Nasty dark secrets are creeping and sliming around behind the glittering facade of Hollywood, we know it. All those beautiful people… all that money and fame… And how much more so, in the hypocritical 1950s, the dying days of the Golden Age of Hollywood?
The sudden death of George Reeves, the tall-dark-and-handsome actor who played Superman on the original television series, is arguably “Hollywood’s most notorious unsolved mystery.” Was it a murder or a suicide?
Certainly, it’s a story custom-made for the silver screen. And as a mad fan of both the mystery genre and of Old Hollywood, of course I’ve been looking forward to today’s DVD release of Hollywoodland, the movie.
No other flick that I can recall has waded into the steamy scandals of 1950s’ Los Angeles with quite the same style. The production is sheer eye candy, to begin with, in the recreation of the period…
While I’ve never been a huge fan of Ben Affleck, he’s well-cast as Reeves: he looks the part, to start with; but, more importantly, the remnants of that boyishly appealling Affleck we saw in his early efforts is evoked here in his portrayal of the Superman actor, an ambitious and uncertain man who never fully found solid ground in fast-paced cynical Hollywood. (I wonder how closely our Ben might have identified with Reeves’ desperate attempt to gain respect as a serious actor, once he’d worn the Super ‘S’ on his chest.) Fine performances from the entire cast, in fact — I agree with the critics on that point — but Diane Lane is extra-deliciously malicious in the role of Toni Mannix, the rejected lover!
As usual, one big reason I’m looking forward to the DVD release is for the “bonus features.” The advance info from Universal promises more than a half-hour of exclusive material, including the usual “deleted scenes” and “feature commentary” with director Allen Coulter.
But it’s the setting as much as the story that I find compelling about Hollywoodland, so these two bits are what I’m most panting to see:
- Recreating Old Hollywood
In this piece, the production team demonstrates how they re-created the glamour of the Hollywood of yesteryear. Interviews include ones with the film’s production designer, set decorator, costume designer, make-up artists and hair stylists. - Hollywood Then and Now
With help from historians, filmmakers, actors and other experts, explore how Hollywood has changed in the last 60 years, as the similarities and difference between “classic” Hollywood and today’s big city are examined.
It’s probably just as well that Hollywoodland explores the possibilities but doesn’t venture to give a solution to the mystery. In the real world, we’ll most likely never know the truth of how George Reeves died, and I think it would have ticked me off royally to have a fictional solution imposed by this film. As it is, I’ve got my own ideas…
And when it’s time for a journey back to Hollywood’s bad old days, I can sit back and enjoy the steamy ride — then debate it with the movie-group pals over a late-night glass of vino. What more could one ask of a classic mystery?
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