Hollywood Hotel (film)

Last updated
Hollywood Hotel
Hollywood Hotel - Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Screenplay by Jerry Wald
Maurice Leo
Richard Macaulay
Story byJerry Wald
Maurice Leo
Produced byUncredited: [1]
Samuel Bischoff
Bryan Foy
Starring Dick Powell
Rosemary Lane
Lola Lane
Hugh Herbert
Ted Healy
Glenda Farrell
Johnnie Davis
Cinematography Charles Rosher
George Barnes (musical numbers)
Edited by George Amy
Music bySongs:
Johnny Mercer
Richard A. Whiting
Score (uncredited):
Ray Heindorf
Heinz Roemheld
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • December 20, 1937 (1937-12-20)(U.S.)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetover $1 million [2]

Hollywood Hotel is a 1937 American romantic musical comedy film, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Hugh Herbert, Ted Healy, Glenda Farrell and Johnnie Davis, featuring Alan Mowbray and Mabel Todd, and with Allyn Joslyn, Grant Mitchell and Edgar Kennedy.

Contents

The film was based on the popular Hollywood Hotel radio show created by gossip columnist Louella Parsons, where Hollywood stars recreated scenes from their latest movies. It was broadcast weekly from the hotel of that name. [1] The film's recreation of the program features Louella Parsons, Frances Langford, Raymond Paige and His Orchestra, Jerry Cooper, the announcer Ken Niles, Duane Thompson and Benny Goodman and His Orchestra.

Hollywood Hotel, the film, is now best remembered for the featured song and opening number "Hooray for Hollywood" by Johnny Mercer and Richard A. Whiting, sung in the film by Davis and Langford, accompanied by Goodman and his orchestra. The song has become a standard part of the soundtrack to movie award ceremonies, including the Academy Awards. Mercer's lyrics contain numerous references, often satirical, to the movie industry and the path to film stardom.

Plot

Saxophone player and singer Ronnie Bowers is on his way to Hollywood, having been signed to a ten-week contract by All Star Pictures. At the airport, his former employer, Benny Goodman, and his band give him a big sendoff, performing "Hooray for Hollywood".

In Hollywood, temperamental star Mona Marshall becomes furious when she learns that another actress has landed a part she desperately wanted. As a result, she refuses to attend the premiere of her latest movie.

Publicist Bernie Walton convinces studio boss B. L. Faulkin to substitute a double. Bernie chooses Virginia Stanton, who has already worked as a stand-in for Mona. For her escort, Bernie chooses an unsuspecting (and starstruck) Ronnie. The charade works. Everyone, from Ronnie to Louella Parsons to the radio host at the premiere is fooled. Things take an unexpected turn when Ronnie and Virginia begin to fall in love, wading in a fountain pond and singing "I'm Like a Fish Out of Water".

The next day, Bernie takes Ronnie to lunch at the restaurant where Virginia is working as a waitress, to break the news of his date's real identity. Ronnie and Virginia begin dating.

When Mona reads in the newspaper that "she" was at the premiere with Ronnie, she forces Faulkin to buy the young man out of his contract. Photographer Fuzzy Boyle appoints himself Ronnie's agent, and they make the rounds, trying to get his acting career started, without success. The two end up employed at a drive-in. When Ronnie sings during work, director Walter Kelton is impressed and offers him a job. Ronnie is disappointed to learn, however, that he will not be acting, but only dubbing the singing for Mona's longtime screen partner, Alex Dupre.

Dupre's "singing" impresses the audience at the preview. When Louella Parsons invites him to perform on her radio program, he accepts without thinking. Desperate, All Star Pictures pays Ronnie an exorbitant fee to sing for the actor. However, Ronnie has his own ideas. Virginia (posing as Mona) picks up Dupre in a limousine driven by Fuzzy. The pair drive him out into the countryside so he misses the program. Ronnie substitutes for Dupre and is a hit, so Faulkin decides to re-sign him, at a larger salary.

Cast

Cast notes:

Production

Warner Bros. originally wanted Bette Davis to play both Mona Marshall and her stand-in, but Davis managed to convince them that it was not a good idea. [4]

The studio was sued by both the Campbell Soup Company, who sponsored the Hollywood Hotel radio program, and by the hotel itself, for using the name without authorization. [1] The Hollywood Hotel at its peak had attracted the royalty of Hollywood, such as Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, but it had fallen in prominence by the time this film was made. Some exteriors of the hotel appear in the films. [1] The hotel no longer exists, in its place is the Dolby Theatre, from where the Academy Awards presentations have originated since 2001. [4]

Reception

"Hooray for Hollywood" was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2004 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs, [9] while the movie was nominated for the 2006 list AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Broadway Melody of 1936</i> 1935 film by W. S. Van Dyke, Roy Del Ruth

Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1935. In New York, the film opened at the Capitol Theatre, the site of many prestigious MGM premieres. It was a follow-up of sorts to the successful The Broadway Melody, which had been released in 1929, although, there is no story connection with the earlier film beyond the title and some music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedda Hopper</span> American actress and columnist (1885–1966)

Elda Furry, known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, over 35 million people read her columns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louella Parsons</span> American gossip columnist (1881–1972)

Louella Rose Oettinger, known professionally as Louella Parsons, was an American gossip columnist and a screenwriter. At her peak, her columns were read by 20 million people in 700 newspapers worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Haymes</span> Argentine singer, songwriter and actor (1918–1980)

Richard Benjamin Haymes was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, and songwriter.

<i>The Cardinal</i> 1963 film by Otto Preminger

The Cardinal is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel of the same name (1950) by Henry Morton Robinson. The music score was written by Jerome Moross.

<i>Born Yesterday</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by George Cukor

Born Yesterday is a 1950 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor, based on the 1946 stage play of the same name by Garson Kanin. The screenplay was credited to Albert Mannheimer. According to Kanin's autobiography, Cukor did not like Mannheimer's work, believing it lacked much of the play's value, so he approached Kanin about adapting a screenplay from his own play. Because of legal entanglements, Kanin did not receive screen credit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbe Lane</span> American singer and actress (born 1932)

Abbe Lane is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader and musician Xavier Cugat, more than thirty years her senior.

<i>The Gangs All Here</i> (1943 film) 1943 film by Busby Berkeley

The Gang's All Here is a 1943 American Twentieth Century Fox Technicolor musical film starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and James Ellison. The film, directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley, is known for its use of musical numbers with fruit hats. Included among the 10 highest-grossing films of that year, it was at that time Fox's most expensive production.

<i>The Big Broadcast of 1937</i> 1936 film by Mitchell Leisen, Norman Taurog

The Big Broadcast of 1937 is a 1936 Paramount Pictures production directed by Mitchell Leisen, and is the third in the series of Big Broadcast movies. The musical comedy stars Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Shirley Ross, Ray Milland, Benny Fields, Frank Forest and the orchestra of Benny Goodman. It was in this film that Leopold Stokowski made his movie debut conducting two of his Bach transcriptions. Uncredited roles include Jack Mulhall.

"Hooray for Hollywood" is a popular song first featured in the 1937 movie Hollywood Hotel, and which has since become the staple soundtrack element of any Academy Awards ceremony. It is even frequently played during non-American movie ceremonies, e.g. the French César Awards. The popularity of the song is notably due to an exciting and memorable melody and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, which reference the American movie industry and satirize the desire to become a Hollywood movie star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Only a Paper Moon</span> 1933 popular song

"It's Only a Paper Moon" is a popular song published in 1933 with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose.

<i>Without Reservations</i> 1946 film by Mervyn LeRoy

Without Reservations is a 1946 RKO Radio Pictures American comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Claudette Colbert, John Wayne and Don DeFore. The film was adapted by Andrew Solt from the novel Thanks, God! I'll Take It From Here by Jane Allen and Mae Livingston.

<i>Hollywood Canteen</i> (film) 1944 film by Delmer Daves

Hollywood Canteen is a 1944 American musical romantic comedy film starring Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Dane Clark and features many stars in cameo roles. and produced by Warner Bros. The film was written and directed by Delmer Daves and received three Oscar nominations.

<i>Footsteps in the Dark</i> (film) 1941 film by Lloyd Bacon

Footsteps in the Dark is a light-hearted 1941 mystery film, starring Errol Flynn as an amateur detective investigating a murder.

<i>Starlift</i> 1951 film by Roy Del Ruth

Starlift is a 1951 American musical film released by Warner Bros. starring Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Virginia Mayo, Dick Wesson, and Ruth Roman. It was directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by John D. Klorer and Karl Kamb, from a story by Klorer. The film was made during the beginning of the Korean War and centers on a U.S. Air Force flyer's wish to meet a film star, and her fellow stars' efforts to perform for injured men at the air force base.

<i>Blues Busters</i> 1950 film directed by William Beaudine

Blues Busters is a 1950 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on October 29, 1950 by Monogram Pictures and is the twentieth film in the series.

<i>The Corpse Came C.O.D.</i> 1947 film by Henry Levin

The Corpse Came C.O.D. is a 1947 American comedy mystery film directed by Henry Levin, produced by Samuel Bischoff and starring George Brent, Joan Blondell and Adele Jergens. The comedic mystery is notable for featuring cameos by Hollywood gossip columnists appearing as themselves: Harrison Carroll, Jimmy Fidler, George Fisher, Hedda Hopper, Erskine Johnson, Louella Parsons, and Sidney Skolsky. The movie is based on a novel by columnist Jimmy Starr, who also appears in the movie. The title makes reference to the practice of cash on delivery. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Hollywood Hotel is an American radio program that was broadcast in the 1930s. It featured Hollywood stars in dramatized versions of then-current movies and "helped to make Hollywood an origination point for major radio programs." Radio historian John Dunning called the program, sponsored by Campbell Soup Company, "the most glamorous show of its time." The program was the inspiration for the 1937 Warner Brothers movie of the same title, which featured Louella Parsons as herself.

<i>Its in the Air</i> (1935 film) 1935 film by Charles Reisner

It's in the Air is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and written by Byron Morgan and Lew Lipton. The film stars Jack Benny in his final film for MGM, Ted Healy, Una Merkel, Nat Pendleton, Mary Carlisle and Grant Mitchell. It's in the Air was released on October 11, 1935, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Garden of the Moon</i> (film) 1938 film by Busby Berkeley

Garden of the Moon is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Busby Berkeley and screenplay by Jerry Wald and story by Richard Macaulay. The film stars Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, John Payne, Johnnie Davis, Melville Cooper and Isabel Jeans. The film was released by Warner Bros. on October 1, 1938.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hollywood Hotel" on TCM.com
  2. "Top Films and Stars". Variety. 4 January 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. Helfer, Andrew (author); Buccatello, Steve (artist); and Station, Joe (artist). Ronald Reagan: A Graphic Biography. Hill and Wang. p.22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carr, Jay. "Hollywood Hotel (1938)" (article) on TCM.com
  5. "Police Drop Healy Probe". Prescott Evening Courier. December 22, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  6. "Foul Play Ruled Out In Ted Healy's Death". The Pittsburgh Press. December 22, 1937. p. 2. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  7. Fleming, EJ: The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine. New York: McFarland (2004). pp. 174-7. ISBN   978-0-7864-2027-8.
  8. Braund, Simon (June 2010). "The Tragic And Twisted Tale Of The Three Stooges". Empire Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  9. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  10. "AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-13.