Perhaps not one of Billy Wilder's most famous of films, but this penultimate effort is certainly one of his more intriguing. The story is told starting from the moment of the death of the actress "Fedora" (Marthe Keller) and so it is basically about the circumstances that led to her being hit by a train (suicide/accident?). William Holden ("Dutch Detweiler") has seen better days as an Hollywood producer, and so determines to try and lure the legendary star from her reclusive existence in her Greek villa; surrounded by a rather acolytic coterie as obsessed with their own interests as with those of the actress; and at points we are not quite sure of the extent to which her housebound existence is entirely voluntary. Hildegard Knef ("The Countess") and José Ferrer ("Dr. Vando") add further to this mystery that seems as much of a swipe at the excesses, and vacuousness (splendidly epitomised by the good looking but shallow Michael York) of Hollywood as it is about the sadly maladjusted woman. Aside from Knef - who is on great form, the acting is a little uninspiring - there are some resemblances to "Sunset Boulevard" but I felt only marginally; this has neither the intense drama, nor the intimacy of that story - and Holden couldn't come anywhere near the performance he had delivered back in 1950. I did enjoy it; despite the print I saw being poor and rather shockingly edited (hacked?) but the denouement is pretty much telegraphed after about half an hour and so it loses out on any great degree of depth. Perhaps the very shallowness and fickleness Tom Tryon was identifying in his book?
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo - the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial - find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.
The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
Follows the story of a luckless actor named Barry who has recently split from his girlfriend. He is seen wallowing at home in his pyjamas, where he becomes fixated on a children's television presenter who he sees on daytime television. The two accidentally collide at an awards ceremony and Barry sets out to impress the presenter. However, he inadvertently lies about his profession, ignoring his actorial status for a career in psychiatry.
A biopic of Anna May Wong, the Golden Age icon whose career brought her international recognition even as she continued to face opportunity limitations in the industry and other forms of prejudice and discrimination.
Interweaving stories of four different women involved in the sex industry offers a glimpse into the dark underbelly of Los Angeles and the taboo lifestyle of a sex worker. A teen runaway, single mother and two career escorts interconnect through their own personal journeys filled with loss, betrayal and the struggle to survive. Written by anonymous
Life for a single mom in Los Angeles takes an unexpected turn when she allows three young guys to move in with her.
While Sidney Prescott and her friends visit the Hollywood set of Stab 3, the third film based on the Woodsboro murders, another Ghostface killer rises to terrorize them.