source: Hollywood Story

Moviecut—Hollywood Story

"Hollywood Story" is a murder mystery directed by William Castle. Unlike his later films which were mostly deliberately schlocky horror films, this one is much more serious in tone. The story obviously was inspired by the real life murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor...a crime which has never been officially solved. Larry (Richard Conte) is a producer whose next film is going to be about a murder that occurred in Hollywood during the silent era. Now, decades later, he's trying to figure out what happened as best he can so that the film might actually be able to shed light on this dead case. Unfortunately, someone doesn't want this story to be rehashed...and an attempt is made on Larry's life. What's next for this crusading producer and the film? This film's greatest strength is its very intelligent script. Despite having few big name actors (though the folk in the film are quite talented), it keeps your interest because the story is so gritty and absorbing. Very well made and a film that is somehow seldom seen nor talked about despite being a pretty sensational tale.

Watched a pretty good HD version of this. I am no expert, just like to watch old films. But I wouldn't call it film noir. It is quite an enjoyable mystery and it's interesting to see 50s LA and Hollywood. I'm not familiar with silent era actors who appeared in this movie but was pleasantly surprised when Joel McCrae appeared. Recommend it for sure and hope it gets more exposure.

"Hollywood Story" directed by William Castle takes a fond look at the not too distant past as movies were evolving from silent to talkies. Written by Frederick Kohner and Frederick Brady, the film centers around a famous unsolved murder of a producer Franklin Ferrara, found dead in the bungalow that served as his office in 1929. Larry O'Brian, a successful producer comes to Hollywood hoping to start a few projects. He is shown around the old vacant studio owned by Ferrara as a possible venue where to shoot a film. He hears the story about the murder in the place where it happened and gets intrigued to make a film that might shed some insight in what really happened. As he works in the production, figures from the past start to emerge. The situation gets complicated as the film is being put together, but O'Brian manages to get to the bottom of the mystery, solving the crime by examining the evidence with a careful eye. Richard Conte, usually seen as a heavy, appears as Larry O'Brian the man who stumbles on a puzzle some twenty years after the actual murder occurred. The supporting cast includes reliable figures of that era: Fred Ward, Jim Backus, Richard Egan, Julie Adams, Henry Hull, and Paul Cavanagh among them. There are also some silent stars in cameo roles like Francis Bushman, Betty Blythe, Helen Gibson, and William Farnum in a well deserved tribute to them. Joel McCrea appears briefly in a film being shot at a studio. The Los Angeles of the early 1950s is given a wonderful look by cinematographer Carl Guthrie who follows the action in different parts of the city that are long gone. The music score is credited to Frank Skinner. William Castle shows he was one of the best among directors.

Ever reliable director William Castle does sound job of keeping HOLLYWOOD STORY interesting, active and coherent, to some extent thanks to revisiting the silent era and posting cameos with actors of that time like Bushman and Farnum, and a splendid Joel McCrea at the top of his fame, he who began as a silent actor and managed to make the transition to a distinguished career in the sound stages of Hollywood. The screenplay boasts an unusual and imaginative approach to those elements and, in particular, to the whodunnit type of movie, using credible dialogue to keep you guessing the murderer's identity. I found that I only needed to suspend my disbelief when movie producer Conte started acting more like a police detective than police detective Lennox himself. Acting is of a high order, even if I found Conte's constant smiling a tad disconcerting and even annoying. Pretty Julia Adams does well in a short role that does not stretch her at all. Egan is effective as detective Lennox, but the real acting gems come from Henry Hull and Fred Clark. Excellent cinematography from Carl Guthrie and editing from Virgil Vogel. 8/10.

Anyone want to see Richard Conte as the good guy? There aren't too many movies to fit the bill, so you might want to rent Hollywood Story if you're a fan of his. He stars as a movie producer interested in making a movie about a real-life Hollywood scandal. Back in the silent era, an unsolved murder stopped the careers of an actress, a director, and a writer. Richard actually hires the writer, now unemployed and living in squalor, to create the screenplay! Henry Hull, the writer, is very funny in this movie. He starts off unshaven, broke, and sleeping in a hammock, but when he thinks his career has been revived, he dresses to the nines and changes to an affected accent. Director Fred Clark isn't too keen on making the movie, and neither is policeman Richard Egan. With so many obstacles in the way, Richard soon finds himself the target of danger as he learns too much. Yes, this is a bit of a knock-off of Sunset Blvd., especially since there are a few cameos from real movie stars playing themselves (Francis Bushman, Betty Blythe, William Farnum, Helen Gibson, and Joel McCrea). It's not the greatest mystery movie you'll ever watch, so you'd better be devoted to the cast in order to enjoy it.

Hollywood is a town that is constantly evolving, moving at such a pace that there is seldom an opportunity to remember its illustrious past. However, once in a while Hollywood does indeed get the warm and fuzzies for times gone by. Once such period was the mid 1970's when a lot of the big studios were celebrating their golden anniversaries and some pictures were made that paid homage to a bygone era such as Mel Brooks' Silent Movie and Won Ton Ton, the dog who saved Hollywood. Another period was the early 1950's with the release of Sunset Boulevard and the rebirth of the wonderful Gloria Swanson. Coming off the back of that Oscar winner, came this crafty noir whodunit. Only this one was never going to win Oscars. This movie when released, was likely a second feature on a bill with a bigger budget production and is a b movie with a capital B, clocking in at just over 76 minutes. Richard Conte plays Larry O'Brien a movie producer based in New York whose agent Mitch, (Jim Backus), has lured him to Hollywood to make pictures there. Mitch has secured an old studio lot that hasn't been used since the old silent movie days. The studio was also the scene of an unsolved murder of a long forgotten director 22 years before. The story of the old unsolved murder intrigues O'Brien, who has the idea to make a movie about the case, but as the case remains cold and unsolved, he hasn't got an ending to the film so he starts investigating the case himself. Mitch thinks it's a terrible idea as the story has long since been forgotten and it's all water under the bridge. However, when he is shot at and other people start dying it becomes clear to O'Brien as to how little water has passed under that proverbial bridge and that the veteran killer is still out there determined to stop the facts from coming to light at any cost. As a Silent movie myself, with a soft spot for Hollywood of the 1920's, I found this to be a refreshing break from the noir thrillers, that were sometimes unnecessarily dark and almost always set in the seedy underworld of New York City. Although it is stated that the 1922 unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor was the inspiration for the story, there are few facts with that real cold case that coincide with this fictional plot. Annoyingly, like all whodunit's you can only ever really watch this movie once to get the full enjoyment of the reveal at the end, but it was great to see real life silent stars return to the screen, albeit for small one scene walk on parts such as Francis X Bushman, Betty Blyth, Helen Gibson and William Farnum. One glaring inaccuracy was the declaration that the murdered director had directed the wonderful Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, (which of course he didn't). I had to grit my teeth through that one, but remembered that I was watching a fictional film set in a fictional studio about a fictional director....which makes me really sad obviously. Great little movie and a good and rare chance to see Richard Conte play the good guy for a change. Enjoy!

A director looking for a smashing idea stumbles upon an old scandal : the murder of a director famous in the silent movie industry. Keen as mustard, the director puts on his Sherlock Holmes hat and dives into the murder of his illustrious predecessor. But not everyone appreciates his efforts to understand and, if possible, solve this notorious cold case... A fine mystery thriller with an unusually picturesque background, to wit the Hollywood both of the silent and the talking era. The plot is well-constructed, the locations are interesting and the various props actually serve to carry the story forward. The acting too is good. The black-and-white is marvellously evocative and subtly shaded, proving once again that this was an excellent medium for thrillers and noirs. Mind you, the cast includes a police inspector character who seems to take an unusually laid-back approach to his job. I rather expected the man to invite all suspects to the nearest bar, first round on him... "Hollywood Story" was inspired by the real-life murder of a famous silent era actor and director named William Desmond Taylor. In spite of intense speculation, this murder has gone unsolved for a long time - I believe to this very day. As a result the movie opens up a whole can of worms in the ethical department. Is it permissible to base a fictional story on a real-life crime, especially when the deceased left descendants and relatives ? And if so, how close / how far should one remain to / from the actual facts ? And is it permissible to fire up another round of wild (even VERY wild) speculation ?

Just because certain actors are forgotten doesn't mean that they weren't one stars or deserving of rediscovery. and just because someone is a character actor best known for a certain type of role doesn't mean that they always played that role. Don't expect Mr. Magoo or Mr. Howell in agent Jim Backus who narrates the film from the very beginning, bringing writer Richard Conte to Hollywood to utilize him for ideas. While roaming around the boulevards of broken dreams, Conti learns about a murder of a Hollywood director that took place as the silent films were transitioning to sound. With the murder unsolved, he thinks it is a perfect way to break into film, unaware that the killer is still at large and that the police have not closed the case. At first, Backus doesn't think that this is a good idea for a subject for a film, and police detective Richard Egan agrees. But Conte interviews many of the people who knew the deceased director, as well as the daughter (Julie Adams) of one of his big stars. she objects to the picture because she believes it might bring out secrets from her parents past but Contei reassures her that it will be dignified. There's also Henry Hull as a legendary screenwriter who disappeared into obscurity, Fred Clark who was a young producer at the time, and a variety of silent actors playing themselves, among them Francis X. Bushman. This is a well-crafted and neatly plotted murder mystery, not a big studio film, but ripped with talent, great vintage Hollywood locations and fun character performances doing their best with an awesome screenplay. Conte is one of the great unsung leading men of Hollywood's golden age, great weather playing gangsters or heroes. Julie Adams, one of the great unsung beauties of the 1950's, was also a very good actress as well, and her character is surrounded by mystery as well. While there are no ghosts in the story, the film is haunted by spirits from the silent era, and it is a great nostalgic view with a murder mystery twist to make it intriguing and a lot of fun.