The Cat's Meow

Plot synopsis:
November 15, 1924: Among those boarding the luxury yacht Oneida in San Pedro, California are its owner, publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, and his mistress, silent film star Marion Davies; motion picture mogul Thomas H. Ince, whose birthday is the reason for the weekend cruise, and his mistress, starlet Margaret Livingston; international film star Charlie Chaplin; English writer Elinor Glyn; and Louella Parsons, a film critic for Hearst's New York American.
Several of those participating in the weekend's festivities are at a crossroads in their lives and/or careers. Chaplin, still dealing with the critical and commercial failure of A Woman of Paris and rumors he has impregnated 16-year-old Lita Grey (who appeared in his film The Kid) is in the midst of preparing The Gold Rush. Davies longs to appear in a slapstick comedy rather than the somber costume dramas to which Hearst has kept her confined. Ince's eponymous film studio is in dire financial straits, so he hopes to convince Hearst to take him on as a partner in Cosmopolitan Pictures. Parsons would like to relocate from the East Coast to more glamorous Hollywood.
Hearst suspects Davies and Chaplin have engaged in an affair, a suspicion shared by Ince, who seeks proof he can present to Hearst in order to curry favor with him. In the wastepaper basket in Chaplin's stateroom, Ince discovers a discarded love letter to Davies and pockets it with plans to produce it at an opportune moment. When he finally does, Hearst is enraged. His anger is fueled further when he finds a brooch he had given Davies in Chaplin's cabin. Hearst concludes it was lost there during a romantic liaison, and he rifles Marion's room for further evidence.
Armed with a pistol, Hearst searches the yacht for Chaplin in the middle of the night. Ince, meanwhile, runs into Davies and the two sit and talk with Ince donning a hat Chaplin had worn. Davies explains to Ince her love for Hearst and her regret at an earlier affair with Chaplin. She states "I never loved him" just as Hearst arrives behind them. Thinking Davies is referring to him, and mistaking Ince for Chaplin, a jealous Hearst shoots Ince. The assault is witnessed by Parsons, who had heard noises and went to investigate.
Hearst arranges to dock in San Diego and have a waiting ambulance take the dying Ince home. He phones the injured man's wife and tells her Ince attempted suicide when Livingston tried to end their affair, assuring her the truth won't reach the media. To the rest of his guests he announces Ince's ulcer flared up and required immediate medical attention. Davies, of course, knows the truth, and confides in Chaplin. Also armed with that knowledge is Parsons, who assures Hearst his secret will be safe in exchange for a lifetime contract with the Hearst Corporation, thus laying the groundwork for her lengthy career as one of Hollywood's most powerful gossip columnists.
After seeing Ince off, Hearst confronts Davies and Chaplin. He is berated by Chaplin, who expects Davies to join him. Hearst, however, challenges Chaplin to guarantee Davies that he can promise her a happy life. When Chaplin fails to answer, Hearst informs Chaplin of the vow of silence he and the fellow guests have made to keep the weekend's activities a secret. Chaplin despairs as he realizes the murder has strengthened Davies' love for Hearst.
The film concludes with the guests leaving Ince's funeral, as Glyn relates what became of them:
Livingston went on to star in a number of successful films and her film salary "inexplicably" went from $300 to $1000 a film.
Davies starred in more of Hearst's films before finally being allowed to feature in a comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929, which was (as Chaplin predicted) a success. She stayed by Hearst's side until his death in 1951.
Chaplin married his teenage lover Lita Grey in Mexico and his film The Gold Rush was an overwhelming success.
Parsons worked for Hearst for many years and subsequently became one of the most successful writers in the history of American journalism.
Tom Ince was largely forgotten after the events of his death. Very few newspapers reported it, no police action was taken, and of all the people on board only one was ever questioned. It is concluded that in Hollywood, "the place just off the coast of the planet Earth," no two accounts of the story are the same.

Tags: romantic, satire, murder

Review:
The story has many versions, but the `whisper told most often,' is the one recounted in `The Cat's Meow,' directed by Peter Bogdanovich, a dramatization of what may or may not have happened during that extended weekend birthday-party cruise in honor of pioneer film director, Thomas Ince, which included an eclectic guest list of the rich, famous and powerful.
Hearst, however, has other things on his mind; rumor has it that his mistress, Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst), is being courted by Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), and he has brought them together, here, to observe and decide for himself if anything untoward is going on between them.
`The Cat's Meow' is a mildly enjoyable telling of a notorious tall story that has been told in Hollywood for nearly eighty years.Super-magnate William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann) invites a diverse mix of Hollywood biggest names and its oddest fringe dwellers to celebrate the birthday of famed director Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes) aboard his luxury yacht.
Things begin to fall apart when Hearst suspects a guest - none other than Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), the most famous man in the world - of having an affair with his actress girlfriend, Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst).Although the film is entertaining, there is something underwhelming about it.
Ironically, Izzard actually resembles the real Thomas Ince far more than does Cary Elwes, and as a real-life cabaret performer could conceivably have brought the flamboyance and eccentricity of the real-life director to life better than Elwes does.The film also takes an annoyingly facile view of women, perpetuating the dull cliche that all women spent the 1920s with a bad case of St Vitus' dance and addicted to laughing gas.
Unfortunately, the more interesting conflicts in Marion's  life, such as her growing alcoholism and her dissatisfaction with Hearst's insistence on casting her in leaden romances rather than the comedy to which she was so obviously suited, are only touched on lightly.Though it could have been a thought-provoking and complex experience, as Joanna Lumley's poignant final statements imply (and like `Gosford Park' to which it has been compared), in the end `The Cat's Meow' doesn't feel much more substantial than your average game of Cluedo..
So when it happens, it doesn't seem preposterous at all.The story concerns newspaper honcho William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann) and company celebrating the birthday of Hollywood producer Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes) on Hearst's yacht.
That company includes Hearst's lover/actress Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst), Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), author Elinor Glyn (Joanna Lumley), gossip columnist for Hearst's newspaper Louella Parsons (Jennifer Tilley), and Tom's lover.
While much of the screenplay is presumably speculation, it is interesting to see the effects the murder on some of his other guests, like Marion Davies, Hearst's mistress, Charlie Chaplin and Luella Parsons, among others.This film couldn't fail for me  its subject matter involves William Randolph Hearst, a foe of my main obsession Orson Welles, and it contained one of my favorite entertainers in the cast, Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin.
And while Eddie Izzard was fantastic as Chaplin, and Kirsten Dunst wasn't her usual irritating self as Davies, it was Joanna Lumley who I thought was the breakout star of the film.
Eddie Izzard is more effective than I expected as Chaplin (partly thanks to an excellent hair and makeup job by some talented designer); Joanna Lumley is compelling as novelist Elinor Glyn; and Kirsten Dunst is winning as Marion Davies (though why movies never use her real-life stutter is difficult to explain).
I am abhorred that the Oscars could ignore this film for all the categories it so well deserved:Best Actress (Kirsten Dunst) Best Actor (Edward Herrmann) Best Costume Design Best CinematographyAnd those are just the obvious ones!Peter Bogdanovich is one of my favorite Directors.
media tycoon, movie producer and one of the richest and most powerful men in America at the time William Randolph Hearst organized a lavish private cruise on his yacht with many important Hollywood players invited on board.
Among them: movie producer Thomas Ince with his mistress actress Margaret Livingston in tow, Hearst's own mistress - actress Marion Davies, Charlie Chaplin, writer Elinor Glyn, gossip columnist Louella Parsons, etc..
Fuelling these further was the fact that possible foul play witness Louella Parsons, up to that point a mere Hearst columnist in New York, soon after the events got a lucrative lifetime contract with his corporation.In "The Cat's Meow" Peter Bogdanovich, himself not a stranger to Hollywood entanglements involving good looking young fame-seeking starlets, jealousy, murder, and desperation induced by lack of money, takes one version of the events ('whispers heard most often' as the movie tagline puts it) and runs with it.
Director Peter Bogdanovich recreates it based on rumors in "The Cat's Meow," a 2001 film starring Kirsten Dunst, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Tilly.
The weekend in question is a celebration of producer Thomas Ince's birthday aboard Hearst's yacht with a guest roster that included Hearst, Marion Davies, Ince, his mistress, Margaret Livingston, Louella Parsons, writer Elinor Glyn, Charlie Chaplin and others.
The writing of this character may be incorrect as well, as it's doubtful that Chaplin would have actually wanted Marion to leave Hearst.All in all, though it's not an edge of your seat kind of film, "The Cat's Meow" is a good film about a fascinating piece of Hollwyood lore.
The screen play is by Steven Peros, who also has a small role in the movie.The story is loosely based on an incident that happened in Mr. Hearst's yacht in which a famous producer, Thomas Ince is murdered.
Kirsten Dunst makes a perfect Marion Davies.The supporting members of the cast are perfectly cast, the most fun being Jennifer Tilly, as Louella Parsons, the famous gossip diva of the Hollywood of those years.
If you're tired of Zoolander, Freddie Got Fingered, and all the rest, here is a movie for you.Kirsten Dunst is very pointedly listed as the star -- and those who have any qualms about her aptitude for period roles should take a look at her performance as the little Nazi girl in "Mother Night", or later in "Little Women."  Hollywood doesn't have a clue what to do with interesting actresses -- Dunst deserves better than "Bring it On."I especially liked the scene where Dunst, as Marion Davies, stumbles upon Charlie Chaplin, who has decided to fall asleep rather than join in a sexual threesome.
Kirsten Dunst grins her way through her role as silent movie star Marion Davies like she thinks she's in "Legally Blonde." The guy who plays William Randolph Hearst overacts to the point where you want to reach into the screen and slap him.
Nice Gem. Cat's Meow, The (2001) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Extremely well acted and marvelously directed drama tells the story of the legendary producer Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes) who boarded a ship owned by Willam Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann) and a couple days later was dead.
While there are various reports as to what happened, this film follows the most talked about which is that Ince informed Hearst that his girlfriend Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst) was having an affair with Charles Chaplin (Eddie Izzard).
The film is, as I said, very slow as it really takes quite a while for things to finally fall into play, and the film is only for serious film fans, as your casual movie watcher will find it hard to watch.The setting of the film is a tale that Hollywood seems to have forgotten, as the year 1924 and the story of the murder aboard William Randolph Hurst's yacht is not a commen topic of conversation.
A speculative rewrite of an obscure historical incident played out like a jazz-age Hollywood remake of Gosford Park, The Cat's Meow takes place during a trip on the private yacht of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Edward Herrmann) when a murdered guest turns up amid the Charlestons, hair oil, cocktails and gay banter.It's all a bit lightweight given that it's meant to herald director Peter Bogdanovich's return to form but Kirsten Dunst, Joanne Lumley and Jennifer Tilly breathe some much-needed life into it while Eddie Izzard gets quietly on with a likable impersonation of Charlie Chaplin.Ultimately as frothy and light as the cocktails they're necking, this is a seriously wasted opportunity for what could have been a slice of Hollywood Gothic..
Meanwhile Hearst has sworn all the guests to silence, and he is powerful enough to buy-off any of the local authorities that may be taking too much interest.Of the many versions of the story, this film opts for the sensationalist theory that Hearst's mistress Marion Davies was getting too friendly with Charlie Chaplin, and Hearst shot Ince after mistaking him for Chaplin - observed only by gossip-writer Louella Parsons, who was then given a lucrative contract by the Hearst newspaper group in exchange for 'confirming' the approved version of the incident.
But Chaplin denied ever being on-board (though he was), while it is not certain whether Parsons was.The triumph of the film is the casting of Edward Herrmann as Hearst, a suitably big, assertive presence, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the great man, and betraying more than a touch of Citizen Kane in his performance.
Hearst and his mistress, silent starlet Marion Davies, host the desperately-gay gathering of the wealthy and hungry: movie mogul and birthday boy Thomas Ince, his mistress Margaret Livingston, film star Charlie Chaplin, writer Elinor Glyn and Louella Parsons, a professional gossip who works for Hearst's New York American.
The plot involves Mr. Ince exposing Davies' love affair with "silent" comedian Charles Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), for personal gain...That Charlie Chaplin is madly in love with Marion Davies is the film's speculative breaking point...Known for his "Little Tramp" character, Mr. Chaplin has just impregnated underage protégée Lita Grey.
******** The Cat's Meow (8/3/01) Peter Bogdanovich ~ Kirsten Dunst, Cary Elwes, Edward Herrmann, Eddie Izzard.
Following his previous comedic hits like "Noises Off", Bogdanovich re-creates what might or might not have happened aboard W.R. Hearts yacht, in the mid-twenties, accompanied by his mistress, the young rising star, Marion Davies (Dunst) and the biggest movie star of the time, Charlie Chaplin (Izzard) along with a few other huge icons of the industry.
Edward Herrmann and Kirsten Dunst were also very convincing as Hearst and Davies, but it was more the satire that Bogdanovich creates that makes the story really believable.
Very good and interesting film,for me,all things work perfectly here,Eddie Izzard is a fine Charlie Chaplin,Cary Elwes is great as ever in all of his movies.The sets could'nt be better,set in 1924 this thriller makes you think that you're really there cause it's very realistic in all points,congratulations for that!
There is a lot of witty lines and comeback lines, and some interesting characters, but many seem to be only cardboard cutouts of what a person of that stature and time should be like.Edward Herrmann was great as William Randolph Hearst, the overconfident man who turns to a insecure child whenever it comes to his relationship with his girl, played by Kirsten Dunst, who is good as the nurturing figure that was the light to Hearst.
Here he tells the near legendary tale of Thomas Ince's fatal weekend on W.R. Hearst's luxury boat (in the company of other film luminaries including Charlie Chaplin and Marion Davies).
Eddie Izzard made a great Charlie Chaplin, and Kirsten Dunst was able to give this film a good amount of steam to the picture.
After waiting for its release for some time, I enjoyed a quiet Saturday afternoon at the cinemas viewing "The Cat's Meow." While in some parts, the pace is slow and does not seem to be moving anywhere; ultimately, the movie is a triumph in re-creating the suave, classic murder mystery.The story is one of the most talked about scandals in Hollywood.
It also includes the love affair between Charlie Chaplin and Marion Davies (played with superb excellence by Kirstin Dunst and Eddie Izzard) and the crazed jealously of William Randolph Hurst (played by Edward Herrman, perhaps being his performance of a lifetime.) Of course, the spectacular 20s craze is kept alive with the wonderful supporting cast including Jennifer Tilly as the soon-to-be most feared gossip columnists in the US, Louella Parsons.
Who knows what really happened aboard Hearst's yacht or if Ince was really murdered, but for my money, this version of the story if the cat's meow..
At this point, half way through the year, it's in the top 10%.This film takes an actual event about which there've been few facts and much rumor -- the illness of a Hollywood producer on a cruise with William Randolph Hearst & "friends" -- and spins a "maybe it happened this way" type of hypothesis.The major principals onscreen are known to most viewers -- Hearst (Edward Herrmann), Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst), Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), Louella Parsons (Joanna Lumley), and Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes).The performances of these five are of Oscar nomination caliber: Hearst and Dunst for best actor; Izzard, Lumley, and Elwes for best supporting.As "Gosford Park" gave an "Upstairs, Downstairs" view of English classes in a similar era, so also "CM" gives us a view of the Hollywood elite -- the powerful, the has beens, the wanna be's, the hangers on -- its particular morality (or amorality), its social veneer, its way of dealing with the larger conventional society which supports it and off which it feeds.
With a boatload of famous early Hollywood personalities Bogdanovich offers up some grand supposition as he blatantly accuses Wily of the shooting of producer Thomas Ince in a jealous rage.Hearst along with movie star mistress Marion Davies along with Charlie Chaplin, writers Eleanor Glyn, Louella Parsons and others go off on a weekend cruise on his yacht off the coast of Southern Cal. On the surface it is supposed to be a leisurely frolic but an undercurrent of desperation in terms of career moves and dalliances makes for choppy waters.
Peter Bogdanovich's well-documented love for film history in all probability makes him the only director capable of adroitly tackling this adaptation of Steven Peros' piece about foul play in twenties Hollywood during a weekend yacht cruise organised by tycoon William Randolph Hearst.
The film's premise has Hearst (Edward Herrmann) madly jealous at Charlie Chaplin's (Eddie Izzard) open courtship of Hearst's lover Marion Davies (a ravishing Kristen Dunst), under the watchful gaze of rapier-wit writer Elinor Glyn (Joanna Lumley) and aspiring gossip columnist Louella Parsons (Jennifer Tilly) and over what was supposed to be a birthday cruise for pioneering Hollywood producer Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes).
Director Peter Bogdanovich, one of Hollywood's great critics and film historians, elicits strong performances across the board, especially from Edward Hermann as Hearst and Kirsten Dunst as his much younger lover, the actress Marion Davies.
Peter Bogdonavich's latest movie "The Cat's Meow" takes a look at what may have happened on William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.
The movie was very beautifully shot, with all the glamour of the Jazz Age, and with a look at Hollywood decadence and corruption, referred to here as the "California Curse."  Each character is brought to life in this story: media titan and megalomaniac Hearst, played by Edward Herrmann as a mean-spirited paranoiac; Kirsten Dunst as W.R.'s mistress Marion Davies, a gal who loves too much; Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin, out of his "little tramp" persona, and pitching woo; Jennifer Tilly as Louella Parsons, here a pesky ditz, and not yet the powerful gossip columnist she would soon become; and Cary Elwes as Ince himself, the ambitious but doomed producer.
Kirsten Dunst is lovely, Joanna Lumley (Patsy from Ab Fab) is wonderful, Jennifer Tilly is a manic Louella Parsons (LOVE those hats!), Cary Elwes is boo-hiss slimy, and Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin and Edward Herrman as Hearst do wonderful work.
The rumor this film decides to bring to light is that in fact William Randolph Hearst was responsible for killing Thomas, having mistaken him for Charlie Chaplin (Izzard) who he discovers is wooing his beloved young star and lover Marion Davies behind his back.
Based on a well-suppressed true story (first told to him by Orson Welles), The Cat's Meow relates the tale of a gathering on the yacht of William Randolph Hearst, to celebrate the birthday of Hollywood producer Thomas Ince.
Among the guests are Hearst's mistress Marion Davies (well played by Kristen Dunst), Charlie Chaplin, and notorious gossip columnist Louella Parsons.
Hearst (Edward Herrmann) and his mistress, silent screen star Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst), are hosting a weekend getaway for their swanky friends.The guests all arrive with their baggage, and their, er, baggage: Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes), a once-omnipotent film producer who has seen his fame and fortune wane in recent years, wants to merge with Hearst's empire; Louella "Lolly" Parsons (Jennifer Tilly), a start-up gossip columnist already working for a Hearst paper, wants to move digs from Gotham to Tinseltown; Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), the notorious womanizer, wants to steal the nubile beauty Marion from Hearst; and the jaded English novelist Elinor Gyn (Joanne Lumley) wants another drink.There is plenty of fodder for naughty fun here -- lavish dinner parties, flashy costume balls, private film screenings, prohibition-snubbing libations, love, betrayal, and a murder -- but it's all just window-dressing.
the rumor that mogul William Randolph Heart (effectively played by Edward Herrmann) accidentally shot movie producer Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes, shedding his trademark smirk) while trying to kill Charlie Chaplin (an excellent Eddie Izzard) who was having an affair with Heart's mistress, actress Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst, mesermizing as always).
Some scenes seem a bit stretched, and there is possibly one Charleston too many, but with that said, it's a cruise worth taking.Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, played by Edward Herrmann, and Kirsten Dunst as his mistress Marion Davies, invite a number friends and associates for a cruise on his luxury yacht.
The main characters are the publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst(Edward Hermann),his mistress and rising star Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst),Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard) and film mogul Thomas Hince (Cary Elwes).