The Horse's Head

#245) Red Dust (1932)

OR “Harlow If Ya Hear Me”

Directed by Victor Fleming

Written by John Mahin. Based on the play by Wilson Collison.

Class of 2006

The Plot: Dennis Carson (Clark Gable) runs a rubber plantation in French-Indochina. A cargo ship brings in stowaway prostitute Vantine Jefferson (Jean Harlow), and sparks immediately start flying between her and Dennis. Shortly afterwards, engineer Gary Willis (Gene Raymond) arrives at the plantation, alongside his wife Barbara (Mary Astor). Dennis is also drawn to Barbara, and he starts to seduce her, much to Vantine’s envy and Gary’s obliviousness. A sudden monsoon forces them all to stay in close quarters, where tempers, and passions, flare.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s “well-remembered humor, star chemistry and atmosphere” while singling out director Victor Fleming. They also use such exciting adjectives as “steamy”, “virile” and “saucy”. Someone had fun writing this entry.

But Does It Really?: “Red Dust” is not a perfect movie by any stretch, but there’s enough star power on display to hold your interest. Gable and Harlow are irresistible together, and while this isn’t Harlow’s only film on the list, it’s the only one that showcases her iconic persona. “Red Dust” is quite archaic in its production value and attitude towards the sexes, but if you’re willing to forgive that, there are definitely some redeeming qualities. A pass for NFR inclusion from me.

Everybody Gets One: Gene Raymond’s character may be a total cipher, but the man himself was anything but. In addition to being an actor, composer, and WWII pilot, Raymond was married to legendary singer Jeanette MacDonald. Their 28-year marriage was arranged by Louis B. Mayer for two reasons: to prevent MacDonald from marrying long-time co-star Nelson Eddy, and to hide Raymond’s bisexuality from the press.

Wow, That’s Dated: Chinese actor Willie Fung plays Hoy, the extremely stereotypical coolie/comic relief. It’s very uncomfortable. On top of that is the very dated gender politics between Gable and Harlow (complete with butt-patting), and a character named “Captain Limey”.

Seriously, Oscars?: No nominations for “Red Dust”. MGM’s Best Picture nominee that year was “Smilin’ Through”, a more prestigious romantic film with such Oscar bait as Norma Shearer, Fredric March, and Leslie Howard.

Other notes

• Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room right now: During filming, Jean Harlow’s newlywed husband (producer Paul Bern) committed suicide. Louis B. Mayer tried to get Harlow replaced on “Red Dust”, but public sympathy was on her side, and she returned to the film 10 days later. Any sign of Harlow’s personal trauma does not seep through her performance.
• Victor Fleming directed over 40 movies in his career, but he is best remembered for the one-two punch of helming “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind”.
• Does anyone know what the original play was like? It’s probably dated as hell, but it seems like a fun idea.
• Sure Gable was handsome, but it took him a while to grow into those ears.
• Everyone in this movie pronounces the city of Saigon as “Say-gon”. Was that an acceptable alternative? Or did no one bother to look it up?
• Harlow definitely has that indefinable star quality. She’s everything the role requires, plus her own alluring, funny persona. I find myself in the odd position of being attracted to a woman who’s been dead for over 80 years.
• “Well for the love of mud!” said Jean Harlow.
• Most movies pan to blowing curtains during a love scene, “Red Dust” pans to an excitable parrot.
• No one says the word “prostitute”, but this movie is not subtle with the implications. At one point Dennis gives Vantine money! Y’all better get this out of your system before the Hays Code shows up.
• Wow, Fung’s getting a lot of screentime. Did test audiences demand more coolies?
• Gable takes his shirt off but no one talks about this movie tanking undershirt sales. What the hell, Hollywood lore?
• And now we get to the infamous Jean Harlow bathing scene. It’s quaint by today’s standards, but not without its provocative elements. The story goes that during one take Harlow stood up from the barrel au naturel and announced “this one’s for the boys in the lab!” If that footage still exists it would be added to the NFR in a heartbeat.

• A very talky film with no soundtrack and constant rainfall? Are they trying to put me to sleep?
• Due to some re-looping rear projection, the clouds behind Gable and Raymond jump several feet instantly. Is that what causes monsoons?
• Gary is really laying on how much he loves Barbara in front of Dennis. I keep expecting him to say he’s also three days away from retirement.
• [Spoilers] Boy, the last 10 minutes of this movie escalated quickly. That being said, Gable has the best reaction to being shot, “Alright, if that makes you feel any better.”
• And one last shot of Fung for the ride home. What a weird little movie.

Legacy

• The box-office success of “Red Dust” helped MGM survive the Depression. MGM was one of the few movie studios to turn a profit in 1932, thanks in part to this movie.
• “Red Dust” was remade 21 years later with John Ford’s “Mogambo”. The action was transplanted to Africa, with the love triangle now being comprised of Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly and…Clark Gable? That’s what Gable loves about his co-stars: he gets older, they stay the same age.

• Harlow sent up the bathing scene while playing a movie star in 1933’s “Bombshell”.

• Clark Gable and Jean Harlow made four more films together, including Harlow’s final film, “Saratoga”.

• As for Harlow’s legacy, her tragic death of kidney failure at age 26 solidified her legendary movie star status. She is still one of the best remembered of the early Hollywood stars. Harlow’s life story spawned two movies in 1965, and she was immortalized on Judge Harry Stone’s office wall on “Night Court”.

Further Listening: “You Must Remember This” did an excellent episode on Jean Harlow as part of their Hollywood Blondes series. Karina Longworth (that’s her) takes a detailed look at Harlow’s life and sudden death that will probably be the most accurate report we’ll ever get.

#244) The French Connection (1971)

OR “Take the ‘H’ Train”

Directed by William Friedkin

Written by Ernest Tidyman. Based on the book by Robin Moore.

Class of 2005

The Plot: Based on a true crime, “The French Connection” follows New York detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) as they try to bust a drug trafficking scheme. The two are convinced that French smuggler Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) is bringing heroin into New York using TV personality Henri Deveraux (Frederic de Pasquale) as a front. There’s no definitive evidence of Charnier’s involvement, but Doyle’s blind obsession keeps him going. Using his highly questionable methods, Doyle will do what it takes to catch the smugglers, even if it means recklessly driving a commandeered Pontiac LeMans to follow a hijacked elevated train. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Why It Matters: The NFR points out the film’s departure from other detective movies of the era, praises cinematographer Owen Roizman, and calls the chase scene “one of the most viscerally exciting screen moments”.

But Does It Really?: Having never seen “The French Connection” before (I know, I know), this movie had quite the reputation to live up to, and I’m happy to say that, for me, it did. “The French Connection” is the high-energy antihero action movie that came to define the early ‘70s. Friedkin keeps everything moving at an almost frenetic pace, culminating in a chase scene that I’ll gush about later. Throw in a fully committed Gene Hackman in the lead role, and Owen Roizman’s trademark gritty cinematography, and you’ve got yourself a classic.

Everybody Gets One: William Friedkin knew there was only one man who could play Alain Charnier: Francisco Rabal. Friedkin loved his performance in “Belle de Jour”, but couldn’t remember his name. The casting director contacted his co-star Fernando Rey by mistake instead, and Rey was kept on the film when it was discovered that Rabal did not speak English or French.

Wow, That’s Dated: Doyle, can you lay off the racial slurs for just one scene? On a lighter note, the film features a performance by female vocal group The Three Degrees singing the very ‘60s song “Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon”. Of the three members featured in the film, Valerie Holiday is the only one still with the group!

Seriously, Oscars?: In a year with no clear front-runner, “The French Connection” tied with “The Last Picture Show” and “Fiddler on the Roof” for most Oscar nominations (eight). “French” prevailed with five awards: Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay and Editing. Roy Scheider lost Best Supporting Actor to veteran Ben Johnson for “Last Picture Show”, and the film lost Cinematography and Sound to “Fiddler”. If only Popeye did more singing.

Other notes

• Gah! These credits are assaulting me!
• Just a reminder that executive producer G. David Schine was mixed up in the McCarthy hearings of the ‘50s. Schine somehow got his hands on the film rights to the book and wouldn’t release them to 20^th Century Fox without payment and a screen credit.
• Fun Fact: Screenwriter Ernest Tidyman wrote the novel and screenplay for another 1971 detective movie: “Shaft”.
• Gene Hackman IS Santa Claus. Before “Die Hard”, this was the not-Christmas action movie of choice.
• Everyone’s favorite bit of what-if casting: Jackie Gleason was seriously considered for Popeye. It would have been a completely different movie. For one thing, I can’t imagine Gleason doing any of the running scenes. Among the other potentials, Peter Boyle would have been very good in the role as well.
• Hackman’s trying really hard to make “You ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?” the next “Do you feel lucky, punk?”. It’s not, please stop.
• Can Roy Scheider do expository dialogue for every movie?
• The real life Popeye and Cloudy appear in the film; Eddie Egan is Supervisor Simonson (he even gets a “You’re off special assignment!” scene), while Sonny Grosso is Agent Klein.
• I appreciate this film’s restraint on dialogue. There are several stretches of the film where no one talks, but there’s no lack of action or character development.
• I guarantee you that filming this movie pissed off local New Yorkers. This is the town that gave us “I’m walkin’ here!”
• Well, they don’t call it one of filmdom’s greatest chase scenes for nothing. The car vs. train chase is still a brilliant orchestration of action, cinematography, and editing. Kudos to everyone involved. The one downside is that there’s still a half hour of movie to go after this. Nothing can top that, and nothing does.

• Huh, it turns out the poster is a massive spoiler.
• Hackman absolutely nails the character’s complete obsession over the case. Thanks to Hackman, you can see Doyle hit the point of no return.
• Real life NYPD mechanic Irving Abrahams plays NYPD mechanic Irv. Where’s his Oscar?
• Henri is just now realizing that there was some risk involved in this scheme? Even for a TV personality he’s a bit dense.
• By way of its “where are they now” epilogue text, “The French Connection” has the same ending as “Animal House”.

Legacy

• “French Connection II” appears on most lists of sequels that aren’t terrible. Hackman and Rey reprised their roles, with Doyle travelling to Marseilles to get Charnier once and for all, but not without becoming a heroin addict himself. The capable and game John Frankenheimer took over directing duties.

• William Friedkin followed-up “French Connection” with another NFR entry: “The Exorcist”.

• Eddie Egan realized that many of Doyle’s unethical tactics could easily be traced back to him once the film came out and announced his retirement from the NYPD. He was dismissed from the force prior to his retirement date with no pension, though that was eventually reversed.
• “French Connection” producer Philip D’Antoni made another movie about unorthodox New York cops: 1973’s “The Seven-Ups”. While not a sequel to “French”, it did star Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco in very similar roles.

• Before he was Al Bundy, Ed O’Neill was “Popeye Doyle”, at least for a TV movie pilot in 1986 that never went to series.

• Another attempt to make the French Connection story a TV series resulted in the 2005 pilot “N.Y.-70” with Donnie Wahlberg, Bobby Cannavale, and the stunt casting of Tony Lo Bianco.

• Either the clothing outlet French Connection is named for the movie or for the original drug trafficking scheme. Either way, weird choice.

• I’ll tell you what is actually named for this movie: Popeyes Louisiana Chicken. Louisiana Fast!

#243) Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)

OR “Banned in Transylvania”

Directed by Les Blank

Class of 2004

No trailer, but here’s a clip

The Plot: A documentary about garlic. Sounds weird, right? But in the hands of Les Blank, this movie is an entertaining celebration of garlic and the people who love it. In 50 minutes Les shows us garlic chefs both professional and amateur, those who grow garlic, those who sell garlic, a group called “Lovers of the Stinking Rose”, the anti-mouthwash movement, authors, children, and the proud few who literally sing the praises of everyone’s favorite deformed onion.

Why It Matters: The NFR salute Les Blank, calling the film “hilarious and affectionate”. They also make mention of the film’s “AromaRound” release, involving the smell of garlic being piped into the theater throughout special screenings.

But Does It Really?: I’d be more inclined to give this a pass if it was Les Blank’s only film on the list, but he’s got “Chulas Fronteras” as well, and that got inducted on the fifth round! I guess they really like Les Blank over at the NFR. “Garlic” is a fun, informative slice (forgive me) of life, but is it really worthy of preservation ahead of “Grey Gardens” and “Hoop Dreams”? I don’t know.

Shout Out?: The credits say that “It’s a Wonderful Life” is featured during the film. Did I miss it? I assume it’s the clip of Mr. Potter using the slur “garlic eaters”. The credits state that the clip is courtesy of public domain. Well…sort of.

Everybody Gets One: As is the case with most documentaries, this is the only NFR entry for most of its subjects. Most notable among those interviewed is fellow filmmaker Werner Herzog!

Wow, That’s Dated: Ah the Bay Area of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. It’s the world my parents got married in, so I’m always a bit nostalgic for this time. And now I have something completely unrelated in my eye.

Title Track: No one says the title, but the rest of the saying is “…for keeping the girls away.”

Seriously, Oscars?: Due to weird eligibility guidelines regarding documentaries, I don’t know if “Garlic” would have been eligible for the 1980 or 1981 Oscars. Either way, it didn’t get nominated. Had it been, Les would have lost to either a documentary about Western music in China or the Holocaust. The Oscars definitely weren’t giving that award to a film about garlic.

Other notes

• I hope Kander & Ebb sued for the obvious “Money” parody.
• I’m sorry to report that the Flint’s Bar-B-Q featured in the movie closed in 2010. It is still remembered fondly in Oakland and the East Bay.
• You gotta wonder how many of these people like but don’t love garlic, but wanted to be in a movie.
• Ah! Dead pigs! I’m not a vegetarian, but this is unsettling. I don’t need to see how the sausage is made! In this case literally!
• The Lovers of the Stinking Rose are giving me a real hippie vibe. Did they run out of drugs? And who told Lloyd John Harris that a giant garlic hat was a good idea? Side Note: I’ve been to the Stinking Rose. Good stuff.

• If this film were made today it’d be a quickly edited, blandly narrated Food Network Special called something like “The Great Guide to Garlic!”
• Werner Herzog’s appearance may seem random, but at the time Les was working on “Burden of Dreams”, a documentary about the making of Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo”. Herzog also directed “Nosferatu”, hence his appearance in a movie about garlic. It’s pretty amazing when Werner Herzog is the most normal seeming person in your movie.
• Remember the film I mentioned last week about Werner Herzog eating his shoe? That was Les Blank. It’s all connected!
• Oh man I started salivating about halfway through this movie. My advice: eat before viewing.
• Filmmakers approaching unattended kids on a playground asking them questions? Not anymore! Simpler times indeed.
• Thanks for sitting through my documentary about garlic, have some brief backside nudity!
• “Hippie dipshit” may be my new favorite phrase.
• Why is this narrator yelling at me? And why is he only showing up now?
• True to form, Les Blank showcases a lot of music in this film. Turns out the most common themes in songs are love, pain, and garlic.
• For the record, garlic bread is amazing.

Legacy

• Les Blank continued cranking out documentaries for the next 35 years, most notably “Burden of Dreams”. He even managed to release four posthumous documentaries. That has got to be the record.

• Well, people still eat garlic, and you can’t prove that this film didn’t help that.

#242) Show People (1928)

OR “A Star is Torn”

Directed by King Vidor

Written by Agnes Christine Johnston and Laurence Stallings

Class of 2003

The Plot: Peggy Pepper (Marion Davies) travels from Georgia to Hollywood with one goal: to become a star. Aided by her father General Marmaduke Pepper (Dell Henderson), Peggy gets her start in a frivolous Mack Sennett-esque comedy. Peggy is hesitant to do the film, preferring to be a dramatic actress, but co-star Billy Boone (William Haines) advises her to “take it on the chin” and guides her through the production. The film is a hit, but Peggy immediately abandons Billy for another, more prestigious studio, rebrands herself as “Patricia Pepoire”, and starts dating suave leading man Andre Telfair (Paul Ralli). Peggy must choose between her glamorous but empty Hollywood dream, or a less exciting but more fulfilling life with Billy. Added Bonus: This movie has more Hollywood cameos than “The Player”.

Why It Matters: Deemed a “silent gem”, the NFR praises the film for “[g]ently skewering the industry that created it”, and gives shoutouts to Davies and Vidor.

But Does It Really?: “Show People” is a perfect representation of the silent era’s last hurrah. Released one year after “The Jazz Singer”, “Show People” is one of the last silent films to succeed during the sound craze. Also on display are the fine comic chops of Marion Davies, whose personal life has overshadowed the work of a promising comedy star. “Show People” never overstays its welcome, ages far better than many of its contemporaries, and still manages to be a funny love letter to early Hollywood. Worthy of preservation, and definitely worth a watch.

Everybody Gets One: This film’s two leads are probably better known for their off-screen lives rather than their on-screen work. Forever identified as William Randolph Hearst’s mistress, Marion Davies was a popular silent film star who specialized in light comedy. Hearst’s possessiveness over Davies’ career and his push for her to be in more dramatic work did more harm than help. Co-star William Haines spent years as a bit player before finally breaking through as a leading man and box-office draw. He was fired from MGM in the mid ‘30s when Louis B. Mayer forced him to choose between his career and his homosexuality. Haines chose the latter and retired from acting soon after.

Wow, That’s Dated: This movie is the giant megaphone wielding, mood music playing world of the 1920s Hollywood Studio System.

Seriously, Oscars?: “Show People” would have been eligible for the 2^nd Oscars in 1930, the only year no official nominees were announced. Was “Show People” snubbed in favor of “talkies”? Was it even on the Academy’s radar? Or did the Oscar’s dismissal of comedies start early?

Other notes

• While released through MGM, “Show People” was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions, the film company created by William Randolph Hearst specifically for Marion Davies. She’s even credited as a producer.
• We open with a lot of shots of 1928 Hollywood, including the studio entrances of Paramount, MGM, and the long gone First National. Also, I suspect that phonograph shop isn’t there anymore either.
• “Beezark”? I guess it means a lunatic or crazy person. Intertitles are a gold mine for ‘20s phraseology.
• You know what I miss? The name Marmaduke. It roughly translates from Gaelic to “leader of the seas”, I don’t see why it can’t still be a name. And if you ask me, does anyone really remember that dog? So much for being a “great” dane.
• This is John Gilbert’s easiest paycheck; just step out of your car and say hi. I wonder if this was a “Bowfinger” situation and he didn’t even realize he was in a movie.
• It took me almost 250 movies, but at long last we have a “pie-in-the-face” gag. Hearst objected to Davies being the recipient of said pie, so a compromise was reached: someone else would get the pie, while Davies would get spritzed with a bottle of seltzer water, which she takes like a pro.
• Harry Gribbon is giving me everything as the comedy director. His physicality is perfection. It’s a shame most of his movies are lost.
• Gloria Swanson gets name-dropped twice as a comparison to Peggy’s success. I guess it really was the pictures that got small.
• And then the cameos start pouring in. Charlie Chaplin is very game as the celebrity fan that Peggy doesn’t recognize. Matinee idol Lew Cody is chatting up “It” author Elynor Glyn. There’s even an appearance by that young starlet Marion Davies, whom Peggy takes an instant dislike to.
• Davies’ physical timing is exceptional; she is giving a solid performance through-and-through. What could have been if only Hearst hadn’t gotten in the way?
• Why is Billy dressed like one of the SNL Bees?
• The banquet scene is a who’s-who of silent film stars. Most of them are unrecognizable today, but among the diners are Louella Parsons, John Gilbert (again!), Norma Talmadge, William S. Hart (in his final film appearance), and Douglas Fairbanks.
• Shoutout to Sarah Bernhardt, only recently departed at the time of filming.
• The final cameo is reserved for the director himself. King Vidor pops up in the last scene as, what else, a film director.

Legacy

• Both Marion Davies and William Haines made the transition to talkies, but Hearst’s excessive lobbying severely limited Davies’ film options, until she finally acquiesced and went into early retirement. She stayed by Hearst’s side up to his death in 1961.
• After being fired from MGM, William Haines and partner Jimmie Shields lived together and operated an interior design dealership until Haines’ death in 1973. William Haines Design is still in operation and very successful (though their website still lists Nancy Reagan as a client).
• Lucille Ball cited Marion Davies as an influence on her own comic persona. If only Marion had gotten involved with a Cuban bandleader instead…
• For the record, the character of Susan Alexander Kane, untalented opera singer and mistress/second wife of “Citizen Kane”, is not based on Davies. Hearst and Davies still took the film as a personal attack, but Welles would state in later years that he admired Davies both as a person and as a performer, calling her “an extraordinary woman”.

#241) The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

OR “Captain Kirk”

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Written by Charles Schnee. Based on the short story “Tribute to a Badman” by George Bradshaw

Class of 2002

The Plot: Hollywood producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) has made some great movies, but always at the cost of alienating those closest to him. Down on his luck, Jonathan tries to recruit three former colleagues for one last picture. Each of them is extremely hesitant, despising Jonathan but also aware that they owe their success to him. Director Fred Amiel (Barry Sullivan) helped Jonathan produce his early pictures for Harry Pebbel (Walter Pidgeon), but had a falling out when Jonathan wouldn’t let him direct his dream project. Actress Georgia Lorrison (Lana Turner) was a bit player when Jonathan cast her as his leading lady (on and off-screen). Novelist James Lee Bartlow (Dick Powell) didn’t want to come to Hollywood to pen a screenplay, but Jonathan talked him into it, a decision with major consequences for Bartlow and his wife Rosemary (Gloria Grahame). Told through three separate flashbacks, we get a sense of the lengths Jonathan would go to make his movie his way.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it a “captivating Hollywood story” and praises Lana Turner’s performance and David Raksin’s score.

But Does It Really?: I…don’t know. “The Bad and the Beautiful” is a well-made tale of corrupt Old Hollywood, and it says what it wants to say without being mean-spirited, but it doesn’t have the cultural or historical qualities I’m looking for with an NFR inductee.  I’ll label this movie a “minor classic” and recommend it to any classic film lover without hesitation, but that may be it.

Shout Outs: “Doom of the Cat Men” is an obvious stand-in for “Cat People”.

Everybody Gets One: As with most studio films, all the major players show up in at least one other NFR title. The notable exceptions are character actor Barry Sullivan and actress/model Elaine Stewart.

Wow, That’s Anachronistic: For a movie set in the ‘30s and ‘40s, they make very little effort to make this a period piece. A car here, a camera there, but everyone seems to be in a ‘50s aesthetic.

Title Track: The film was shot under the name “Tribute to a Bad Man”, but no one liked that title, so MGM publicity head Howard Dietz pitched “The Bad and the Beautiful”, a nod to the F. Scott Fitzgerald story “The Beautiful and the Damned”. Producer John Houseman hated that title too, but it stuck.

Seriously, Oscars?: “The Bad and the Beautiful” received six nominations and won five, one of the rare times the biggest winner of the night wasn’t a Best Picture nominee. The film took home Best Story and Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Supporting Actress for Gloria Grahame (more on that win later). The only nominee to go home empty-handed was Kirk Douglas, but how do you compete against Gary Cooper in “High Noon”?

Other notes

• “Bad” was produced by John Houseman, who you know either as the “Paper Chase” guy or the old man in “Naked Gun” and “Scrooged”.
• Pretty impressive that Lana Turner gets top billing over obvious lead (and by then equally famous) Kirk Douglas. Kudos to her agent.
• Who is the inspiration for Jonathan Shields? Some say David Selznick, others Orson Welles. I suspect that all of the characters in this film are amalgamations of many of Hollywood’s worst qualities, and don’t represent any one person.
• I could listen to Walter Pidgeon read the Canadian phone book; that is a rich voice.
• Silent film star Francis X. Bushman plays the eulogizer at the beginning. It’s nice to hear him saying something other than sci-fi babble.
• Shoutout to Poverty Row, the nickname for the B-picture studios of the ‘30s and ‘40s.
• The look of complete disdain on the actors playing the Cat Men is hilarious. Speaking of, a horror movie where you never see the monster? You taking notes, Spielberg?
• Sure, Gaucho is your stereotypical “Latin lover” character, but at least he’s played by native Mexican Gilbert Roland (birth name Luis de Alonso). This could have been a lot worse.
• A producer lets himself into your apartment and waits for you to come home at 4am? Run, Georgia, run!
• The character of temperamental director Henry Whitfield is allegedly based on Alfred Hitchcock. Like the Shields debate, I’m skeptical about this one. Sure he’s British, but I’d be more inclined to accept this if he was portly and/or psychologically manipulative to his leading lady. Coincidentally, Whitfield is played by Leo G. Carroll, who would work with Hitch in “North by Northwest”.
• Speaking of allusions, the other temperamental director is Von Ellstein, definitely not von Sternberg or von Stroheim. This may be the only direct parallel in the entire film.
• That’s a young uncredited Barbara Billingsley as the costume designer on Georgia’s film. And that is no jive.
• Either it started raining as soon as Georgia started driving, or she’s speeding through a car wash.
• I did not realize Dick Powell made movies where he isn’t singing at Ruby Keeler. His performance was a pleasant surprise to me.
• At long last we arrive at Gloria Grahame. At face value Rosemary is shallow and one-note with limited screentime, so how did Grahame spin that into Oscar gold? It turns out “Bad” was just one of four movies Grahame appeared in in 1952. Among the others were fellow Oscar nominee “Sudden Fear” and Best Picture winner “The Greatest Show on Earth”. Grahame’s Oscar was a versatility win for all four performances, “Bad” just happened to be the chosen one. That being said, I still can’t forgive the Academy for giving this award to anyone other than Lina Lamont.
• The final credit is a thank you to the Motion Picture Academy for letting them use the Oscar statuettes in the film. So that’s how they won!

Legacy

• Most of the film’s major players reunited a decade later for another takedown of moviemaking: “Two Weeks in Another Town”.

• This is the movie that gave us the trend of “The Adjective and the Adjective” movie titles throughout the ‘50s. “The High and the Mighty”, “The Bold and the Brave”, “The Wild and the Innocent”, “The Fast and the Furious” (No kidding, there’s an actual Roger Corman movie from the ‘50s that also has that title).