The Talk Of Hollywood

This ambitious independently-produced musical was filmed in New York, utilizing the talents of several Broadway performers. Dialect comedian Nat Carr stars as movie mogul J. Pierpont Ginsburg, an amusing take-off of malaprop-spouting Sam Goldwyn. On the verge of bankruptcy, Ginsburg sinks every penny he has into a musical-comedy spectacular built around the questionable talents of French film siren Adore Renee (Fay Marbre). Meanwhile, Ginsburg's daughter Hope Sutherland pursues a romance with her dad's goyishe lawyer Sherline Oliver. In the climax, Ginsburg screens his masterpiece for a gathering of potential investors (including an uncredited Sam Levene), only to discover to his horror that the soundtrack is out of synchronization with the picture (pre-dating a similar gag in Singin' in the Rain by 22 years). Perhaps unintentionally, Talk of Hollywood is funnier in its dramatic moments than in its comedy sequences.