Crashing Hollywood (1938)

That was an excellent one.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Crashing Hollywood has recently released from prison Paul Guilfoyle and moll Lee Patrick meeting aspiring screenwriter Lee Tracy on the train. As Tracy is writing about crime Gulfoyle decides he needs a collaborator for a little realism.Guilfoyle's material is based on his time with the gang of the infamous criminal known as The Hawk still at large and still unknown to the public. But he does look a whole lot like ham actor Bradley Page.Crashing Hollywood is based on a flop play Lights Out which only ran 12 performances in 1922. Back in the day studios bought all kinds of material even stuff that flopped on stage because they needed dialog for those new fangled talking pictures. In this case there was a silent version which seems to have disappeared into obscurity.Dwarfed by the much larger budgeted Boy Meets Girl over at Warner Brothers also about zany studio goings on, Crashing Hollywood does have its moments. Bradley Page is great in the dual role of the Hawk and the ham. Tom Kennedy is always funny and here's the Hawk's thick as a brick trigger man. Richard Lane however steals the show as the zany head of the studio, Wonder Pictures where Lucille Ball would work in The Affairs Of Annabel.Tracy is good, but almost subdued here for him. Crashing Hollywood will be enjoyed by fans who liked Boy Meets Girl like me.

"Crashing Hollywood" from 1938 is the story of a screenwriter (Lee Tracy) who meets the right -- or maybe it is the wrong - people on a train en route to Hollywood.The people he meets are Herman and Goldie Tibbets (Paul Guilfoyle and Lee Patrick). Herman, recently released from prison, is interested in becoming a duck farmer, while Goldie thinks one more robbery isn't a bad idea. When they meet Michael Winslow (Tracy) they are under the impression that he has $50,000 in a briefcase when they overhear him trying to insure it.Determined to get it away from him, they befriend him. Michael, meanwhile, is trying to make time with an actress (Joan Woodbury) whom he literally fell into earlier. Winslow shows Herman and Goldie that the $50,000 is his script. When Herman looks it over, he tells him that a lot of details are wrong - it concerns an actual bank robbery, and Winslow takes him on as a collaborator. He's unaware that Herman is giving him the names of a real crook and the actual true details of the robbery.When the real crook (Bradley Page) sees the film starring a lookalike (Bradley Page) -- he heads out to Hollywood before there are any other films featuring him, "The Hawk."Amusing film with a nice turn by Page as an arrogant actor and and a tough guy. Lee Tracy is his usual fast-talking, energetic self, and Lee Patrick is funny as Goldie, as is Guilfoyle.This is a B picture. Many of these actors went on to careers in television. Page quit films in 1943.This is a fast, fun movie.

Sprightly entertainment. The 60-minutes never rises above programmer status but does well with what it has. The plot revolves around a screenwriter (Tracy), his shady collaborator (Guilfoyle), plus an actor and his gangster look-alike (Page). Then there are the girls, a lovely Joan Woodbury and a brassy Lee Patrick. Of course, all of this has to sort out before folks can get on with their lives at the movie studio. Oh yes, shouldn't forget the unruly ducks that are good for a few laughs. And catch the movie's last line, an apparent jibe at the comical Marx Bros.I love it when the chases around the studio lot crash through the movie sets-- poor Jack Carson (the director) never will complete a shot. Plus we've got two of Hollywood's fastest talkers—Lane and Tracy. In fact, Lane steals the show as a don't-mess-with-me studio boss. I wonder if any of RKO's suits got a message. Actually, Tracy's more subdued than his usual fast-talking reporter, but still fits in well. It's also a good chance to catch some of the studio grounds and soundstages that are nicely blended into the proceedings. No, the movie's nothing special. But it does show again how delightfully entertaining these old programmers can be.

This is another enjoyable role for that great actor Lee Tracy.He paid so heavily for his transgressions that he has virtually been eradicated from the map.However the real point of interest for this film is that it includes a tour of the RKO lot.In the film it is supposed to be "Wonder Pictures" but it is easily recognisable as the RKO studios.Some of the action takes place outside the very recognisable entrance which i recall is on Gower Street.The climax of the film is shot on Stage 9 and also featured are ares around the internal courtyard.Many of the signs for the various departments are visible.When i visited the studio in 1983 for the taping of an episode of "Cheers" it looked very much the same.In fact that programme may even have been made on the same sound stage as this.So if you are interested in the history of RKO this is an added attraction for this film.