Movies About the Movies : Hollywood Reflected

Hundreds Of Films Belonging To The Genre Of Hollywood-on-hollywood Movies Can Be Found Throughout The History Of American Cinema, From The Days Of Silents To The Present. They Include Films From Genres As Far Ranging As Musical, Film Noir, Melodrama, Comedy, And Action Adventure. Such Movies Seduce Us With The Promise Of Revealing The Reality Behind The Camera. But, As Part Of The Very Industry They Supposedly Critique, They Cannot Take Us Behind The Scenes In Any True Sense. This Paradox - The Simultaneous Debunking And Celebration Of Hollywood - Lies At The Heart Of The Genre. Through Close Analysis Of The Best Of These Films. Ames Reveals How The Idea Of Hollywood Is Constructed (and Constructs Itself), Particularly Through Such Moments Of Explicit Self-referentiality As The Movie-within-a-movie And Scenes Set In Studios. Introduction: Hollywood Stories -- 1. Cautionary Tales. What Price Hollywood? (1932). A Star Is Born (1937) The Star (1952) -- 2. Singin' On The Screen. Singin' In The Rain (1952) A Star Is Born (1954) -- 3. Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella. Sullivan's Travels (1941) Pennies From Heaven (1981) -- 4. Screen Passages. The Purple Rose Of Cairo (1985) Last Action Hero (1993) -- 5. No Business Like. Stand-in (1937) The Bad And The Beautiful (1952) -- 6. Picturing Writers. Boy Meets Girl (1938) In A Lonely Place (1950) -- 7. Offing The Writer. Sunset Boulevard (1950) The Player (1992) -- Epilogue: California Dreams. Christopher Ames. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 238-244) And Index. Hundreds of Hollywood-on-Hollywood movies can be found throughout the history of American cinema, from the days of silents to the present. They include films from genres as far ranging as musical, film noir, melodrama, comedy, and action-adventure. Such movies seduce us with the promise of revealing the reality behind the camera. But, as part of the very industry they supposedly critique, they cannot take us behind the scenes in any true sense. Through close analysis of fifteen critically acclaimed films, Christopher Ames reveals how the idea of Hollywood is constructed and constructs itself. Films discussed: What Price Hollywood? (1952), A Star Is Born (1937), Stand-In (1937), Boy Meets Girl (1938), Sullivan's Travels (1941), In a Lonely Place (1950), Sunset Boulevard (1950), The Star (1950), Singin'in the Rain (1952), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Pennies from Heaven (1981), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), The Player (1992), Last Action Hero (1993). Hundreds of films belonging to the genre of Hollywood-on-Hollywood movies can be found throughout the history of American cinema, from the days of silents to the present. They include films from genres as far ranging as musical, film noir, melodrama, comedy, and action adventure. Such movies seduce the viewer with the promise of revealing the reality behind the camera. But, as part of the very industry they supposedly critique, they cannot take viewers behind the scenes in any true sense. This paradox - the simultaneous debunking and celebration of Hollywood - lies at the heart of the genre. Through close analysis of the best of these films, the author reveals how the idea of Hollywood is constructed (and constructs itself), particularly through such moments of explicit self-referentiality as the movie-within-a-movie and scenes set in studios The paradoxes of the Hollywood film about Hollywood are more than simply genre constraints; rather, the paradoxes reveal the nature of Hollywood's--and America's--conflicted cultural stance toward its most powerful narrative medium. When David O. Selznick defended A Star Is Born to the Hays Office during production, he wrote that the film would function as "a warning to girls of how strong the chances are against them."