The Cat's Meow
Encyclopedia
The Cat's Meow is a 2001 drama film
directed by Peter Bogdanovich
, and starring Kirsten Dunst
, Eddie Izzard
, Edward Herrmann
, Cary Elwes
, Joanna Lumley
, and Jennifer Tilly
. The screenplay
by Steven Peros is based on his play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince
.
The film takes place aboard publisher William Randolph Hearst
's yacht on a weekend cruise celebrating Ince's 42nd birthday in November 1924; among those in attendance include Hearst's
longtime companion and film actress Marion Davies
, fellow actor Charlie Chaplin
, writer Elinor Glyn
, columnist Louella Parsons
, and actress Margaret Livingston
; the celebration, however, ends in an unusual death which would go on to become subject of legendary Hollywood folklore
.
Oneida in San Pedro, California are its owner, publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst
, and his mistress, silent film
star Marion Davies
; Ince, whose birthday is the reason for the weekend cruise, and his mistress, starlet Margaret Livingston
; Charlie Chaplin
; English writer Elinor Glyn
; and Louella Parsons
, the film critic
for Hearst's New York American.
Elinor Glyn provides the narration:
"In November 1924, during a weekend yacht party bound for San Diego, a mysterious death occurred within the Hollywood community. However there was no coverage in the press, no police action, and of the fourteen passengers on board only one was ever questioned by authorities. Little evidence exists now or existed at the time to support any version of those events. History has been written in whispers, and this is the whisper told most often. The yacht, you see, belonged to William Randolph Hearst. Only in a place like this do reporters and autograph hounds have absolutely no scruples about stampeding mourners at a funeral. Welcome to Hollywood, a place just off the coast of planet Earth. After we all leave the man in the box will disappear. Just his ashes will remain. After all, it's fire that can hurt you, not ashes."
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 sixteen-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 drama
s to which Hearst has kept her confined. Ince's eponymous film studio is in dire financial straits, and 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 hopes to find proof he can present to Hearst in order to curry favor with him. In the wastepaper basket in Chaplin's stateroom, he 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, and his anger is fueled further by the discovery of Davies' brooch in Chaplin's cabin. He assumes it was left there during a romantic liaison
, unaware she and several other guests had gathered there the night before to indulge in moonshine
and marijuana.
Armed with a pistol, Hearst searches the yacht for Chaplin in the middle of the night. He discovers Davies and Ince, who has donned the derby Chaplin had been wearing earlier, in a huddle at the foot of a staircase leading to the boiler room. He overhears Davies tell Ince she never loved "him." Mistaking the derby-clad Ince as Chaplin, Hearst naturally assumes the "him" refers to himself, and in jealousy shoots Ince in the back of the head. A stunned Davies later tells Hearst he misunderstood the conversation — the "him" that she never loved was actually Chaplin.
Hearst arranges to dock in San Diego and have a waiting ambulance take the still-alive Ince to his home. He phones the injured man's wife and tells her Ince attempted suicide
when Livingston tried to end their affair, and assures her he will make sure the truth does not reach the media. To the rest of his guests he announces Ince's ulcer
flared up during the night and he is in need of immediate medical attention. Davies, of course, knows the truth, and confides in Chaplin. Also aware of what really happened is Parsons who, having gotten up to investigate mysterious noises she heard, had witnessed the shooting. She 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 columnist
s.
After seeing Ince off, Hearst confronts Davies and Chaplin. Chaplin berates Hearst for what he has done and 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 feels the murder has rekindled Davies' love for Hearst.
The film concludes with the guests leaving Tom Ince's funeral, as Elinor Glyn narrates what became of them:
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, and in Hollywood, "the place just off the coast of the planet Earth", no two accounts of the story are the same.
, Peter Bogdanovich and members of his cast and crew discussed the film. The director revealed he first heard the story of the weekend cruise and its consequences from Orson Welles
thirty years before receiving the Steven Peros script. (According to the HBO film RKO 281
, Welles was told the story by Herman Mankiewicz, his screenwriting collaborator on Citizen Kane
.)
Bogdanovich wanted to shoot the film in black and white to capture the feel of the silent movie era, but studio heads objected. (Black and white scenes of Ince's funeral, resembling old newsreel
footage, bookend the film.) To compensate, the director ordered costume design
er Caroline de Vivaise to dress the cast in only black and white. With only a few weeks to prepare prior to the start of filming, she resorted to shopping in secondhand stores for vintage clothing. Bogdanovich agreed to her request to have some silver and gold on the costumes when many of the pieces she found were trimmed with those colors.
Composer Ian Whitcomb
's score was augmented by original recordings that were popular during the period in which the film takes place. These included "Avalon
," "Toot Toot Tootsie," and "California, Here I Come" by Al Jolson
; "Everybody Loves My Baby" and "Wild Cat Blues" by Clarence Williams; "Stumbling," "Say It With Music," "Somebody Loves Me," and "Linger Awhile" by Paul Whiteman
; and "Wabash Blues" by Fletcher Henderson
. In addition, Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys performed many tunes from the era, among them "Ain't We Got Fun," "I'm Just Wild About Harry," "St. Louis Blues," "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody," "I'm Nobody's Baby," "Rose of Washington Square," "If You Were the Only Girl in the World," "Margie
," "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?," and "Alice Blue Gown."
After the film had been completed, music supervisor Joel C. High realised the version of "Charleston" heard in the birthday party scene was a jazz-tinged arrangement from the 1950s and had Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys record an authentic 1920s rendition to replace it. Bogdanovich preferred the livelier, more contemporary sound of the original version but finally was convinced by High to use the more accurate recording.
The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2001. It was shown at the 2001 Flanders International Film Festival in Belgium
, the 2001 MIFED Film Market in Italy
, the 2002 International Film Festival Rotterdam
, and the 2002 Mar del Plata Film Festival
in Argentina
before going into limited release in the US in April 2002.
The film grossed $3,176,936 in the US.
's better recent efforts. There is little to distinguish it visually from a made-for-cable historical drama. We observe the events from a polite distance, rather than being plunged into the swirl of decadent Jazz Age high life. The suave camera movements never quite dispel the feeling that we are watching a filmed play. But Mr. Bogdanovich ... shows his mastery in his work with the actors, who turn dusty Tinseltown lore into a spry and touching entertainment."
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
said, "The film is darkly atmospheric, with Herrmann quietly suggesting the sadness and obsession beneath Hearst's forced avuncular chortles. Dunst is as good, in her way, as Dorothy Comingore
in Citizen Kane
in showing a woman who is more loyal and affectionate than her lover deserves."
In the San Francisco Chronicle
, Mick LaSalle
stated, "Bogdanovich takes a tale of old Hollywood and infuses it with velocity and enthusiasm. He avoids his twin demons, freneticism and cuteness, and delivers his best picture in years ... His deft use of a single location, his intelligent handling of his ensemble cast and his graceful camera work mark this as a true return to form."
Derek Elley of Variety
described the film as "playful and sporty" and said of Kirsten Dunst, "[She] gives her best performance to date amid a skilled older cast. Believable as both a spoiled ingenue and a lover to two very different men, Dunst endows a potentially lightweight character with considerable depth and sympathy."
In Rolling Stone
, Peter Travers
observed, "Elegant, funny and unexpectedly touching, this whodunit about a murder aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst represents a bracing comeback for Peter Bogdanovich ... Dunst, the teen queen of Bring It On
and Crazy/Beautiful
, is showstoppingly good, finding humor, heart and surprising gravity in a character often dismissed as a gold digger."
James Christopher of The Times
said, "The unexpected charm of Bogdanovich's film is that he paints a social scenario worthy of Decline and Fall
. His cast are comically hollow and effortlessly insincere ... Kirsten Dunst is a marvellous tease as Marion; Eddie Izzard is a manly Chaplin; and Herrmann is hypnotic as the infatuated host who is richer than God."
In the Los Angeles Times
, Kevin Thomas stated, "Peter Bogdanovich, who knows his Hollywood history probably better than any other American director, works from Steven Peros' amusing yet poignant script to tell the popular version of the legend in clever and entertaining fashion, loaded with authentic and convincing details."
Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post enthused, "What a tonic to be treated to a movie for that most uncourted, ignored and generally dissed of demographics
: the grown-ups ... This is not a film that depends on jiggles, gross-outs or special effects. The movie unwinds at an unhurried pace and scenes are allowed to play without a lot of jangly edits and jump-cuts. People talk to each other in complete sentences."
"[The] silent crosscutting between close-ups of the characters," adds Peter Tonguette of The Film Journal, "helps to shorn the film of its theatrical origins... Bogdanovich's sensitivity towards his characters and outright insistence that we see even the most gluttonous and poisonous among them as human beings is rare, and commendable."
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
, and starring Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
, Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
, Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
, and Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Steven Peros is based on his play of the same title, which was inspired by the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince
Thomas H. Ince
Thomas Harper Ince was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer of more than 100 films and pioneering studio mogul. Known as the "Father of the Western", he invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, introducing early Hollywood to the "assembly line"...
.
The film takes place aboard publisher William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
's yacht on a weekend cruise celebrating Ince's 42nd birthday in November 1924; among those in attendance include Hearst's
longtime companion and film actress Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
, fellow actor Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, writer Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She popularized the concept It...
, columnist Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her...
, and actress Margaret Livingston
Margaret Livingston
Margaret Livingston was an American film actress, most notable for her work during the silent film era....
; the celebration, however, ends in an unusual death which would go on to become subject of legendary Hollywood folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
.
Plot
It is November 15, 1924, and among those boarding the luxury yachtYacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
Oneida in San Pedro, California are its owner, publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, and his mistress, silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
star Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
; Ince, whose birthday is the reason for the weekend cruise, and his mistress, starlet Margaret Livingston
Margaret Livingston
Margaret Livingston was an American film actress, most notable for her work during the silent film era....
; Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
; English writer Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She popularized the concept It...
; and Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her...
, the film critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
for Hearst's New York American.
Elinor Glyn provides the narration:
"In November 1924, during a weekend yacht party bound for San Diego, a mysterious death occurred within the Hollywood community. However there was no coverage in the press, no police action, and of the fourteen passengers on board only one was ever questioned by authorities. Little evidence exists now or existed at the time to support any version of those events. History has been written in whispers, and this is the whisper told most often. The yacht, you see, belonged to William Randolph Hearst. Only in a place like this do reporters and autograph hounds have absolutely no scruples about stampeding mourners at a funeral. Welcome to Hollywood, a place just off the coast of planet Earth. After we all leave the man in the box will disappear. Just his ashes will remain. After all, it's fire that can hurt you, not ashes."
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
A Woman of Paris
A Woman of Paris is a feature-length silent film that debuted in 1923. The film, an atypical drama film for its creator, was written, directed, produced and later scored by Charlie Chaplin. It is also known as A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate....
and rumors he has impregnated sixteen-year-old Lita Grey
Lita Grey
Lita Grey was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican-born mother and a father of Irish heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
, who appeared in his film The Kid
The Kid (1921 film)
The Kid is a 1921 American silent dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, and features Jackie Coogan as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie...
, is in the midst of preparing The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush
The Gold Rush is a 1925 silent film comedy written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The film also stars Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite....
. Davies longs to appear in a slapstick comedy rather than the somber costume drama
Costume drama
A costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...
s to which Hearst has kept her confined. Ince's eponymous film studio is in dire financial straits, and 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 hopes to find proof he can present to Hearst in order to curry favor with him. In the wastepaper basket in Chaplin's stateroom, he 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, and his anger is fueled further by the discovery of Davies' brooch in Chaplin's cabin. He assumes it was left there during a romantic liaison
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
, unaware she and several other guests had gathered there the night before to indulge in moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
and marijuana.
Armed with a pistol, Hearst searches the yacht for Chaplin in the middle of the night. He discovers Davies and Ince, who has donned the derby Chaplin had been wearing earlier, in a huddle at the foot of a staircase leading to the boiler room. He overhears Davies tell Ince she never loved "him." Mistaking the derby-clad Ince as Chaplin, Hearst naturally assumes the "him" refers to himself, and in jealousy shoots Ince in the back of the head. A stunned Davies later tells Hearst he misunderstood the conversation — the "him" that she never loved was actually Chaplin.
Hearst arranges to dock in San Diego and have a waiting ambulance take the still-alive Ince to his home. He phones the injured man's wife and tells her Ince attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
when Livingston tried to end their affair, and assures her he will make sure the truth does not reach the media. To the rest of his guests he announces Ince's ulcer
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
flared up during the night and he is in need of immediate medical attention. Davies, of course, knows the truth, and confides in Chaplin. Also aware of what really happened is Parsons who, having gotten up to investigate mysterious noises she heard, had witnessed the shooting. She assures Hearst his secret will be safe in exchange for a lifetime contract with the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
, thus laying the groundwork for her lengthy career as one of Hollywood's most powerful gossip columnist
Gossip columnist
A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business ,...
s.
After seeing Ince off, Hearst confronts Davies and Chaplin. Chaplin berates Hearst for what he has done and 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 feels the murder has rekindled Davies' love for Hearst.
The film concludes with the guests leaving Tom Ince's funeral, as Elinor Glyn narrates what became of them:
- Margaret Livingston went on to star in a number of successful films and her salary "inexplicably" went from $300 to $1000 a movie
- Marion Davies starred in more of Hearst's films before finally being allowed to feature in a comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929The Hollywood Revue of 1929The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is a 1929 part Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer American musical-comedy film. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of the earliest ventures into the talkie format. Produced by Harry Rapf and directed by Chuck Riesner, the film brought together some...
, which was (as Chaplin predicted) a success. She stayed by Hearst's side until his death in 1951 - Charlie Chaplin married his teenage lover Lita GreyLita GreyLita Grey was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican-born mother and a father of Irish heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and his film The Gold RushThe Gold RushThe Gold Rush is a 1925 silent film comedy written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The film also stars Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite....
was an overwhelming success - Louella 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, and in Hollywood, "the place just off the coast of the planet Earth", no two accounts of the story are the same.
Production
In an episode of the Sundance Channel series Anatomy of a SceneAnatomy of a Scene
Anatomy of a Scene is a television series produced by and aired regularly on Sundance Channel since 2001. As a tagline for the series notes, each 30-minute episode "dissects the art of filmmaking" of a scene from a specific film, often a film previously showcased at a Sundance Film Festival.An...
, Peter Bogdanovich and members of his cast and crew discussed the film. The director revealed he first heard the story of the weekend cruise and its consequences from Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
thirty years before receiving the Steven Peros script. (According to the HBO film RKO 281
RKO 281
RKO 281 is a 1999 historical drama film directed by Benjamin Ross. It stars Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, and Roy Scheider and depicts the troubled production behind the 1941 film Citizen Kane...
, Welles was told the story by Herman Mankiewicz, his screenwriting collaborator on Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
.)
Bogdanovich wanted to shoot the film in black and white to capture the feel of the silent movie era, but studio heads objected. (Black and white scenes of Ince's funeral, resembling old newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
footage, bookend the film.) To compensate, the director ordered costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
er Caroline de Vivaise to dress the cast in only black and white. With only a few weeks to prepare prior to the start of filming, she resorted to shopping in secondhand stores for vintage clothing. Bogdanovich agreed to her request to have some silver and gold on the costumes when many of the pieces she found were trimmed with those colors.
Composer Ian Whitcomb
Ian Whitcomb
Ian Whitcomb is an entertainer, singer, songwriter, author, record producer, and actor...
's score was augmented by original recordings that were popular during the period in which the film takes place. These included "Avalon
Avalon (Al Jolson song)
"Avalon" is a 1920 popular song written by Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva and Vincent Rose. It was introduced by Jolson and interpolated in the musicals Sinbad and Bombo. Jolson's recording rose to number two on the charts in 1921. The song was possibly written by Rose, but Jolson's popularity as a...
," "Toot Toot Tootsie," and "California, Here I Come" by Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
; "Everybody Loves My Baby" and "Wild Cat Blues" by Clarence Williams; "Stumbling," "Say It With Music," "Somebody Loves Me," and "Linger Awhile" by Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
; and "Wabash Blues" by Fletcher Henderson
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...
. In addition, Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys performed many tunes from the era, among them "Ain't We Got Fun," "I'm Just Wild About Harry," "St. Louis Blues," "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody," "I'm Nobody's Baby," "Rose of Washington Square," "If You Were the Only Girl in the World," "Margie
Margie (song)
"Margie", also known as "My Little Margie", is a 1920 popular song. It was composed in collaboration by vaudeville performer and pianist Con Conrad and ragtime pianist J. Russel Robinson, a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Lyrics were written by Benny Davis, a vaudeville performer and...
," "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?," and "Alice Blue Gown."
After the film had been completed, music supervisor Joel C. High realised the version of "Charleston" heard in the birthday party scene was a jazz-tinged arrangement from the 1950s and had Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys record an authentic 1920s rendition to replace it. Bogdanovich preferred the livelier, more contemporary sound of the original version but finally was convinced by High to use the more accurate recording.
The film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2001. It was shown at the 2001 Flanders International Film Festival in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the 2001 MIFED Film Market in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the 2002 International Film Festival Rotterdam
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
, and the 2002 Mar del Plata Film Festival
Mar del Plata Film Festival
The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
before going into limited release in the US in April 2002.
The film grossed $3,176,936 in the US.
Cast
- Edward HerrmannEdward HerrmannEdward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
– William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father... - Kirsten DunstKirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
– Marion DaviesMarion DaviesMarion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career.... - Eddie IzzardEddie IzzardEdward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
– Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I... - Cary ElwesCary ElwesIvan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
– Thomas H. InceThomas H. InceThomas Harper Ince was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer of more than 100 films and pioneering studio mogul. Known as the "Father of the Western", he invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, introducing early Hollywood to the "assembly line"... - Joanna LumleyJoanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
– Elinor GlynElinor GlynElinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She popularized the concept It... - Jennifer TillyJennifer TillyJennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...
– Louella ParsonsLouella ParsonsLouella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her... - Claudia HarrisonClaudia HarrisonClaudia Harrison is an English actress. She was educated at Bradfield College and Birmingham University, from where she graduated with a 1st class honours degree...
– Margaret LivingstonMargaret LivingstonMargaret Livingston was an American film actress, most notable for her work during the silent film era....
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, A.O. Scott called the film "a modest, restrained picture, as small and satisfying as one of Woody AllenWoody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's better recent efforts. There is little to distinguish it visually from a made-for-cable historical drama. We observe the events from a polite distance, rather than being plunged into the swirl of decadent Jazz Age high life. The suave camera movements never quite dispel the feeling that we are watching a filmed play. But Mr. Bogdanovich ... shows his mastery in his work with the actors, who turn dusty Tinseltown lore into a spry and touching entertainment."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
said, "The film is darkly atmospheric, with Herrmann quietly suggesting the sadness and obsession beneath Hearst's forced avuncular chortles. Dunst is as good, in her way, as Dorothy Comingore
Dorothy Comingore
Dorothy Comingore was an American film actress, best known for her portrayal of Susan Alexander in Orson Welles's critically acclaimed movie Citizen Kane...
in Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
in showing a woman who is more loyal and affectionate than her lover deserves."
In the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
stated, "Bogdanovich takes a tale of old Hollywood and infuses it with velocity and enthusiasm. He avoids his twin demons, freneticism and cuteness, and delivers his best picture in years ... His deft use of a single location, his intelligent handling of his ensemble cast and his graceful camera work mark this as a true return to form."
Derek Elley of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
described the film as "playful and sporty" and said of Kirsten Dunst, "[She] gives her best performance to date amid a skilled older cast. Believable as both a spoiled ingenue and a lover to two very different men, Dunst endows a potentially lightweight character with considerable depth and sympathy."
In Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
observed, "Elegant, funny and unexpectedly touching, this whodunit about a murder aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst represents a bracing comeback for Peter Bogdanovich ... Dunst, the teen queen of Bring It On
Bring It On (film)
Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
and Crazy/Beautiful
Crazy/Beautiful
Crazy/Beautiful is a 2001 American drama/romance film starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. It is largely set at Palisades Charter High School and the surrounding area, including Downtown Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Malibu , and East Los Angeles .-Plot:Nicole — the spoiled, rich,...
, is showstoppingly good, finding humor, heart and surprising gravity in a character often dismissed as a gold digger."
James Christopher of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said, "The unexpected charm of Bogdanovich's film is that he paints a social scenario worthy of Decline and Fall
Decline and Fall
Decline and Fall is a novel by the English author Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1928. It was Waugh's first published novel; an earlier attempt, entitled The Temple at Thatch, was destroyed by Waugh while still in manuscript form. Decline and Fall is based in part on Waugh's undergraduate years...
. His cast are comically hollow and effortlessly insincere ... Kirsten Dunst is a marvellous tease as Marion; Eddie Izzard is a manly Chaplin; and Herrmann is hypnotic as the infatuated host who is richer than God."
In the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Kevin Thomas stated, "Peter Bogdanovich, who knows his Hollywood history probably better than any other American director, works from Steven Peros' amusing yet poignant script to tell the popular version of the legend in clever and entertaining fashion, loaded with authentic and convincing details."
Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post enthused, "What a tonic to be treated to a movie for that most uncourted, ignored and generally dissed of demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
: the grown-ups ... This is not a film that depends on jiggles, gross-outs or special effects. The movie unwinds at an unhurried pace and scenes are allowed to play without a lot of jangly edits and jump-cuts. People talk to each other in complete sentences."
"[The] silent crosscutting between close-ups of the characters," adds Peter Tonguette of The Film Journal, "helps to shorn the film of its theatrical origins... Bogdanovich's sensitivity towards his characters and outright insistence that we see even the most gluttonous and poisonous among them as human beings is rare, and commendable."