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The career of a waitress takes off when she meets an amiable drunken Hollywood director.The career of a waitress takes off when she meets an amiable drunken Hollywood director.The career of a waitress takes off when she meets an amiable drunken Hollywood director.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
George Reed
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (scenes deleted)
Alice Adair
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
- James - Max's Butler
- (uncredited)
Sam Armstrong
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Zeena Baer
- Secretary to Julius Saxe
- (uncredited)
King Baggot
- Department Head
- (uncredited)
Gerald Barry
- John Reed - an Actor
- (uncredited)
Floyd Bell
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Veda Buckland
- Nana - Jackie's Nursemaid
- (uncredited)
Nicholas Caruso
- Chef at Brown Derby
- (uncredited)
Lita Chevret
- Actress Filming on Movie Set
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGeorge Cukor, who directed this film, was offered the chance to direct its "partial remake," A Star Is Born (1937), but turned it down, claiming the two films were too similar. Interestingly, Cukor would later direct the 1954 Judy Garland/James Mason musical remake of that film, often cited as the best version of this material.
- GoofsWhen Mary is filming her first bit part she drops her script on the stairs, which then disappears between shots.
- Quotes
[first lines]
[Mary Evans is admiring a magazine photo of Clark Gable]
Mary Evans: Hmmmm. Oh, boy!
[Mary places the magazine photo against her face and pretends Gable is her lover. She speaks in an exaggerated voice]
Mary Evans: Daaahling, how I love you my daaahling, I love you I do.
[she puts the magazine down and returns to her normal voice]
Mary Evans: It's getting late and I must scram.
- Crazy creditsThere is a "by" credit to Gene Fowler and Rowland Brown after the title shows, but there is also a "screenplay by" credit to Jane Murfin and Ben Markson, without leaving any clear explanation or context as to what "by" actually means. But the reality was that Fowler and Brown wrote the real screenplay, with Murfin and Markson providing the continuity.
- ConnectionsFeatured in David O. Selznick: 'Your New Producer' (1935)
- SoundtracksThree Little Words
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Ruby
Part of a medley played during the opening credits
Featured review
He Made Her A Star
One of George Cukor's earliest successes before his glory years at MGM was this classic What Price Hollywood. Done at RKO it's the story of three star crossed people and that's literal for one of them.
Constance Bennett plays Mary Evans who is discovered by drunken director Lowell Sherman while working as a waitress at the famous Brown Derby in Hollywood. In 1932 that was the place to be if one wanted to be discovered because all the Hollywood celebrities dined there at one time or another. Including those like Sherman who liked their cuisine strictly liquid and at that time illegal.
You might think that playing a movie star was no stretch for Connie Bennett. But she and her sisters Joan and Barbara were of a distinguished theatrical family with father Richard Bennett in Hollywood himself at that time. She was as far removed from Mary Evans in real life as you can get, still Bennett got deep inside the part.
Sherman might have modeled his character on any number of distinguished Hollywood lushes. He probably took bits from all of them, but his director is uniquely his own, at once self centered, talented, vain and frail.
The third part of this triangle is Neil Hamilton, polo playing scion of a prominent society family who is introduced to Bennett when he smacks her with a polo ball. It was definitely love at first sight, but love between them takes a rocky road.
Hollywood has never been easy on itself. The movie industry figures that the scandals they've had are all too public so honesty is probably the best policy. In the sound era What Price Hollywood is one of the first of a long line of critical examination of the movie industry that also includes The Big Knife, The Bad And The Beautiful, Callaway Went Thataway and Two Weeks In Another Town. And of course we can't forget A Star Is Born in its original and remakes.
What Price Hollywood got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. As its done before the Code, it holds up well today as a mark of distinguished and mature film making.
Constance Bennett plays Mary Evans who is discovered by drunken director Lowell Sherman while working as a waitress at the famous Brown Derby in Hollywood. In 1932 that was the place to be if one wanted to be discovered because all the Hollywood celebrities dined there at one time or another. Including those like Sherman who liked their cuisine strictly liquid and at that time illegal.
You might think that playing a movie star was no stretch for Connie Bennett. But she and her sisters Joan and Barbara were of a distinguished theatrical family with father Richard Bennett in Hollywood himself at that time. She was as far removed from Mary Evans in real life as you can get, still Bennett got deep inside the part.
Sherman might have modeled his character on any number of distinguished Hollywood lushes. He probably took bits from all of them, but his director is uniquely his own, at once self centered, talented, vain and frail.
The third part of this triangle is Neil Hamilton, polo playing scion of a prominent society family who is introduced to Bennett when he smacks her with a polo ball. It was definitely love at first sight, but love between them takes a rocky road.
Hollywood has never been easy on itself. The movie industry figures that the scandals they've had are all too public so honesty is probably the best policy. In the sound era What Price Hollywood is one of the first of a long line of critical examination of the movie industry that also includes The Big Knife, The Bad And The Beautiful, Callaway Went Thataway and Two Weeks In Another Town. And of course we can't forget A Star Is Born in its original and remakes.
What Price Hollywood got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. As its done before the Code, it holds up well today as a mark of distinguished and mature film making.
helpful•60
- bkoganbing
- Apr 15, 2012
- How long is What Price Hollywood??Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Hollywood Madness
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $411,676 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was What Price Hollywood? (1932) officially released in Canada in English?
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