Going Hollywood

Plot synopsis:
The film tells how an infatuated school-teacher, Sylvia Bruce, follows Bill Williams, a popular crooner, to Hollywood where he is to make a picture. On board the train she obtains a job as maid to Bill's French fiancee and leading lady, Lili Yvonne, and meets the film's director, Conroy, and promoter, Baker. On arrival in Hollywood she is befriended by Jill and shares her rooms.
At the Independent Art Studio in Hollywood, where the film is being made, Lili's temperament and lack of talent cause Conroy much concern. Eventually, after losing her temper with a woman who asks for her autograph, Lili refuses to continue unless the woman is removed from the Studio. She is persuaded to stay and production continues with her singing 'Cinderella's Fella' but Conroy is still not satisfied and an angry Lili walks out. Sylvia impersonates Lili's version of the song and ends with an imitation of Lili's tantrums. Lili returns in time to hear Sylvia and there is a brawl in which Lili gets a black eye. Baker, who has also heard Sylvia, intervenes by firing Lili and engaging Sylvia for the part.
Baker asks Sylvia to accompany him to a party but withdraws when Bill expresses his own interest in her. Bill takes Sylvia to dinner and the party but a quarrel ensues and she accuses him of insincerity. Bill deserts the film and goes with Lili to Tijuana where, drinking heavily, he receives a telephone call from the Studio with the ultimatum that if he does not return they will get a replacement. Lili advises him to let them do so and suggests that they fly together to New York and on to Paris. Sylvia finds him and pleads for him to come back to the Studio but returns without him.
In Hollywood there is difficulty with the player chosen to replace Bill and eventually Bill finally appears at the Studio to rejoin Sylvia in the film's closing sequence to sing 'Our Big Love Scene'.
The song 'Beautiful Girl' is sung by Crosby at the beginning of the film before his departure for Hollywood when technicians arrive to record it. When he boards the train at Grand Central Terminal there is a big production number where he and the chorus sing 'Going Hollywood'. He also sings a few lines of 'Just an Echo in the Valley'. Crosby is also heard singing 'Our Big Love Scene' on the radio when Jill is showing Sylvia her apartment. 'We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines' is a dream-sequence production number with thunderstorm effects at the Studio and is featured by Crosby, Marion Davies, chorus and dancers. An impersonation act by The Radio Rogues is also filmed at the Studio and includes imitations of Kate Smith ('When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain'). Russ Columbo ('You Call It Madness But I Call It Love'), Morton Downey ('Remember Me?') and Rudy Vallee ('My Dime Is Your Dime'). Crosby sings 'After Sundown' at the party. 'Temptation' was an early film attempt to fit a song into the story pattern and was presented dramatically by Crosby whilst drinking tequila in a bar at Tijuana.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Just as she says "I wish I may, I wish I might...." Bing Crosby's voice cuts across the moment as he begins the lyric of "Our Big Love Scene": "Don't waste the night in wishing..." as though in answer to Davies' wish upon a star.
The director walks by and hires them as extras in the film starring Crosby and D'Orsay.At Kelly's bungalow, Davies takes a nap and has a bizarre dream about herself and Crosby starring in a surreal production number called "We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines." While Davies dreams, we are shown a huge close up of her face, which is occasionally superimposed over the dream-scene action so that we don't forget it's all a dream.
It's an amazing sequence.The scene shifts back to the film set where, after seeing a dance montage to "Have You Heard," Davies is about to film an elaborate production number.
I had never thought of it in those terms, but it's true.Marion Davies is a love starved French teacher at a girl's boarding school who's spare hours are taken up with the radio crooning of Bing Crosby.
She follows the object of her affection out to Hollywood and in Hollywood cliché style gets her big break in the movies.First if you're willing to accept the beautiful Marion Davies with this crowd of old spinsters at the boarding school then the rest of the plot simply follows.
And you give Marion a good supporting cast that includes Fifi D'Orsay, Ned Sparks, Stu Erwin, and Patsy Kelly.
I'm surprised frankly that Hearst allowed Crosby a huge number like the title tune, set in Grand Central Station, without Davies in it.
Davies does join him in a dream sequence where she sings a couple of lines of We'll Make Hay While The Sun Shines with Marion and Bing dressed as a pair of Grand Wood rustics.
When she discovers that the crooner she adores is GOING HOLLYWOOD, a liberated school teacher dogs his steps all the way to the Studio sound stages.Marion Davies tries her hardest to entertain in this tinsel town spoof, but neither the script (based on a story by the celebrated Frances Marion) nor the direction give her much leeway.
Unfortunately, moments like that come all too rarely.Leading man Bing Crosby comes off rather better, showing the casual charm that would make him a huge star.
And he gets to sing some fine tunes by Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed, including the classic Temptation' and the fun We'll Make Hay While The Sun Shines.' Although his character is a bit of a cad, Bing never fails to deliver the goods to the audience.A troika of character performers add sparkle to the proceedings: earnest Stuart Erwin as a film producer; caustic Ned Sparks as a dictatorial director; and tomboy Patsy Kelly as a plain-talking gal trying to break into the movies.Movie mavens will spot Clara Blandick & Nora Cecil as two of the ossified instructors at the girls' school, and Sterling Holloway as a recording mike technician - all uncredited.Oddly, this film about the Hollywood movie business takes time out to poke fun at contemporary radio stars.
But to remember her as only the bimbo blonde mistress of the country's mightiest media baron is patently unfair.While much of the blame can go to Orson Welles' spoof of Davies in CITIZEN KANE (which he was to admit he regretted towards the end of his life) it must be stated emphatically that Marion was not a no-talent actress with few friends & even fewer brains, whose career was destroyed by her stammer, leaving her to spend lonely years in great, hulking empty castles.In reality, Davies was a bright, vivacious lady who charmed & captivated such diverse guests as George Bernard Shaw & Winston Churchill throughout her 33-year liaison with Hearst.
But she eventually relinquished her film pursuits in order to care for the aging Hearst, and after his death in 1951 she showed herself to be an astute businesswoman during the remaining ten years of her life.It is only now, with the passage of much time & the restoration of her old movies, that it is becoming easier to acknowledge the contributions & cinematic expertise of Miss Marion Davies..
The names and locations were changed, but the plot itself is identical--following the exact same pattern...yet the films are all flooded with 10s.As for Marion Davies, who starred in GOING Hollywood, this weird pattern has emerged.
When Marion hears one of Bing Crosby's songs on the radio, she dances about and announces to all that she's quitting her sequestered job, as she wants to experience life and love.
Aside from a dumb plot, the film is jam-packed full of very, very broad acting from Fifi D'Orsay (who is more a caricature than a realistic portrayal), too much singing (I can't blame the movie entirely for this, as this was not unusual for 1933) and the ridiculous way everything works out perfectly just like in A STAR IS BORN.
Beautiful blonde French teacher Marion Davies (as Sylvia Bruce) quits her job to pursue radio crooner Bing Crosby (as Bill Williams) to Hollywood, where Mr. Crosby is going to star in a motion picture.
Davies continues to swoon over Crosby, who is only has eyes for French co-star Fifi D'Orsay (as Lili Yvonne).
A fine supporting cast, director (Raoul Walsh), and budget make this is a pleasant Bing Crosby musical masquerading as a Marion Davies movie.
Two of Crosby's Brunswick 78 RPM recordings were hits: sung herein to Sterling Holloway, "Beautiful Girl" reached #11; the best film song "Temptation" went to #3; and, the big production number "We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines" peaked at #8."Three Radio Rogues" singing impersonations are also highlights, with Jimmy Hollywood managing Kate Smith's "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain" with uncanny ease.
Mainly, though, it's Crosby's show.***** Going Hollywood (12/22/33) Raoul Walsh ~ Bing Crosby, Marion Davies, Fifi D'Orsay, Patsy Kelly.
It is of course, an absolute slice of silliness, the opening business with a rebellious Davies giving up her job as a teacher as if it was something she had been forced into setting the tone for things to come, but Frances Marion's simplistic tale of a girl making it big in movies is the very quintessence of MGM dreaminess, and Stuart's sharp wit gives it a nice gloss.
This may have been a contribution of Walter Wanger, who always tended to oversee a flowing style in his pictures.Then again, it might also have been influenced by director Raoul Walsh (incidentally a pal of Hearst) who, like in the musical numbers, never made movies as a presentation.
Walsh likes to place his audience where his characters are, especially at key moments, giving a real intensity to the scenes between Davies and Crosby.
In a funny kind of way these moments link to Walsh's westerns, where the homesteads were always dull and squalid while the plains were vast and inviting.So Going Hollywood sees its star supported by a big wall of talent.
MARION DAVIES & BING CROSBY ARE GREAT TOGETHER !.
Bing was a great actor in this film along with super star Marion Davies, who was like the Marilyn Monroe during her days and even Jean Harlow.
Spirited young teacher leaves uptight girl's school for fame and fortune in Hollywood.I tuned in to catch the legendary Marion Davies, WR Hearst's (Citizen Kane) favorite squeeze, and was generally impressed even though the movie is unexceptional.
So this is not a case of a rich Daddy Warbucks making a silk purse out of a no-talent.The movie itself is expensively produced with a couple impressive dance numbers (e.g. the massed train station), plus a youthful Crosby crooning at his most tuneful.
Sylvia Bruce (Marion Davies) is a bored French teacher but after hearing the melodious sounds of the famous Bill Williams (Bing Crosby) on the radio, she is so inspired she leaves her job and seeks her dream.Going Hollywood is a rather odd movie as there is the disturbing fact that Marion Davies' character is practically a stalker who insists that their love is meant to be.
The music - especially "Temptation", "Going Hollywood" and "Beautiful Girl" are absolutely delightful little tunes and make the movie well worth watching.Overall, a bizarre and often tedious movie and Davies isn't at her best.
Her acting, singing and dancing are all pedestrian, and there is absolutely no chemistry with co-star Bing Crosby.
It's a musical starring Marion Davies as an unhappy school teacher who follows Bing off to Hollywood.
Great songs also helps, something that 'Going Hollywood' certainly has, the standouts being the title song, "Temptation" and "Beautiful Girl".Of the production numbers, choreographically the best is the train station sequence which is so lively and entertaining.
While going on a little too long, the Three Radio Rogues are also entertaining, and while overlong and overblown parts of the dream sequence are quite sweet.However, was very much mixed on Marion Davies.
Marion Davies is a young woman who quits her job as a teacher and is content to chase a singer (Bing Crosby) in "Going Hollywood," a 1934 film also starring Stuart Erwin, Fifi D'Orsay, Patsy Kelly and Ned Sparks.
Davies fancies herself in love with a crooner and follows him to LA, where he's about to make a picture with a temperamental French actress (D'Orsay) who is also his current girlfriend.Before becoming the singer of "White Christmas," Bing Crosby was an innovative performer, the first so-called "legit" singer to cross over into popular song.
The film is nearly all music, but nothing as good as "Temptation": "Our Big Love Scene," "Beautiful Girl," "Just an Echo in the Valley," etc.There is a wonderful scene done by the Radio Rogues, who play techs in the film where they improvise a radio program that references stars of the era such as Morton Downey, Russ Columbo, Rudy Vallee and Kate Smith.Marion Davies at this point was 36 - way, way, over the hill for a lead actress in those days - and she requested both Crosby and D'Orsay to be in the film.
It begins with Marion Davies being so enchanted by Bing Crosby's voice on the radio that she rebels against the stuffy girls' school where she teaches French and goes looking for Der Bingel.
And even that doesn't linger long.A curious look at early 30's Hollywood, and Bing on the way up as a song and dance dynamo, but little else to recommend it.
Marion Davies plays Sylvia, a school teacher who quits her job after hearing Bill Williams (Bing Crosby) on the radio.
William Randolph Hearst was the backer of this film and wanted Davies to be surrounded by as much talent as possible so he paid an outrageous fortune to get Crosby away from Paramount as well as paying to get Walsh away from Fox. The end result of all the time and trouble made for a good 80-minute comedy that has plenty of small laughs and some nice music.
The supporting cast includes Patsy Kelly, Ned Sparks, Stuart Erwin and Fifi D'Orsay as the mean French woman.
It doesn't make her look bad, but it doesn't make you think she was a great comedian, either.For me, the best thing, the only really good thing, in this movie was Bing Crosby's delivery of some of his musical numbers, in particular *Temptation*, a great song that he brings off very well.
The other musical numbers, like the script, are bland and forgettable.I'm surprised that Hearst, with all his money and power, couldn't have seen to it that Davies had better material.
In one of Bing Crosby's earliest movies, he "goes Hollywood" and sings an adorable '30s production number at the train station.
If you don't mind musical numbers that involve tapdancing scarecrows, and a scene where Marion Davies acts in blackface just to get a rise out of Bing, you're in a good mindset to enjoy the whole of this movie.
The main plot is also incredibly dated: Marion Davies is a schoolteacher and falls in love with Bing Crosby's singing voice on the radio.
Basically, if you're not extremely interested in this time period of film history and don't even know who Marion Davies is, you won't make it through this movie.
There are some great songs, like "Temptation", "Beautiful Girl", and "Our Big Love Scene" that you've probably heard on CDs but now get to watch performed in the movie!.
Crosby, of course, held the patent on this kind of easy charm and likability, and I can't think of another musical of this period where I felt cheated when some of the songs ended too soon--the title song, "Beautiful Girl" and especially "Temptation." In addition to showcasing his iconic baritone, this film gives some of the earliest glimpses of the excellent dramatic actor who would appear in films later in his career.D'Orsay, Ned Sparks, Stu Erwin and the Radio Rascals all provide moments of fun, even if the cumulative effect is sometimes too much of a good thing.
"Going Hollywood" (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933), directed by Raoul Walsh, hailed as one of the better Marion Davies productions for MGM during the sound era (1929-1934), is an interesting item mainly because of the presence of her co-star, Bing Crosby (on loan from Paramount), then in an early peak to his career, along with his introduction to the hit song, "Temptation." It also became Marion Davies' second MGM comedy with a Hollywood background, the first being the silent production of "Show People" (1928), which today seems to hold up better than "Going Hollywood," but on the whole, each provides an interesting tale and the behind-the-scenes look to a bygone era.Davies stars as Sylvia Bruce, a young French teacher at Miss Briarcroft's School for girls.
After Lily walks off the set, Sylvia is then given the leading part, but further complications occur, especially misunderstandings that cause Bill to not show up on the set, leading to his termination from production."Going Hollywood" is a typical and lighthearted musical comedy with noteworthy songs by composers Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur including: "Our Big Love Scene," "Beautiful Girl," "Going Hollywood," "Just an Echo in the Valley" (by Reginald Connelly, Jimmy Campbell and Harry Woods); "Going Hollywood," "We'll Make Hay" (all sung by Bing Crosby); "Have You Heard?" (sung by Marion Davies); "Cinderella's Fella" (sung by chorus); "After Sundown," "Temptation" and "Our Big Love Scene." Many songs, no real production numbers, with the exception of a interesting dream sequence to note with the lively "We'll Make Hay" number, as Sylvia is being crooned to by Bill (Crosby) on the farm surrounded by dancing scarecrows and farmhands.
Plenty of chances for Bing Crosby to sing, but the pedestrian 'bit part to star' plot is standard issue.Marion Davies' dancing is not as bad as others have suggested, though not great.
As for her acting--well, let me put it this way, three strikes and you're out.As for BING CROSBY, he does very well in this early film, sounding every bit like the classy crooner he was in those days.
One scene that is memorable for all pure cinephiles is the "Going Hollywood" number that Bing Crosby sings at the beginning of the film.
In the musical "Going Hollywood," Marion Davies plays a starry-eyed girls-school teacher who, after listening to Bing Crosby's crooning over the radio, follows him to Hollywood--essentially becoming his stalker.
This is a silly premise, especially given that Davies was an established Hollywood star since the silent-film era, and Bing Crosby was just beginning his career there.
Through much of the picture, Davies gives a stilted performance complete with dead-eye stares, which seems appropriate to the stalker role, but the rest of the film, unfortunately, plays out as a generic ingénue-turned-star romance, with neither star fitting the bill.With a threadbare plot, "Going Hollywood" spends much of its time on Crosby's singing.
I have only seen Marion Davies in two films "The Bachelor Father" and "Going Hollywood".
In this film the standouts are the memorable songs (all of them now Bing Crosby standards), Bing's completely natural and easy going manner, Ned Sparkes (of course) and Marion's very clunky dancing.As one of the reviewers says it did seem to be a shorter film than intended.
"Beautiful Girls" - Bing sang as he packed to go to Hollywood - I was expecting a big production number - I was disappointed but at least they were included.Sylvia Bruce (Marion Davies) is a teacher at Briarcroft Girls Boarding School.
One night when listening to Bill Williams (Bing Crosby) sing "Our Big Love Scene" - "Don't waste the night in wishing" - she decides to do what the song says, follow her heart and goes to Bill to tell him what he means to her.Bill is also going to Hollywood.
This number was filmed in a clumsy way but with great gusto.Sylvia has to get past Bill's current love Lili (Fifi D'Orsay) but manages to secure a job with her as a French speaking maid (she had been a French teacher at Briarcroft).
It ends very quickly - all the cast is on the stage to film "Our Big Love Scene" when Bill (singing of course ) comes through the door takes Sylvia in his arms and kisses her.
Toss in former girl's school teacher Marion Davies as the star-struck young lady who reluctantly ends up becoming an actress, temperamental Fifi D'Orsday (in her biggest film role), funny Patsy Kelly, money man Stuart Erwin, and sour-pussed Ned Sparks, and you have a dyslexic "42nd Street" where the extra gets to be a film star rather than the chorus girl getting to be a Broadway star.
Bing Crosby and Marion Davies dominate in this musical comedy/romance.
A musical comedy, in which Marion Davies' character becomes obsessed with Bing Crosby's singing one starry night, and decides she's going to quit her dull schoolteacher job, and go to Hollywood in imitation of Crosby, to experience life and love.
These include "Temptation", "Going Hollywood, and "Our Big Love Scene".