Going Hollywood
Going Hollywood (1933) is an American black-and-white musical film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby, written by Donald Ogden Stewart, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film tells the story of Sylvia (Davies), a French teacher at an all-girl school, who wants to find love. When she hears Bill Williams (Crosby) on the radio, she decides to go visit and thank him. However, difficult problems lay ahead when Lili (Fifi D'Orsay) gets in the way.
The film is known by a variety of different named throughout the world. During production, the filmis working title was Paid to Laugh (later Paid to Love). The film is also known as: Af sted til Hollywood in Denmark, Amores en Hollywood in Spain, Auf ins Paradies! in Austria, Cinderella's Fella in Australia, Kärlek efter noter Sweden, Nyhtes sto Hollywood, Greece and Verso hollywood Italy.
Cast
- Marion Davies - Sylvia Bruce
- Bing Crosby - Bill 'Billy' Williams
- Fifi D'Orsay - Lili Yvonne
- Stuart Erwin - Ernest Pratt Baker, Picture Producer
- Ned Sparks - Mr. Bert Conroy, Director
- Patsy Kelly - Jill Barker
- Bobby Watson - Jack Thompson, the Press Agent
- Three Radio Rogues - Group Performing Imitations
- Eddie Bartell - One of the Three Radio Rogues (as Three Radio Rogues)
- Jimmy Hollywood - One of the Three Radio Rogues (as Three Radio Rogues)
- Henry Taylor - One of the Three Radio Rogues (as Three Radio Rogues)
Soundtrack
- Going Hollywood - Bing Crosby at the railroad station
- Our Big Love Scene - Bing Crosby
- Beautiful Girl - Bing Crosby, first performed in the movie Stage Mother.
- Just an Echo in the Valley - Bing Crosby
- We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines - Bing Crosby and Marion Davies and chorus
- Cinderella's Fella - Fifi D'Orsay, reprised by Marion Davies
- Happy Days Are Here Again
- When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain - Jimmy Hollywood
- You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)- Henry Taylor imitating Russ Columbo
- Remember Me - Jimmy Hollywood
- My Time Is Your Time - Jimmy Hollywood
- After Sundown - Bing Crosby
- Temptation - Bing Crosby
Film Connections
- That's Entertainment! (1974)
- That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
- Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998) (TV)
- Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001) (TV)
Critical Respose
A review by TV Guide [1] described the film as:
- "Fluffy fun, featuring Crosby in his first MGM film and Davies in one of her best performances. She's an attractive French teacher who follows aspiring crooner Crosby to Hollywood to save him from the clutches of the egotistical D'Orsay. You can probably guess the rest. Director Walsh handled the production with the brisk pace that was to become his trademark. Crosby, in collegiate sweaters, spectator shoes and white golf pants, is the essence of the casual crooner. He sings one of his biggest early-day hits, "Temptation." The production was lavishly sponsored by Cosmopolitan Productions, the filmmaking arm of newspaper czar William Randolph Hearst, who allowed his leading lady and mistress Davies all the luxuries of an empress during the film's leisurely production schedule.
- The literate and amusing screenplay was written by Stewart, a witty Hollywood scribe of the Robert Benchley school, and the supporting cast for GOING HOLLYWOOD is solid with Sparks as the cynical film director, Erwin as the bumbling producer, Hayton as the versatile pianist and conductor, and slapstick galore from scene-stealing, wisecracking Kelly in her film debut after several smashing successes on Broadway. The film, when finally released, was an enormous success and transformed Crosby into a top ten box-office attraction."
A review by TCM [2] said:
- "Crosby's voice, however, never falters. He is at his absolute best in numbers like "Beautiful Girl" and the title number, which is set in Grand Central Station. In a memorable Oz meets Oklahoma dream sequence, Davies and Crosby parade through cellophane sunflowers to "We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines." The finale is also a showstopper, with a deco backdrop that becomes a towering orchestra pit and Davies and Crosby's reunion to "Our Big Love Scene." "
Sanderson Beck [3] said:
- "Some fine songs highlight this story of the temperamental star replaced by the young and hungry girl in both career and romance. The wit of Jill, the frustration of Conroy, the sincerity of Ernest, and the electricians' radio satire tend to outshine the main plot, showing that it's not always the stars that carry the picture. Sometimes the picture carries them."
Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews [4] had a more humble view:
- "It never amounts to more than a programmer, but it's entertaining fluff."
Edward Lorusso of The Midnight Palace [5] had a similar view:
- "While Going Hollywood is not usually ranked among the decade’s best musicals, it seems now to be a botched effort by MGM at making a major musical (MGM also reversed directions with Hollywood Party, another ambitious musical that was reduced to nonsense despite a terrific cast) with Marion Davies and Bing Crosby. But at 78 minutes it seems clear that the film was scaled back, especially when there are three sequences that seem truncated. Oddly the three sequences all featured Davies. One wonders why her scenes would have been eliminated, especially since Hearst and others were always watchful of a co-star stealing a film from Davies. Still, Going Hollywood remains an enjoyable romp with great songs delivered by Crosby at the peak of his singing career. And the narrative structure and use of dreams vs. temptation is fascinating."
External links
|
|
|
| 1910s |
|
|
| 1920s |
|
|
| 1930s |
|
|
| 1940s |
|
|
| 1950s |
|
|
| 1960s |
|
|