These IMDb comments were intriguing enough for me to order this, and I must say I liked it more than I expected to. "Savage Intruder" (my DVD is titled "Hollywood Horror House") reminded me much more of "Baby Jane" than "Sunset Boulevard"--although the Hopkins character chatters on the phone about making a comeback and gets herself booked as a parade queen, the main focus of the film is simply to cut down her drinking and give her a more dignified retirement. John Garfield Jr (who looks a lot like his father) ruins that plan.
Regarding the "semi-nude scene" comments, my DVD did not carry this, or I was simply underwhelmed by what passes for risqué skin. When Garfield gives Hopkins a back massage her back is clearly bared, but even when she is startled you don't see anything revealing, seemed like a very ordinary massage to me.
Regarding the comment about the alternate ending that was apparently filmed (where the Gale Sondergaard character shoots Garfield), my DVD did not carry his but it would have been neat to see. I won't give away the ending, but it is a little ambiguous.
Pluses: beautiful color cinematography, and Hopkins fans will be pleased to know that in general she looks like a million bucks and wears beautiful costumes (when she is not being massaged!). The great location of Norma Talmadge's mansion and the careful attention to costuming and cinematography make this film look much higher budget than it apparently really was. Great performances from just about the whole cast if you ask me. The title sequence is genius: far-away view of the Hollywood sign, then closeups of how bullet-ridden the sign pieces are, how trashy the hillside is--great opening sequence that really sets the tone.
Minuses: Unlike Baby Jane, where servants did not live in and created some suspense by unexpectedly popping up, the hotel-like atmosphere of so many live-in servants oblivious to the virtual disappearance of their mistress is a little too unrealistic. Ironically the beautiful Talmadge mansion works against suspense; a bomb could go off in the mansion and the kitchen staff wouldn't notice. Also, Hopkins is basically only in the first half of the film, and the second half drags a bit without her. The film tries to cover for this, and John Garfield Jr is regularly snarling at the staff not to bother the missing star, but you wonder why Gale Sondergaard isn't yelling at the employment agency by day two of Garfield's arrival.
Regarding the "semi-nude scene" comments, my DVD did not carry this, or I was simply underwhelmed by what passes for risqué skin. When Garfield gives Hopkins a back massage her back is clearly bared, but even when she is startled you don't see anything revealing, seemed like a very ordinary massage to me.
Regarding the comment about the alternate ending that was apparently filmed (where the Gale Sondergaard character shoots Garfield), my DVD did not carry his but it would have been neat to see. I won't give away the ending, but it is a little ambiguous.
Pluses: beautiful color cinematography, and Hopkins fans will be pleased to know that in general she looks like a million bucks and wears beautiful costumes (when she is not being massaged!). The great location of Norma Talmadge's mansion and the careful attention to costuming and cinematography make this film look much higher budget than it apparently really was. Great performances from just about the whole cast if you ask me. The title sequence is genius: far-away view of the Hollywood sign, then closeups of how bullet-ridden the sign pieces are, how trashy the hillside is--great opening sequence that really sets the tone.
Minuses: Unlike Baby Jane, where servants did not live in and created some suspense by unexpectedly popping up, the hotel-like atmosphere of so many live-in servants oblivious to the virtual disappearance of their mistress is a little too unrealistic. Ironically the beautiful Talmadge mansion works against suspense; a bomb could go off in the mansion and the kitchen staff wouldn't notice. Also, Hopkins is basically only in the first half of the film, and the second half drags a bit without her. The film tries to cover for this, and John Garfield Jr is regularly snarling at the staff not to bother the missing star, but you wonder why Gale Sondergaard isn't yelling at the employment agency by day two of Garfield's arrival.