Catch that early scene in the Brown Derby where Carey (Sherman) queries a cross-dresser on her choice of tailors. It passes quickly and we never see more in medium shot than a slender back in slacks and jacket. Nonetheless, that glimpse of Hollywood exotica comes, I expect, from writer Rowland Brown whose Blood Money (1933) was an extended excursion into pre-Code gender-bending.
The movie is well acted and smoothly done, but I wish it had more of that adventurous spirit. It's really a pretty tame depiction of Hollywood life-styles. After all, how surprising is it that the fast track drives some folks to drink. Sherman is excellent in the role, but surprisingly we're never shown why he drinks. Specifically, what is it about the industry that prompts his string of drunken sarcasms. We get the effects, but not the causes. Similarly, how surprising is it that the fast track puts strains on a marriage. Nosy gossip-mongers and late night work hours are understandable strains, but hardly peculiar to Hollywood marriages, though the scale here is admittedly much larger.
My point is that the movie works well as an entertaining melodrama, especially as a behind- the-scenes look at a sound stage. However, it's hardly an expose of the type implied in the title—note how kindly paternal the studio head (Ratoff) is portrayed, contrary to the hard- nosed industry reputation. I guess I was expecting something more daring from this pre- Code period, and an ending that didn't suggest the smarmy requirements of the 1950's. Despite its considerable virtues, the movie strikes me as precisely the kind of safe insider's view that the studios of the day could endorse.
The movie is well acted and smoothly done, but I wish it had more of that adventurous spirit. It's really a pretty tame depiction of Hollywood life-styles. After all, how surprising is it that the fast track drives some folks to drink. Sherman is excellent in the role, but surprisingly we're never shown why he drinks. Specifically, what is it about the industry that prompts his string of drunken sarcasms. We get the effects, but not the causes. Similarly, how surprising is it that the fast track puts strains on a marriage. Nosy gossip-mongers and late night work hours are understandable strains, but hardly peculiar to Hollywood marriages, though the scale here is admittedly much larger.
My point is that the movie works well as an entertaining melodrama, especially as a behind- the-scenes look at a sound stage. However, it's hardly an expose of the type implied in the title—note how kindly paternal the studio head (Ratoff) is portrayed, contrary to the hard- nosed industry reputation. I guess I was expecting something more daring from this pre- Code period, and an ending that didn't suggest the smarmy requirements of the 1950's. Despite its considerable virtues, the movie strikes me as precisely the kind of safe insider's view that the studios of the day could endorse.