The very realistic first half of this two-part adaption of Harold Robbins TV novel isn't it as good because it delves into soap opera and a combination of fact and fiction that somehow rings as ridiculous rather than true. The first half showed a nice flow between the real and the fantasy because it shows the changes in the world of movie making over the period of just over a decade, and the rush in changing the mood has simply diminish the classy elements of the first part. This sudden personality change is jarring especially if you watch the film the whole way through, and the personality change of Morgan Fairchild's Dulcie is equally as opposite although she's always delightful to watch even when the writing isn't so hot.
Fans of "The Mothers in Law" will pray for a moment between Kay Ballard, still every bit as calm as Vincent Gardenia's long-suffering wife and Eve Arden, introduced in the last moments of the first half as a Louella Parsons like gossip columnist. By now there are far too many characters and the sudden shooting of Fernando Lamas and Morgan Brittany is a minor plot device that really has no purpose other than to show the elemental Scandal that have erupted in Hollywood as the roaring twenties came in.
There's also a major change in Gardenia which is realistic if you look at the humble beginnings of the Hollywood moguls of the major studios and how they changed and became ruthless when they were hugely successful. Culp uses this as ammunition to cause issues between Gardena and Harmon, involving money man Howard Duff and another newcomer to the film, a shockingly aged Ray Milland, recognizable by voice only. So while the first part of the movie gave us at least some realism, all the trash is relegated to the second half and that weakens it because the flow is jarring and the road to success for these people oh, many of whom started off decently, will be the Boulevard of Broken Souls.
Fans of "The Mothers in Law" will pray for a moment between Kay Ballard, still every bit as calm as Vincent Gardenia's long-suffering wife and Eve Arden, introduced in the last moments of the first half as a Louella Parsons like gossip columnist. By now there are far too many characters and the sudden shooting of Fernando Lamas and Morgan Brittany is a minor plot device that really has no purpose other than to show the elemental Scandal that have erupted in Hollywood as the roaring twenties came in.
There's also a major change in Gardenia which is realistic if you look at the humble beginnings of the Hollywood moguls of the major studios and how they changed and became ruthless when they were hugely successful. Culp uses this as ammunition to cause issues between Gardena and Harmon, involving money man Howard Duff and another newcomer to the film, a shockingly aged Ray Milland, recognizable by voice only. So while the first part of the movie gave us at least some realism, all the trash is relegated to the second half and that weakens it because the flow is jarring and the road to success for these people oh, many of whom started off decently, will be the Boulevard of Broken Souls.
