real gangster shows up wondering how the writers is getting all the details right. This film isn't nearly as funny as it should have been but it is mildly entertaining on a second film of a double feature type of way. For the most part this is just a one-joke film as our main guys make a blockbuster movie but soon the main gangster is showing up to get revenge. This leads to some rather routine gags including the gangster being mistaken for the actor playing him as well as the actor getting beaten up because people thinks he's the gangster. These scenes here are actually pretty funny but they only come up during the final fifteen-minutes. These final scenes contain the most laughs as the police are running around the studio trying to capture the real bad guys. Tracy is pretty good in his role but you have to like his style of comedy or else you'll probably find him annoying. Guilfoyle is also pretty good but he's a character actor I've always enjoyed. It's Richard Lane who steals the film as the loud mouth, fast talking producer who's always trying to sign someone to a contract. Lane would become famous for playing Inspector Farraday in the Boston Blackie movies and his comic timing here is just as good. Fans of those Boston Blackie movies will certainly get a kick out of seeing Lane here.