The Cat's Meow

[traceyk]

Has anyone seen this movie? It's about that fateful 1924 trip on William Hearst's yacht, when producer(director? can't remember) Thomas Ince was killed. It features some of the players of Hollywood at the time--Charlie Chaplin, Hearst, Marion Davies, Elinor Glyn, and a young Louella Parsons. It explores the mystery shrouding Ince's death--was there a cover-up? Did Hearst pull the trigger? No idea how accurate it is, but it was an interesting movie. It has some good performances, especially Joanna Lumley (who's good in just about anything).

[Dewey1960]

Hi Tracey - It was directed by Peter Bagdonovich and had a very limited theatrical release. A very entertaining film. I can't speak for the veracity of the information contained within it, but Bagdonovich has always been a stickler for accuracy and has a profoundly strong grasp on Hollywood film history. I'm sure it's available through Netfilix.

[jdb1]

I like this film, although it has the sort of bargain-basement, make-do look that many of Bogdanovich's movies have.

I don't know if anyone other than the actual participants knows the real story, but I think this movie cleverly memorializes all the rumors about the incident, and it certainly looks authentic. It's the only film wherein I can stand what's her name, who played Louella Parsons, although she wasn't really anything like Parsons. Wait, it'll come to me. Yes, that's it -- Jennifer Tilley.

I loved Eddie Izzard as Chaplin, though he also wasn't really much like his character in appearance, and Lumley classes up anything she's in. She was very droll. Have you ever seen photos of Elinor Glynn in the 1920s? She probably would have fervently wished she looked even remotely like Lumley.

[SSO Admins]

I saw this during its theatrical run, and later bought the DVD, although I haven't watched it. I remember liking it very much. Izzard was fantastic as Chaplin.

[Moraldo Rubini]

I love Jennifer Tilly, but thought she was all wrong in this picture. Nothing about her character reminded me of Louella Parsons. I had high hopes for this movie when it came out, as I'm always rooting for Peter Bogdonovich's come-back; but he didn't come back with this one. It was okay, but it could have been so much more...

[rudyfan]

I was unhappy with the film when I saw it upon release. Of course, I was foolish to expect anything other than a haphazard film based on Hollywood Babylon. Kirsten Dunst would have done well to actually watch a few of Marion Davies films to see what she was capable of. If Hearst really were as Edward Hermann was directed to portray him, it's a wonder Marion stayed with him at all.

I thought the costumes were well done, but the film as a whole was a huge waste of my time. Interesting once, anything else, not so much for me.

[jdb1]

However, rudyfan, perhaps that was one of the points of the film: it's not a dramatic recreation of actual events, but rather an actualization of the rumors surrounding the events, with somewhat idealized portrayals of the participants. Everyone in it is 'the cat's meow,' i.e., the best, the public image, rather than the real thing. Despite the small-scale production values, I enjoy this movie. I look at it more as a roman a clef than a historic depiction. But I agree, Dunst is the weakest link; and Hermann is more like FDR than "WR."