Movie Review: 365 Nights in Hollywood (1934)
Synopsis: Once a promising Hollywood director, Jimmie Dale is now out of work with no studio willing to take a chance on him. Desperate for employment, he accepts a job teaching at a sham acting school run by J. Walter Delmar and actor Adrian Almont.
Delmar and Almont see a way to increase their profit by conning a new Hollywood arrival, Frank Young, into investing his inheritance into a motion picture starring Almont and one of Dale's students, Alice Perkins. However, their plan to keep a large percentage of the money for themselves goes awry when Dale decides to use the full $75,000 and make a legitimate movie.
Who's in it? The movie stars James Dunn, Alice Faye, Frank Mitchell, John Bradford, Jack Durant and Grant Mitchell.
Review: I have had 365 Nights in Hollywood in my library for a few months and, while I did start watching it once, only to be interrupted a few minutes into it, I didn't get around to finally watching it until this morning. At first, I wasn't sure what to think about it, but it turned out to be pretty good.
Jimmie Dale (Dunn) proved to be an interesting character because it was hard to read him at times. For example, I couldn't tell if there were romantic feelings toward his protege, Alice (Faye) or if he really did just see her as "a voice." Plus, while he later seemed to want to be legitimate and make a real film, he did accept a job teaching at Delmar's (Grant Mitchell) school despite knowing it was a scam. As a result, it wasn't clear if he was legitimately looking to redeem himself or was just going to scam the scammers.
I especially liked how the movie gave a good look into Dale's directing style, which was at times borderline abusive. It left me with mixed feelings about him as a character because there were times when he wasn't very likable as a result of that style. However, at the same time, it proved to be effective because he ultimately turned the unknown and inexperienced Alice into a bankable star.
The rivalry between Dale and Almont (Bradford) added a little extra to the film as well. They both had an interest in Alice, which created a love triangle angle. The more intriguing story though had to be Almont's desire to get revenge - something that could see him sabotaging Dale's efforts at any moment, especially when he learned he wasn't going to get the payout he was expecting. Since he was the recognizable name the film needed to succeed, he had all the power.
I absolutely loved how that part of the story ended, with a clever and somewhat funny twist.
I think my only regret with watching this film is I won't get to see the movie within the movie. The film only shows glimpses of Dale's version of 365 Nights in Hollywood, and those are just musical numbers. However, I saw enough of it to want to see the full version, even knowing that full version doesn't exist. I hate that I was left hanging like that.
Final Opinion: I had some doubts, but it turned out to be a great classic movie with a few unexpected twists and a somewhat bizarre but still solid love story. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
My Grade: A
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