A Hollywood Star (1929) User Reviews

The Early Sennett Sound Shorts Were Good

[boblipton · 6/10 · 20 May 2022]

Cowboy star Harry Gribbon is a guest when his first sound movie is the first talking picture to play Andy Clyde's theater. Of course everything that can go wrong technically does so, not to mention Gribbon's belief that he is a great actor who writes all his own lines.

Sennett's studio had been mocking cowboy movies for more than a decade, and the introduction of sound gave them more things to make fun of. There are also the issues of dealing with sound equipment and the Vitaphone discs. Marjorie Beebe is a lot of fun in this one, too.

A comedy that actually addresses a common problem with early sound films.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 20 May 2022]

"A Hollywood Star" is a short comedy starring some familiar faces from the day, Marjorie Beebe, Harry Gribbon and Andy Clyde....most likely forgotten today but clearly stars at the time.

"A Hollywood Star" is a comedy that addresses a problem common to early sound pictures....it also is quite funny and worth seeing.

The story begins in front of a movie theater. Apparently, they soon will be having a BIG night at the place...they're not only going to have a contest where the winner gets a trip to Hollywood but they are showing the theater's first all-talking movie AND the star of the film, Big Boy Marlowe (Harry Gribbon) is going to be there to pick the winner and introduce his new film. The theater owner (Andy Clyde) is told by Mr. Schmaltz that if his daughter (Marjorie Beebe) is picked, Schmaltz will built the theater owner an all-new theater!

When the premier begins, it's pretty obvious that Marlowe is a hammy and untalented actor...but also a legend in his own mind! But he soon loses his cool when the theater messes up the film and the sound portion. Soon, the folks in the theater think it's supposed to be a comedy and even Schmaltz's daughter begins to laugh and make fun of Marlowe.

This film might not be quite so easy for many modern viewers to understand. First, the early talking pictures like "The Jazz Singer" were actually only partial talking pictures...with small portions having sound. Touting an 'all-talking picture' was a big thing in 1928-29. Second, the initial sound system used with movies was terrible--with the sound being provided on accompanying records instead of embedding the sound on the filmstock. As a result, OFTEN films had sound that was off by seconds or more...which would be irritating or funny depending on your perspective. Synchronizing the sound and film was very difficult. Because of these factors, "A Hollywood Star" would have resonated well with audiences in 1929. And, fortunately, it's also clever and fun to watch.