Hollywood Cavalcade


1h 36m 1939

Brief Synopsis

Michael Linnett Connors takes Molly Adair from Broadway understudy to 1913 Hollywood star. Although she is in love with him, she marries her co-star reckoning wrongly Connors thinks of her only in terms of movies. He fires her in pique, apparently terminally damaging his career.

Film Details

Also Known As
Falling Stars
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Release Date
Oct 13, 1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States
Location
Muroc Dry Lake, California, United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 36m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Color
Black and White, Color (Technicolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9,048ft (11 reels)

Synopsis

In 1913, at the infancy of the film industry, erstwhile studio prop boy Michael Linnett Connors sees understudy Molly Adair perform on Broadway and, convinced that she is star material, persuades her to sign a personal contract with him. Next, Mike induces the president of Globe Pictures, Lyle P. Stout, to give him a chance to direct Molly in her first picture. Mike's lively imagination and tireless energy propels Molly from the queen of the "pie-in-the face" Keystone Cops to leading lady, and with Dave Spingold as his producer partner, Mike rises to become the head of his own studio. Molly falls in love with Mike but, believing that he is only interested in making pictures, marries her leading man, Nicky Hayden. Upon learning of the marriage, Mike, who is in love with Molly, feels betrayed and tears up the newlyweds' contract. As their stars continue to rise, his falls until he is down and out. Thanks to Dave and Molly, however, Mike gets a chance to come back, directing Molly's new picture. With only one reel left to be shot, Nicky is killed and Molly seriously injured in a car crash,and the film's financial backer, Mr. Roberts, orders Mike to finish the picture with a double. Believing that Robert's suggestion would ruin the picture and Molly's career, Mike refuses and steals the unfinished negative until he can persuade Molly to come back to the set. After the success of the first "talkie," The Jazz Singer , Mike convinces Roberts to finish the picture in sound. Mike's enthusiasm renews Molly's will to live, and after the picture's success as a "talkie," the producing team of Mike, Molly and Dave marvel at the progress of Hollywood.

Film Details

Also Known As
Falling Stars
Genre
Comedy
Drama
Release Date
Oct 13, 1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States
Location
Muroc Dry Lake, California, United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 36m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Color
Black and White, Color (Technicolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
9,048ft (11 reels)

Quotes

Trivia

This was the first film which combined black-and-white and color film stocks.

Notes

The working title of this film was Falling Stars. According to materials contained in the Fox Story Files at the UCLA Library, treatments for the film were first presented in October 1938, but Buster Keaton was not included in the script until April 26, 1939. Life notes that this picture, presented to coincide with the American screen's fiftieth anniversary celebration, was Hollywood's first large-scale attempt to dramatize its own history. The cast was filled with silent film stars. Hank Mann, Heinie Conklin and James Finlayson were members of Sennett's troupe. Program notes contained in the production files at the AMPAS Library claim that this was the first time that black and white and color film stocks were combined in one picture. The Keystone Cops sequence was shot in black and white and the rest of the film was in color. According to news item in Hollywood Reporter, the train sequences were shot by Mal St. Clair at Muroc Dry Lake, CA. The film was budgeted at $2,000,000. Another news item in Hollywood Reporter adds that the gross receipts from the premiere went to the Motion Picture Relief Fund.