:
James Coco,
James Coco,
Raquel Welch,
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:
James Ivory,
James Ivory
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: MGM
: Drama, Costume Drama/Period Piece
: 109 min.
: English
: English, Spanish, French
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Director James Ivory has disowned this Hollywood drama, inspired by the Fatty Arbuckle/Virginia Rappe case and based on a satirical poem by Joseph Moncure March, which was heavily cut by American International Pictures from two hours to ninety minutes. The story concerns Jolly Grimm (James Coco), whose career as a famous silent film comic is coming to an end with the advent of talking pictures. He plans a last hurrah by making one more silent film and invites a collection of Hollywood big shots to his mansion in hopes of convincing one of them to distribute the picture. His mistress Queenie (Raquel Welch) encourages him but it quickly becomes apparent the film is a bomb. As Jolly Grimm keeps drinking, his mood becomes less jolly and more grim, particularly when movie star Dale (Perry King) starts getting quite familiar with Queenie. Meanwhile, young starlet Nadine (Annette Ferra), after finding her sister in bed with a guest, seeks out Jolly for solace. When Jolly tries to comfort her by kissing her full on the mouth, a drunken party guest, thinking Jolly is trying to seduce the girl, begins to beat Jolly senseless. Dale halts the fracas, but when Jolly doesn't thank Dale properly for saving him from a shellacking, Dale retreats with Queenie to the boudoir. Jolly, already keyed up to a dangerous level, awaits their emergence from the bedroom with a gun in his hand. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Special Features:
- "Hollywood Hoopla" Featurette with Director James Ivory
- Original Theatrical Trailer
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| Well rounded gangsters?
by kamapuaa
July 20, 2004 - 1:21 PM PDT
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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I'm a fan of Joseph Moncure March's original poem, but I didn't see how it would be possible to turn the original poem into a movie. Merchant/Ivory have an interesting take at it, transposing it from Greenwich village gangsters to a over-the-hill silent actor clearly modelled after Fatty Arbuckle.
I think that choice inspired what was both good and bad about the movie. Good, in that it added a gravitas to the actual party to make it more interesting, it allowed the device of showing his planned silent movie to liven up slow scenes (they're pretty funny), and it provided more themes to the mix.
At the same time, Merchant/Ivory pulled his punches. The poem's gangster character of Burrs was a definite villian, splicing him into a Fatty Arbuckle (who was a victim of the yellow press and almost certainly innocent) character named "Jolly" isn't quite a match. So he still flies into psychopathic rages, but he quickly starts joking, acts effeminite, complains about eggs, talks about movies, etc, and so he just comes off wishy-washy, like Alan Alda playing a gangster. Grafting the plot onto aging silent movie stars was a great idea, but it falls far, far short of Sunset Boulevard. And the original conflict that made the poem endearing (the conflict of the innocent caught up in the dangerous world of gangsters, actors, minorities, and related "unsavory types") was downplayed.
As a final note, this is the first Raquel Welch movie I've seen. Yow mama was that lady attractive. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 4.30)
10 Votes
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