The Cat's Meow

I’d never heard of this movie, but it was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, once one of the hottest directors in Hollywood for films like THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, PAPER MOON, and WHAT’S UP, DOC (all movies that I like a lot). And it’s set in 1920s Hollywood, another interest of mine, and one of Bogdanovich’s as well, since he was the director of the forgotten and underrated NICKELODEON. So I figured it was worth watching, and turns out it is.

It purports to tell the story of what really happened to director and producer Thomas Ince, who died mysteriously during a cruise on a luxurious yacht belonging to newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Also figuring in the plot are Hearst’s mistress, actress Marion Davies, Charlie Chaplin, gossip columnist Louella Parsons, and novelist Elinor Glyn. There’s lots of brittle, witty dialogue, a little depravity (what would Hollywood be without it?), and movie colony backstabbing and intrigue.

Probably nobody alive today really knows what happened to Tom Ince, but the movie makes a good case for the version it presents. It reminded me somewhat of HOLLYWOODLAND, the movie about the death of George Reeves (which I also liked), although it’s not as open-ended as HOLLYWOODLAND. If you’re interested in the silent film era, as I am, I think you’ll enjoy THE CAT’S MEOW.