Main Cast: Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart Erwin, Ned Sparks
Release Year: 1933
Country: US
Run Time: 78 minutes
Plot
Reportedly at the request of Marion Davies herself, Bing Crosby was borrowed from Paramount for the MGM Davies vehicle Going Hollywood. Der Bingle plays a struggling crooner who falls in love with Davies, a French teacher in a girl's school. He rises to fame and fortune in Hollywood, leaving Davies behind. She trails after him and becomes a movie star in her own right, supplanting Crosby's current vis-a-vis, the seductive Fifi D'Orsay. Hero and heroine are reunited in a lyrical finale. Some of the best moments in Going Hollywood belong to Patsy Kelly, making her movie debut as Davies' wisecracking chum, and to the Radio Rogues, a comedy singing act specializing in impressions of contemporary radio celebrities. As was his wont, publisher William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies' very good friend, was present throughout the filming, making it difficult indeed for Bing Crosby to "lose himself" in the kissing scenes. The gloriously oversized production numbers include "Temptation" (given an astoundingly seductive rendition by a worldly Bing Crosby) and the high-kickin' title song. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Merrill Pye - Art Director, Albertina Rasch - Choreography, Adrian - Costume Designer, Raoul Walsh - Director, Walter Walsh - Director, Frank Sullivan - Editor, Nacio Herb Brown - Composer (Music Score), Arthur Freed - Composer (Music Score), Lennie Hayton - Musical Direction/Supervision, George Folsey - Cinematographer, Walter Walsh - Producer, Walter Wanger - Producer, Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer, Frances Marion - Screen Story, Donald Ogden Stewart - Screenwriter
Going Hollywood (1933) is an American black and white musical film directed by Raoul Walsh, written by Donald Ogden Stewart, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film tells the story of Sylvia (Marion Davies), a French teacher at an all-girl school, who wants to find love. When she hears Bill Williams (Bing Crosby) on the radio, she decides to go visit and thank him. However, difficult problems lay ahead when Lili (Fifi D'Orsay) gets in the way.
The film is known by a variety of different named throughout the world. During production, the filmis working title was Paid to Laugh (later Paid to Love). The film is also known as: Af sted til Hollywood in Denmark, Amores en Hollywood in Spain, Auf ins Paradies! in Austria, Cinderella's Fella in Australia, Kärlek efter noterSweden, Nyhtes sto Hollywood, Greece and Verso hollywoodItaly.
"Fluffy fun, featuring Crosby in his first MGM film and Davies in one of her best performances. She's an attractive French teacher who follows aspiring crooner Crosby to Hollywood to save him from the clutches of the egotistical D'Orsay. You can probably guess the rest. Director Walsh handled the production with the brisk pace that was to become his trademark. Crosby, in collegiate sweaters, spectator shoes and white golf pants, is the essence of the casual crooner. He sings one of his biggest early-day hits, "Temptation." The production was lavishly sponsored by Cosmopolitan Productions, the filmmaking arm of newspaper czar William Randolph Hearst, who allowed his leading lady and mistress Davies all the luxuries of an empress during the film's leisurely production schedule.
The literate and amusing screenplay was written by Stewart, a witty Hollywood scribe of the Robert Benchley school, and the supporting cast for GOING HOLLYWOOD is solid with Sparks as the cynical film director, Erwin as the bumbling producer, Hayton as the versatile pianist and conductor, and slapstick galore from scene-stealing, wisecracking Kelly in her film debut after several smashing successes on Broadway. The film, when finally released, was an enormous success and transformed Crosby into a top ten box-office attraction."
"Crosby's voice, however, never falters. He is at his absolute best in numbers like "Beautiful Girl" and the title number, which is set in Grand Central Station. In a memorable Oz meets Oklahoma dream sequence, Davies and Crosby parade through cellophane sunflowers to "We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines." The finale is also a showstopper, with a deco backdrop that becomes a towering orchestra pit and Davies and Crosby's reunion to "Our Big Love Scene." "
"Some fine songs highlight this story of the temperamental star replaced by the young and hungry girl in both career and romance. The wit of Jill, the frustration of Conroy, the sincerity of Ernest, and the electricians' radio satire tend to outshine the main plot, showing that it's not always the stars that carry the picture. Sometimes the picture carries them."
Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews [4] had a more humble view:
"It never amounts to more than a programmer, but it's entertaining fluff."
Edward Lorusso of The Midnight Palace [5] had a similar view:
"While Going Hollywood is not usually ranked among the decade’s best musicals, it seems now to be a botched effort by MGM at making a major musical (MGM also reversed directions with Hollywood Party, another ambitious musical that was reduced to nonsense despite a terrific cast) with Marion Davies and Bing Crosby. But at 78 minutes it seems clear that the film was scaled back, especially when there are three sequences that seem truncated. Oddly the three sequences all featured Davies. One wonders why her scenes would have been eliminated, especially since Hearst and others were always watchful of a co-star stealing a film from Davies. Still, Going Hollywood remains an enjoyable romp with great songs delivered by Crosby at the peak of his singing career. And the narrative structure and use of dreams vs. temptation is fascinating."
