This is an immediately engaging movie, after the first few minutes you're hooked and want to know what's going to happen. Of course you already do know because you'll probably be aware that it's an early "version" of "A Star is Born" (all four incarnations) and "The Artist" and even Genesis' 1980 album "Duke."
If you like early thirties movie you will like this, especially for the glimpses of the nuts and bolts and balance books behind the scenes - you're in the movies!
If you don't like early thirties movies because you think the acting is wooden, the characters are one-dimensional and the stories are shallow then give this a try - you will be pleasantly surprised.
If you don't like early thirties movies because they're black and white..... you just keep watching SpongeBob.
Even before this begins it's interesting - I'd never seen that RKO-Pathé logo before with the rooster - not surprised that didn't last long! This is an RKO movie from the days when David O Selznick was the big cheese there and he has his new favourite director with him, the legendary George Cukor. Yes, it's the 1932 Selznick-Cukor version, not the 1937 Selznick on his own version or the 1954 Cukor on his own version......they sure liked that story!
Any film about movie making has to be good otherwise it would be embarrassing. You know therefore that they made this as well as anyone could. You also know that the character of the studio head is going to be a really lovely person, someone who cares for and loves his team and would never have a bad word to say about anyone - a loving father type!? Even so, and apart from the slightly contrived slushy ending, this is surprisingly realistic and doesn't sugar coat the brutal commercial industry it is set against. The characters come across as real and natural with genuine complexity. Like real people, they're not just either all nice or all nasty - this is something which isn't always evident in some lesser quality 1932 films. They however didn't benefit from George Cukor.
If you don't like early thirties movies because you think the acting is wooden, the characters are one-dimensional and the stories are shallow then give this a try - you will be pleasantly surprised.
If you don't like early thirties movies because they're black and white..... you just keep watching SpongeBob.
Even before this begins it's interesting - I'd never seen that RKO-Pathé logo before with the rooster - not surprised that didn't last long! This is an RKO movie from the days when David O Selznick was the big cheese there and he has his new favourite director with him, the legendary George Cukor. Yes, it's the 1932 Selznick-Cukor version, not the 1937 Selznick on his own version or the 1954 Cukor on his own version......they sure liked that story!
Any film about movie making has to be good otherwise it would be embarrassing. You know therefore that they made this as well as anyone could. You also know that the character of the studio head is going to be a really lovely person, someone who cares for and loves his team and would never have a bad word to say about anyone - a loving father type!? Even so, and apart from the slightly contrived slushy ending, this is surprisingly realistic and doesn't sugar coat the brutal commercial industry it is set against. The characters come across as real and natural with genuine complexity. Like real people, they're not just either all nice or all nasty - this is something which isn't always evident in some lesser quality 1932 films. They however didn't benefit from George Cukor.