Going Hollywood (1933) User Reviews (33)

Marion follows Bing to Hollywood.

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 July 2004]

One of the other reviewers said that this film was essentially about stalking. 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. Second for Bing Crosby fans one has to remember that this is NOT a Crosby picture. He's the leading man in a Marion Davies film. Everyone is familiar with William Randolph Hearst and the Svengali like influence he had on her career. Marion's making a musical so you go out and buy the hottest singer currently as her leading man. And that, boys and girls, is the story of Bing's first film away from Paramount.

You also hire a topflight director in Raoul Walsh to keep things at a brisk pace. And you give Marion a good supporting cast that includes Fifi D'Orsay, Ned Sparks, Stu Erwin, and Patsy Kelly. Mix 'em together and you got Going Hollywood.

It's not a bad mix. Crosby had a lot of songs in this film. The big hit was Temptation, but there were other good ones from Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. One thing however, since this was not Paramount and MGM was known for the great production numbers in their films, Bing got some great numbers. 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. Another big production number that Paramount would never spend the money for.

Davies had good if limited talents. Hearst however could only see her as a pure heroine. Since he discovered her in the Ziegfeld Follies, Davies's dancing should be no surprise. It's at least as good as Ruby Keeler's. She had a good gift for mimicry, her imitation of Fifi D'Orsay is a key point in the plot. One thing that would be considered in god-awful taste now is her donning black-face to get on Bing's movie set and imitating the dialect.

It's funny though. Think about pictures like Play Misty For Me and The Fan made two generations later. Stalking was looked on entirely differently back in those more innocent days.

Has many charms but some big caveats

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 2 October 2016]

'Going Hollywood's' biggest attraction was Bing Crosby, who had one of the most beautiful and distinctive male (and in general) singing voices on film, as well as being a master of how to use it.

Crosby is certainly the best thing about 'Going Hollywood'. He seems relaxed, has a lot of charm and looks and sounds wonderful, his beautiful smooth voice used with impeccable phrasing and control as always. 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. Although Raoul Walsh did seem a bit of an odd choice at first as director, often going for the tougher and darker edge to his films, but he does direct with a light touch without being too lightweight. Really enjoyed Patsy Kelly, who brings plenty of sass and allure. 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. She is attractive and does bring some charm and fun, but at other points she does look stiff and limitations in her singing and dancing show. Stuart Erwin has an appealing earnestness but has little to do, while Ned Sparks does smarmy well but the character is written with so little variation that it feels one-dimensional. Worst of all is Fifi D'Orsay, her character being an annoying cartoonish caricature made even more insufferable by that D'Orsay overacts to such a wild degree.

While some of the dream sequence was quite nice, the dancing scarecrows part does feel really bizarre and also jars. The bit with the blackface is neither cute or funny and even those who hardly ever scream racism will find it in bad taste. The script has some wit, but is also shallow and flaccid. The story while at first lively in pace constantly feels too convenient and too neatly wrapped up, while also dragging towards the end, having a premise and romance that rarely rings true and being paper thin. Characterisation is even thinner, development practically forgotten about.

All in all, many charms but also some big caveats. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Marion Davies Gets Tempted by Bing Crosby

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 31 August 2009]

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. In Los Angeles, Ms. Davies moves in with new pal Patsy Kelly (as Jill Barker), who thinks Davies could be a movie star "better than Norma Shearer." Good one. Davies continues to swoon over Crosby, who is only has eyes for French co-star Fifi D'Orsay (as Lili Yvonne). Which of the dueling damsels will win Crosby's heart?

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

Great Musical Despite IMDB's Lowering the Ratings on All Marion Davies Films!

[drednm · 24 March 2005]

This musical comedy features beautiful Marion as a bored French teacher who runs off to Hollywood. Seems like a standard 30s musical. But wait. The narrative structure of this film is more complex than it at first seems.

At a teachers' meeting at the Briarcroft School, one old maid complains that Davies (she teaches French) is always late because she spends too much time dreaming. They take her some papers to correct and find her.

When Davies turns on the radio and gazes out at the night sky she starts to wish upon a star. 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. She sits up, startled, and packs her bags.

So sets off not to go to Hollywood, but only to find Crosby, who plays a famous radio singer about to embark by train to Hollywood to star in a picture. Crosby is also involved with the picture's French star, played by Fifi D'Orsay. As Crosby is packing up to go, and after a live broadcast of his singing "Beautiful Girl" to Sterling Holloway, Davies finds him. He brushes her off as just another fan and heads to the Grand Central Station, where he sings "Going Hollywood."

On the train, who should show up but Davies. In today's context, Davies is certainly a crazed fan stalking her idol, but in 1933 her actions were (in the context of this film) acceptable. D'Orsay catches the two together (Davies is correcting Crosby's French pronunciation) and immediately suspects them of being up to something. D'Orsay is on the rampage because her maid has quit. Of course Davies becomes her maid, having taught French and all. The second time D'Orsay catches them together, she slaps Davies. Davies quits her job.

Next we find Davies in Hollywood at "Central Casting," asking to see Crosby. She's turned away and meets Patsy Kelly, a film extra. They hit it off right away, and Kelly invites Davies to share her digs. The director (Ned Sparks) 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. The scene opens with Crosby and Davies in a cozy cottage. Crosby starts the song, and the couple is strolling through a field of giant, swaying daisies and then sitting in a carriage where Davies joins Crosby in a brief duet. They come upon a farm scene of dancing scarecrows . Suddenly Davies emerges from the dancers and takes center stage in a dance lively number. But Crosby and Davies are still sitting in the carriage. Davies points to herself dancing and asks Crosby, "me?" He nods and soon he also is in the dance number. A windstorm suddenly comes up and everyone is drenched by the downpour. Crosby and Davies run back to the cozy cottage where they sit by the fire, wrapped in blankets, while Crosby finishes the song.

On the movie set, Davies once again finds Crosby. He's in between scenes when Davies approaches. She's in blackface and dressed like Aunt Jemima. He doesn't seem to notice that she is not really black. D'Orsay catches them again and slaps Davies for a second time.

Next we're on location and D'Orsay is about to sing her big number, "Cinderella's Fella." The number has a Cinderella theme with the blonde-wigged D'Orsay as the Prince. As she launches into the song, Sparks stops her and tells he she's doing it all wrong because she's doing it as a kooch dance. She throws a fit and storms off the set. Back in her trailer, Crosby tries to comfort her. Meanwhile, back on the set, the Radio Rogues do a series of impressions of current radio stars who include Kate Smith, Morton Downey, and Crosby's singing rival of the day-Russ Columbo.

Davies is then coaxed into doing an impression (Davies was famous for her ability to mimic, and does so in several of her films). Of course she launches into an impression of D'Orsay singing. D'Orsay hears this and marches out to catch Davies in mid-dance and hauls off and slaps her for a third time. This time Davies strikes back and delivers D'Orsay a black eye. D'Orsay quits and Davies is hired to star in the film! Talk about your Hollywood dream!

There is an abbreviated scene, with Davies and Crosby dating, with Crosby singing the wonderful "After Sundown." Later, Davies attempts to deliver some flowers to Crosby, but standing in the hallway outside his door she hears D'Orsay talking to Crosby.

D'Orsay lures Crosby to a Mexican bar and plies him with drinks, knowing he will be fired from the picture after being absent for days. Davies tracks him down yet again and tries to get him back but he's drunk and can't think straight. This sets up the film's best number and another yet dream sequence. Crosby sings "Temptation" while sitting at the bar and drinking what looks like absinthe. As he sings we see huge close-ups of D'Orsay (to match the close-ups of Davies in the previous dream sequence) and cutaway shots of a dance floor crowded with same-sex couples. In the bar itself, no one is dancing. As Crosby approaches the last notes of the song, he lifts his glass and drains the last drops. It's an amazing sequence.

The scene shifts back to the film set where, after seeing a dance montage to "Cinderella's Fella," Davies is about to film an elaborate production number, be-gowned in a massive ermine and sequin outfit. As she is about to begin the scene with Crosby's replacement, Bing can be heard reprising "Our Big Love Scene," and the lovers meet. End of film.

good songs make the story almost endurable

[blitzebill · 7/10 · 5 December 2005]

Bing Crosby truly was the quintessential vocalist of his time. I strongly recommend Gary Giddins bio on Bing; an excellent reference.

Anyway, the story may be weak in this film, but the songs and Bing's clear baritone voice make up for it.

An interesting tidbit about this film: Of course Marion Davies was W.R. Hearst's mistress, and Hearst financed the film. Ms. Davies thus took full advantage of the situation by showing up for filming at 10 AM, shooting a scene or two before a four hour lunch replete with all the catered trimmings and wines. The day wound down by 4PM.

It's no wonder it took six months to shoot this film in an era when the typical film was shot in 2 weeks!

"Take me where the daisies cover the country lane"

[Steffi_P · 7/10 · 21 September 2010]

The actress Marion Davies, when she is now remembered at all, is remembered as the young(ish) mistress of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate who more or less bankrolled her Hollywood career. As such, it's widely assumed that she had no talent, except in the eyes of the devoted Mr Hearst. This at least was the impression given by her supposed parody in Citizen Kane, an image which though indirect has tarnished her memory no end. But whatever the truth about her, the amount of money thrown into her productions means they afford at least a treat or two.

Going Hollywood, for example, pairs her with a young Bing Crosby. It's clear that at this point the studio didn't really think of him as much more than a good-looking crooner and weren't really pushing his personality, but he certainly adds musical credence to the production, and his laid-back sense of humour is occasionally allowed a tease or two. Another delight of the cast is 1930s comedy institution Ned Sparks, who with his inimitable manner can make even the simplest of lines sound funny. There's a real no-no however when a jumped-up Stuart Erwin vehemently puts Sparks down, a moment which simply looks embarrassing. There ought to have been a rule in Hollywood – nobody gets the better of Ned Sparks.

The story of Going Hollywood was by the very prestigious 30s writer Frances Marion (she also wrote The Champ, among others), and the screenplay is by acclaimed romcom expert Donald Ogden Stuart. 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. Logic and depth barely matter in a fairytale such as this.

The list of big names continues, with music by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed (you know, of Singin' in the Rain fame). The songs are pretty and the smooth arrangement suits Crosby well. What is nice though is the way they are used. Freed's lyrics only relate vaguely to the material, but each number is nevertheless woven into the narrative in a number of interesting ways. "Beautiful Girl" is part of a radio broadcast which a pyjama-sporting Crosby delivers while doing his morning business. "We'll Make Hay while the Sun Shines" takes place in a dream sequence. In other words, the narrative does not take a break for the music, and the songs are never merely presentational performances. 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's camera is almost always right inside the action, either looking in on it (the number of instances of characters looking into lens is high in Going Hollywood) or looking outwards (as in several point-of-view shots). 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. This closeness of Walsh's style gives a real cramped feeling to many of the interiors, and a sense of romantic escapism lies in shots like Davies staring at the stars out of her bedroom window or Crosby gazing up at the cavernous roof of the railway station. 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. But what about Ms Davies herself? She is really not all that bad. Her style is quite reserved, not at all vulgar or exaggerated as one might expect, and she does have a flair for comic expression which in this kind of picture makes up for her lack of a good singing voice. She certainly doesn't deserve the reputation given to her by Citizen Kane (which Orson Welles belatedly stated was not intentional). Still, there is a reason she wasn't an especially popular star and needed the support of her millionaire boyfriend. If you look at the most successful performers of the depression era, they are people like Will Rogers, Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery, who what they lacked in looks they made up for in rugged charm. An actress who was merely pretty and competent was hardly deemed special in 1933.

Going Hollywood belongs to Bing Crosby

[Incalculacable · 6/10 · 19 August 2006]

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. I can usually accept the fact that it's just a movie - it doesn't have to be realistic, but I just felt her character was a bit of a nut case. I hate to say it but Davies is most unconvincing and it is almost painful to see her scenes. I was disappointed to see this because she was magnificent in silents. That being said, Marion is undoubtedly gorgeous and has a few good moments (and she's not a bad dancer too)... but not nearly enough as there should be.

It is evident that Bing Crosby and the music are the real stars of this picture. He steals every scene from Davies with effortless delivery. 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. However handsome crooner Bing Crosby and the fantastic music by Arthur Freed and Herb Brown steal the show and make it watchable. Does not compare to the other musicals of this period.

Not making a case for Marion Davies

[richard-1787 · 4/10 · 5 January 2019]

I watched this movie because I wanted to see what Marion Davies could do in a comedy, which is supposedly what she did best. She was an attractive woman, with - at least on screen - a pleasant, unpretentious personality, so I figured she might indeed do well in comedy.

But this script, by the much admired David Ogden Stewart, gives her nothing to work with. She delivers her lines ok, but the lines are so uninteresting that I don't know what Helen Hayes could have done with them.

Davies has to dance, and she's passable but no better. But then, no worse than Crawford or some other actresses of the era who were given dance numbers. Davies has to sing, and again, she's not bad, but nothing special.

In short, this movie doesn't make a case for Davies as an actress in comedy. 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. But then, perhaps the problem was not with her but with him: maybe he couldn't tell if a movie script was good or bad and imposed bad ones on her.

Mr. Crosby Steals Film From Miss Davies

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 1 February 2002]

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. Raoul Walsh seems a curious choice to direct this kind of film, but he must have had William Randolph Hearst's approval or he never would have been given the assignment. The trouble is that Marion has little chance to be anything other than sweet & pleasant - when finally given the opportunity to do a wicked spoof of co-star Fifi D'Orsay, she's terrific. 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. Mimic singers & impressionists, The Radio Rogues will provide a smile to viewers with very long memories.

***********************

Time has not dealt kindly with Marion Davies. Almost forgotten today, when remembered at all it is usually as a sort of footnote to history or object of scandal. Her life certainly was colorful, and as chatelaine of America's most amazing private estate she did circulate amidst powerful circles. 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. Adored by her friends and a fierce cadre of fans, Davies was renowned for her tireless generosity and charitable good works. Her speech impediment never affected her screen acting and her undeniable talent was evident to any who were willing to assess her performances honesty and look past the scandal.

Davies had to have been embarrassed by the Hearst empire's relentless pushing of her career. She knew this left her open to ridicule & mockery, doubtless contributing to her scarcely concealed alcoholism. 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.

MARION DAVIES & BING CROSBY ARE GREAT TOGETHER !

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 2 May 2003]

If you like to see the original crooner of all times and really the King of male singers. 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. Marion Davies was also a long time friend of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnet of California. Bing Crosby sings,"You were Temptation" and he must have charmed all the ladies hearts of those days. Wallace Berry, veteran actor has a brief role in this film and is uncredited along with the great Mae Clarke. This is really what Hollywood films were like in the Golden era of movies. It is a must view film.

Bad movie, but quite a portal into time...

[thekatsmeow11 · 4/10 · 5 December 2005]

I just happened to catch this movie on TCM. It's a musical starring Marion Davies as an unhappy school teacher who follows Bing off to Hollywood. Don't expect a work of art when you see this movie, as it was clearly made to showcase the still up-and-coming Bing's voice, and to try and resurrect Davies' wilting career. The acting is slightly above abysmal, and the film, though just short of 80 minutes long, is littered with some incredibly pointless musical numbers. Also, Fifi D'Orsay's "french" accent is so hideously exaggerated, I was surprised to learn she's actually french Canadian! Though the movie is hardly a dramatic work of art, watching it is like stepping back in time to the 1930s. Keep watch at Davies' outfits throughout the movie, it's like looking in a fashion magazine from the time. There's a short scene involving a radio personality, and the final dance number is quite a spectacle. I also want to mention the extremely racist scene where Davies is painted up to be a black woman. Imagine them trying to pull something like that today! While the rewatchability is probably quite low on this movie, it's a fun way to pass time. If you're like me and you love the fashion and culture of the 1930's, you'll probably love this movie. And hey, can anyone every say no to Bing?

Bizarre, but worthwhile

[sws-3 · 10/10 · 6 October 1999]

Strange plot casts Marion Davies as, essentially, a stalker. After hearing Bing Crosby on the radio, she throws over her old >life to follow him to Los Angeles. Davies is appealing, as >usual, and there are some nice comic bits from Patsy Kelly. The >highlight, however, is Crosby singing his early classic >"Temptation".

Crosby and Davies in a musical

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 5 January 2007]

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. At one point in his career, Crosby actually was offered the title role in Verdi's "Rigoletto." Hearing him in the '20s and '30s, it's easy to understand why. Though Crosby's voice was always fluid and beautiful, he was less easygoing and took many more vocal risks back in the day, as evidenced in this film. The robustness with which he sang, and his beautiful high notes are sensational. The most striking number he does is "Temptation" with the camera focusing from time to time on a close-up of D'Orsay's face. 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. Hearst didn't want either one and had Lili Damita in mind for the D'Orsay role. He relented when others told him Crosby would be good for Davies' career. Though Davies will eternally get a bad rap because of the untalented Susan in "Citizen Kane," she was in fact a lovely actress and a very good comedienne. She couldn't sing and her dancing was from the Ruby Keeler Hoofer School - but I actually found her lighter on her feet than Keeler. That obviously was a style of tap back in those days that thankfully is gone.

This is a very entertaining film, and if you want to hear Crosby at his finest, this is one of the films that is a must. He is remembered as a wonderful singer and successful actor today, but in actuality, his contribution to music was much greater than is realized now.

Not the finest moment for all involved.

[Briguy-14 · 3/10 · 29 January 2001]

If I hadn't seen this in a double feature with a good Marion Davies film (Show People), I would have sworn that she was virtually talent-free. Her acting, singing and dancing are all pedestrian, and there is absolutely no chemistry with co-star Bing Crosby. Of course, the story itself is boring. The rest of the cast, including Patsy Kelly, is wasted here, too.

Dull and underwhelming

[Kalaman · 26 December 2002]

I expected a lot of enjoyment from this early MGM musical, directed by the great Raoul Walsh. Instead, it is a trifle that somehow works mainly as a showcase for Bing Crosby and Marion Davies. I found the whole film to be intermittently dull and underwhelming, and the songs and numbers oddly misfire from start to finish.

Mainly of interest to Bing Crosby fans

[psteier · 6/10 · 31 January 2001]

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. Ned Sparks as the director and Patsy Kelly as a struggling actress do well in small parts.

Too bad it couldn't have been made today

[Django6924 · 7/10 · 1 June 2007]

I think this could have been a contender except for the black & white photography, the silly costumes, the lack of nudity and graphic violence, and no CGI..........just think of all the computer-generated scarecrows you could have in the "Making Hay" number!

I'm curious why people apply current canons of taste to movies (or music) from the 20s and 30s so they can put them down as being inferior to what we have now. I'm almost (but not quite) ashamed to admit I enjoyed this film. Marion Davies, a wonderful comic talent in "The Patsy" and "Show People" is mostly delightful to watch here, proving in her Fifi D'Orsay impersonation that her gift at mimicry wasn't just visual. Even her dancing is fun--she's not Eleanor Powell (who is?), but at least she can dance a routine in a single take and not require an editor to build a performance out of 40 frame clips. She is also intensely likable--even when performing in Blackfeet I was charmed by her.

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. If you are willing to meet the film halfway, I think you will find it a well-spent hour and a half.

Very cute early 30s flick

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 15 November 2018]

In one of Bing Crosby's earliest movies, he "goes Hollywood" and sings an adorable '30s production number at the train station. You might remember seeing him with his little beret singing the title song, since it was included in That's Entertainment! forty years later.

There are some really cute parts to this movie, but included in its charm is the fact that it's incredibly, ridiculously dated. Some 1930s movies don't feel that way, but this one certainly does. Watching this movie feels like you've stepped into an alternate universe. 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. When she learns he's going to Hollywood, she quits her job and follows him.

Patsy Kelly, who befriends Marion when she arrives in Tinseltown, is always hilarious with one-liners that are easily the best parts of the script. Cameos from Robert Montgomery, Marie Dressler, and references to other stars of the time make some of the dialogue pretty funny. 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. It's very cute to see a young Bing, though, so for me-and since I'm well-versed in film history-it was worth it. 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!

Daft Show People

[Cineanalyst · 3/10 · 27 July 2018]

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. His belting out "Beautiful Girl" in his apartment after just awakening and while getting dressed is a nice summation of Crosby's intimate and relaxed appeal in an era when radio and the microphone were emerging technologies. Davies is mostly relegated to the sidelines during these show-stopping numbers. An extended musical dream sequence including her and Crosby on a farm and the Three Radio Rogues interlude especially go nowhere. The multiple-exposure montages, including a triangular triptych upon entering Hollywood, showing archival footage of the likes of Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery and Marie Dresser, aren't very visually arresting, either. Worse still are the racist stereotypes of the volatile French "other" woman, who repeatedly slaps Davies for trying to steal her man and, surely in a career low, Davies disguised in blackface in one scene to continue her stalking of Crosby.

Despite its title and self-referentially being a musical about making a musical, "Going Hollywood" is of the style of radio and theatre. It would've benefited from the cinematic vocabulary of the dance choreography by the likes of Busby Berkeley. The narrative, too, would've benefited from a greater self-reflexive awareness, such as is evident in an earlier Marion Davies film about film, "Show People" (1928).

All those beautiful songs ....and Bing (sigh)

[kidboots · 8/10 · 26 May 2008]

I have only seen Marion Davies in two films "The Bachelor Father" and "Going Hollywood". I will reserve my opinion of her talents until I see some of her silent films. 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. One of my favourite Crosby songs "After Sundown" not only was not sung all the way through, it was mostly sung as a "voice over" while Bing and Marion wined and dined. "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. She longs to break free of the restrictions at this very strict college - "no music is permitted". 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. There is a big production number. Busby Berkeley had many imitators but no one reached his excellence. 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). After one fight too many she quits and quickly teams up with Jill (Patsy Kelly) and finds a job as a dancer!!!!! in Bill's new movie. The wonderful Ned Sparks is the director and the scenes between him and Fifi D'Orsay are hilarious.

"We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines" is introduced as a dream that Sylvia is having. It is odd - it starts off sophisticated, then suddenly they are dressed up in Edwardian clothes. At the end they are farm hands dancing an awful dance with dancing scarecrows. (It is a beautiful song!!!)

The three Radio Rogues do a radio skit - they sing songs in the style and voice of popular singers of the day. They are really good. They sing "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain" - Kate Smith, "You Call it Madness (But I Call it Love)" - Russ Columbo, "Remember Me - Morton Downey and "My Time is Your Time" - Rudy Vallee.

Lili's temperament is holding up production and she then quits. Meanwhile Sylvia entertains the crew with an imitation of Lili singing "Cinderella's Fella". Stuart Erwin plays the producer who steps in and hires Sylvia as the lead (with her wonderful dancing talent!!!) To give Miss Davies her due I think she played the role excellently. Some of the lines she had to say - I don't think she sounded like a "stalker" but in another actress's hands the character may have come across as being "kooky".

Bill romances Sylvia but she thinks she hears him in Lili's apartment (Lili is only listening to a record). Lili then finds him in a bar and plies him with liquour so he will not be able to make the studio the next day. He sings "Temptation" to Lili, looking so handsome!!! 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.

I highly recommend this film.

Watch this film for young Bing Crosby's early singing

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 29 March 2021]

"Going Hollywood" is a musical revue film that affords a good look at a young Bing Crosby in his early singing and movie years. He's 30 years old in this film, and only the fourth year into making movies and seven in singing full-time professionally.

When this movie was made, Crosby had only been in films three years, and then mostly in shorts or in a singing group. This was his third feature film after his first significant role in "The Big Broadcast" of 1932. After this, Crosby's name would receive first billing in any film in which he had a leading role for the next three decades.

Marion Davies has top billing in this film, and she has a role of a sweet girl breaking into movies. But this is not one of her better films. Davies was not a singer or dancer. The two short scenes with her tapping make that quite clear. When she taps with one foot, she stands on the other, and then switches. Real tap dancers are able to tap with both feet in constant motion and alternating tap with light jumping. Davies had a considerable career in silent films, but her star slowly faded in the early 1930s. She would make her last film in 1937 at age 40.

While Davies' Sylvia Bruce is a good gal, Crosby's Bill Williams is a little bit of a cad. But, he comes around in the end. Even though sound pictures had made huge improvements in their first years, this MGM film strangely shows some weakness in the production. It has a couple of nice expansive song and dance scenes. The story revolves around Sylvia Bruce's non-quest for a Hollywood career, but the reason to watch the film is for the several songs that Crosby sings.

Except for the French-Canadian Fifi D'Orsay, the rest of the supporting cast are well-known actors of Hollywood's golden age through the 1940s. Stuart Erwin, Ned Sparks, and Patsy Kelly do well in their characteristic roles. Here are some favorite lines form this film. Most of these take place on the set of a movie that is being made, within this movie.

Ned Sparks plays a film director, Conroy. At one point he says, "Why they keep laying it on the line for foreign talent that can't do anything is beyond me." He's referring to Fifi D'Orsay, who plays a French actress, Lili Yvonne.

Ernest Baker, the film producer (played by Stuart Erwin), referring to Fifi, says, "She's so busy telling me how good she is, she's got no time left to learn her lines."

Jill (Patsy Kelly), "Say, listen you'll never break into movies that way." Sylvia Bruce (Davies), "I don't want to break into movies." Jill, "You don't what?"

Jill, "You mean to stand there and tell me that you don't think that you're better than Norma Shearer? Say, can I touch you?" Sylvia, "Do you think you're better than Norma shearer?" Jill, "I do, but they don't."

Forgettable

[cutter-12 · 5/10 · 12 December 2005]

No story. No substance. No point. Crosby croons some though and that's always worth hearing, but this production is dappled with musical numbers that, though entertaining unto themselves, get in the way of the the hackneyed romance between Crosby and Marion Davies.

Marion Davies is not nearly as bad as some comments here suggest. She's adequate as the female lead but still not overly memorable. Nothing about this picture apart from the music really stays in the mind after you see it. 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. One of those so-called classics that makes a good sleep aid.

Where ya all going'?

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 14 November 2012]

The next time you're in Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, take a good look at the art deco train station, then give this movie another (or first) viewing. You too, will get a sense of nostalgia as Bing Crosby breaks into the title song. 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. The film becomes a bit dramatic, almost a variation of "A Star is Born" as Crosby descends into possible alcoholism after a misunderstanding with Davies (concerning French spitfire D'Orsday), so the second half is a major "mood swing".

However, there is a very amusing opening sequence with moonstruck young Davies absent from a teacher's meeting (definately half the age of the others) which includes Clara Blandick as the confidante who is far more easy going than the elderly teacher who proclaims, "I'm ancient Greek history" and the masculine gym instructor who answers her attendance call with a very macho "Here I am." Miss Briarcroft, the principal, who gets absolutely no billing even in the unbilled credits, appears slightly younger, but her hatred towards the radio and music and romance in general is certainly the push that Davies needed to get out of a life she hated and into the glorious gowns and furs at MGM. This scene was basically repeated by Suzanne Pleshette in the 1960's soaper "Rome Adventure" where she went "Viva Italiano" rather than to tinseltown. Some of MGM's brightest stars of the time appear in newsreel footage after a sequence which breaks the record as the fastest train ride ever from New York to Hollywood....3 minutes! Sam McDaniel (Hattie's brother) is the Grand Central porter who dryly sings "Where ya all going'?".

This enjoyably lavish spectacle also includes Crosby's seductive "Temptation" (which seems to me to be one difficult song to try and sing---it needs much acting with it as well, so that says something about der-Bingle...) and a fun dream sequence ("We'll Make Hay When the Sunshines"). Davies has a radiant smile, dances nicely in her big number, and "has never looked lovelier", as Louella Parsons would always report. But in this case, it was true, her cross-eyed gaze appropriately handled by MGM's photographic team (to William Randolph Hearst's pleasure, I'm sure.). While the title song's opening lyrics, "Out Where They Say, Let Us Be Gay!" may mean something else now, the result is Hollywood's anthem to New Yorkers who wanted to break into movies, not Californians who wanted to hit Broadway.

Marion Davies was a triple threat...couldn't sing, dance or act...

[Doylenf · 3/10 · 5 December 2005]

MARION DAVIES may not have been the inspiration for the lady in Citizen Kane's life, but she sure comes close to making us believe Orson Welles based his story on the Hearst/Davies relationship.

As seen here, Miss Davies looks like Joan Crawford with bleached blonde hair and a fixed stare in her starry eyes. She has a big, hearty smile but when it comes to singing, dancing and acting, her talents are scarcely there. She is clunky, to say the least, in her dancing moments and has a voice as smooth as sandpaper when she tries to sing with Bing. 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. His talent is evident throughout, overcoming the pedestrian script with his own brand of casual charm. Too bad he had no one with corresponding skills to play opposite. He sounds especially mellow with his rendition of "Temptation" and a couple of other tunes are pleasantly rendered.

But let's face it, this is one dated, clunky musical that falls flat in the attempts at laughter even though Patsy Kelly is present to deliver her own brand of humor. Stuart Irwin is wasted in a supporting role as a hapless producer. The less said about Fifi D'Orsay and her French accent the better. She's another triple threat.

Highly recommended that you skip this one and catch Bing in one of his better films instead.

Exhilarating Start, Enervating Finish!

[jimddddd · 15 May 2002]

"Going Hollywood" is one of countless 1930s musicals that Hollywood made about itself, or rather about its own myths. 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. The film has all the era's cliches, including Patsy Kelly's butch buddy with a heart of gold, Ned Sparks' caustic sidekick with a heart of bronze, and the usual compliment of corny songs and soft-shoe chorines, but there's no surprise about where this film is going. Marion Davies, enjoying perhaps a 2002 reappraisal because of Kirsten Dunst's fine portrayal of her in "The Cat's Meow," is not all that interesting here and, frankly, is upstaged by her rival Fifi D'Orsy, whom I'd rather spend a night with if I had the choice. Crosby is saddled with mostly forgettable songs (with the exception of "Temptation"), but at least his character shows a dark side behind his easy charm. But overall the flaccid story, Hollywood hokum and badly dated entertainment sink "Going Hollywood" like a stone.