The Cat's Meow

[Daisy Buchanan]

I just saw this movie The Cat's Meow, starring Kirstin Dunst and Edward Hermmann.
It is the semi-true story of the mysterious death of producer Thomas Ince on board the yacht of William Randolph Hearst in 1924.
It is not a bad watch at all, but I must say the costuming in superb. I think I'll have to watch it a few more times, let it grow on me. It certainly has an interesting cast, which I see as quite likeable. But wow, the clothes are simply superb. The women's hats are divine. The men all wear wonderfully wide lapeled three piece suits. Everything from the hair and accessories right down to the shoes, is just simply magnificent to look at. So, even if you don't find the movie's actors all that fantastic, watch this film, for visually it is a thing of beauty.
Anyone else ever watched this? What did you think?

 

[Feraud]

I have not seen it but it sounds interesting. It is going into the Netflix queue.

 

[jake_fink]

I did.

It's good. Except I hate Eddie Izzard and he made a terrible Chaplin.

It was directed by our friend Peter Bogdanovich. But it's no Paper Moon.

 

[Tomasso]

I saw it and thought that it was pretty good, loved the yacht. It's supposedly based on a true story.[huh]

 

[BegintheBeguine]

That's on my pile from the library! I haven't seen it yet. Since it had a yacht, I am gonna pair it with Some Like It Hot for a mini film festival.
Ashley

 

[Mike in Seattle]

It is a pretty good movie, and yes, it's supposedly based on an old story about what happened one weekend on Hearst's yacht. Thomas Ince was one of the guests and rushed home in a private ambulance from San Diego and died of "indigestion" a day or two later. The coroner apparently missed the bullet wounds in his head... Supposedly, Louella Parsons was a witness to this late-night attack of indigestion and for keeping her mouth shut, got a high-salaried lifetime contract with Hearst as his Hollywood reporter.

That's the story, more or less.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Interesting, I'll have to check that one out.

I wonder if Hollywood will ever do a film about the William Desmond Taylor murder.

http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/

 

[Maxwell DeMille]

Lots of Goofs (from IMDB):

When he looks up Ince's address, Hearst's address book shows two-letter state abbreviations (CA). These did not come into use until some fifty years later. Further, the address book displays at least one ZIP code, introduced in 1963.

The movie is set in 1924. One of the characters mentions The Lady of the Harem (1926) which wasn't released until 1926.

The rubber-ball fenders seen as the Onida is docked are of a modern (c. 1970) design. Period fenders would have been white and cylindrical.

Elinor Glyn rides off in the back of a Ford Model A, which wasn't introduced until late 1927.

The Walther PPK pistol was not produced until 1931, nor would it have a plastic finger extension on the magazine's base plate.

The recording of Al Jolson singing "Avalon" that is heard over the opening credits is not his 1920 version, but rather from 1946.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Interesting, I'll have to check that one out.

I wonder if Hollywood will ever do a film about the William Desmond Taylor murder.

http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/

That's one that intrigues me as well - not the murder itself so much, but the fact that it's NEVER been used as a basis for a movie. For its time - pretty scandalous. Three of the biggest actresses in Hollywood as key suspects along with one's mother (rumor was he'd been sleeping with all of them and more, and most claiming on their deathbed they'd been the one who'd shot him), he'd deserted his wife & children in Canada years before who'd believed him dead long before, big studio cover-up and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It seems like it's been ripe for a movie treatment for decades.

 

[Rosie]

Thanks Daisy. I too will add that to my netflix list.

 

[ortega76]

Beautifully shot. Wonderful costumes. Kirsten Dunst is gorgeous in her flapper gear. The story was slow and the performances by some of the cast flat. I recommend renting it but don't get your hopes up too high.

 

[Haversack]

I saw it when it first came out and enjoyed it. I had heard the story before, particularly the part about how Louella Parsons won her sinecure. One reason I enjoyed it was I had previously discovered the 1928 silent comedy _Show People_. It starred Marion Davies playing both the ing?©nue star and herself. Additionally, it features a large numbers of Hollywood stars and personalities of the day playing themselves in extended cameos, including several who were portrayed in _The Cats Meow_. It is also a very funny movie and shows that Davies had a gift as a comedienne.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019379/fullcredits

Haversack.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Lots of Goofs (from IMDB):

When he looks up Ince's address, Hearst's address book shows two-letter state abbreviations (CA). These did not come into use until some fifty years later. Further, the address book displays at least one ZIP code, introduced in 1963.

The movie is set in 1924. One of the characters mentions The Lady of the Harem (1926) which wasn't released until 1926.

The rubber-ball fenders seen as the Onida is docked are of a modern (c. 1970) design. Period fenders would have been white and cylindrical.

Elinor Glyn rides off in the back of a Ford Model A, which wasn't introduced until late 1927.

These are so funny. I think it's so strange that producers and others in charge of movie "stuff" can rarely seem to get things exactly right. You'd think with the money that they spend on these big productions, they'd to everything in their power to make things exactly correct.

Beautifully shot. Wonderful costumes. Kirsten Dunst is gorgeous in her flapper gear. The story was slow and the performances by some of the cast flat. I recommend renting it but don't get your hopes up too high.

I agree, this film was beautifully shot, and wow, the costumes are incredible. The first thing I thought when Kirsten Dunst first enters the film is what a great flapper girl she makes. She carries herself so well in the part, really pulls off the look perfectly.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

That's one that intrigues me as well - not the murder itself so much, but the fact that it's NEVER been used as a basis for a movie. For its time - pretty scandalous. Three of the biggest actresses in Hollywood as key suspects along with one's mother (rumor was he'd been sleeping with all of them and more, and most claiming on their deathbed they'd been the one who'd shot him), he'd deserted his wife & children in Canada years before who'd believed him dead long before, big studio cover-up and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It seems like it's been ripe for a movie treatment for decades.

Exactly!

Some years ago I believe it was Billy Wilder, that wanted to cast Natalie Wood as Mabel Normand in a biopic, and the studios wanted no part of the story, for some reason the whole subject & the people involved seem like a part of a taboo in Hollywood.

 

[jake_fink]

Exactly!

Some years ago I believe it was Billy Wilder, that wanted to cast Natalie Wood as Mabel Normand in a biopic, and the studios wanted no part of the story, for some reason the whole subject & the people involved seem like a part of a taboo in Hollywood.

There was a fantastic book called "A Company of Killers" that reconstructed Billy Wilder's investigation into the WTD murder, which was undertaken as research for a possible film. He decided that reputations and people had been hurt enough so he dropped the project, but according to the book he did arrive at an answer to the mystery. Not all that mysterious, all things considered, it turned out. It would still make a great film, but period movies are box offcie rat poison lately, so don't expect to see it soon.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

That one was "A Cast Of Killers", said to be based on King Vidor's investigation & screenplay.

http://www.silentsaregolden.com/recommendedreading/castofkillers.html

The Taylorology group discussed it here:

http://www.public.asu.edu/~bruce/Taylor65.txt

Another book, "A Deed Of Death" takes a different look at the same subject:

http://www.amazon.com/Deed-Death-Robert-Giroux/dp/0394580753

Both are very entertaining books and can be picked up used quite inexpensively.

I tend to agree a bit more with the second book "somewhat", though the first is very intriguing & fit Hollywood.

Another theory which is quite credible, is that Mary Miles Minter may have accidently shot Taylor in an embrace during her last attempt to seduce Taylor, which may be closer to the truth, and some of the forensic evidence.



When Mabel Normand was dying of Tuberculosis in 1930, she said on her deathbed, "Do you think God will let me die without knowing who killed poor Bill Taylor"?

After all these years there will never likely be a solution, the story would make still a great movie.

 

[jake_fink]

That one was "A Cast Of Killers", said to be based on King Vidor's investigation & screenplay.

Yes, sorry. Bad memory. My copy is long gone.

 

[Feraud]

I watched this movie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The casting was great. My favorite performanes were Jennifer Tilly(kooky), Edward Herrmann(kookier), and Cary Elwes(scheming). Eddie Izzard was a terrible Charlie Chaplin! What was it that was soooo distracting about him? Are his eyebrows plucked?
The cast had neat looking outfits.

 

[swankysister]

I'm an Izzard fan, so I didn't mind him in The Cat's Meow. (I read that he tried to replicate Chaplin's insecurities as a womaniser rather than recreate a caricature).

I did enjoy the movie, but I'll warn the dancers out there that their Charleston in one scene is...very ordinary.

 

[Hondo]

I watched this movie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The casting was great. My favorite performanes were Jennifer Tilly(kooky), Edward Herrmann(kookier), and Cary Elwes(scheming). Eddie Izzard was a terrible Charlie Chaplin! What was it that was soooo distracting about him? Are his eyebrows plucked?
The cast had neat looking outfits.

Look at it this way, nice little film, great set and costumes, there could have been worse Chaplins, still we enjoyed it