Hollywood Story

Hollywood Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Castle
Written byFrederick Brady
Frederick Kohner
Produced byLeonard Goldstein
StarringRichard Conte
Julie Adams
Richard Egan
Henry Hull
Fred Clark
Jim Backus
CinematographyCarl E. Guthrie
Edited byVirgil Vogel
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Universal Pictures
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • June 1, 1951 (1951-06-01) (United States)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Hollywood Story is a 1951 American mystery film directed by William Castle and starring Richard Conte and Julie Adams.[1] The supporting cast features Richard Egan, Henry Hull, Fred Clark and Jim Backus.

The film was an attempt by Universal Pictures to take advantage of the success of Paramount's Sunset Boulevard which was released the previous year. Film historian Arthur Lyons stated that the plot is based on the murder of silent movie director William Desmond Taylor.[2] While Hollywood Story reaches a fictional conclusion, it closely follows the circumstances of the real-life event.

On the film's release, Universal promoted the appearances in it of several once-famous silent screen celebrities. It came to light that those with speaking parts had received just $55 per shooting day ($646 in 2023 dollars [3]). Others, like Elmo Lincoln, the first screen Tarzan, appeared as non-speaking extras and received only $15 per day ($176 in 2023 dollars [3]).[2]

  1. ^ Hollywood Story at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  2. ^ a b Lyons, Arthur (2000). Death on the Cheap: The Lost B Movies of Film Noir!. Da Capo Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-0-306-80996-5.
  3. ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.