Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Micitype Pretty Good

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

bkoganbing Crashing Hollywood has recently released from prison Paul Guilfoyle and moll Lee Patrick meeting aspiring screenwriter Lee Tracy on the train. As Tracy is writing about crime Gulfoyle decides he needs a collaborator for a little realism.Guilfoyle's material is based on his time with the gang of the infamous criminal known as The Hawk still at large and still unknown to the public. But he does look a whole lot like ham actor Bradley Page.Crashing Hollywood is based on a flop play Lights Out which only ran 12 performances in 1922. Back in the day studios bought all kinds of material even stuff that flopped on stage because they needed dialog for those new fangled talking pictures. In this case there was a silent version which seems to have disappeared into obscurity.Dwarfed by the much larger budgeted Boy Meets Girl over at Warner Brothers also about zany studio goings on, Crashing Hollywood does have its moments. Bradley Page is great in the dual role of the Hawk and the ham. Tom Kennedy is always funny and here's the Hawk's thick as a brick trigger man. Richard Lane however steals the show as the zany head of the studio, Wonder Pictures where Lucille Ball would work in The Affairs Of Annabel.Tracy is good, but almost subdued here for him. Crashing Hollywood will be enjoyed by fans who liked Boy Meets Girl like me.

MartinHafer A couple (Paul Guilfoyle and Lee Patrick) of ex-crooks stumble into Hollywood and manage to make it big. Although the film starts with them, later it switches emphasis to their partner screen writer (Lee Tracy) and his lady love (Joan Woodbury)--though this relationship seems a bit unreal. After all, they barely know each other, yet it's the clichéd "love at first sight" sort of rot--especially for Tracy.This film is highly reminiscent of Jimmy Cagney's exceptional film, LADY KILLER. Both films are about criminals who move to Hollywood and make it big making gangster films because they know best how to play themselves. There are a few changes, as the criminal couple are collaborators to a screen writer and there are a few other twists and turns, but otherwise it's the same plot--though Cagney clearly did it better and did it first. My advice is see the Cagney version and only CRASHING Hollywood if you are curious. Much of it was because Cagney was so great and part of it was that I usually find Lee Tracy about as welcome as a minor headache--though he's less annoying here than usual.

jaykay-10 If, like myself, you might be drawn to this picture because of your admiration of the unique talent of Lee Tracy.....forget it. Cast as a "good Joe" rather than the snarly, hyperactive conniver he excels at playing, Tracy is stuck with a role that virtually anyone could have played with as much, or as little, distinction. The story is ludicrous, the attempts at humor enfeebled, and the reliance on confusion of look-alikes reduces the plot - such as it is - to a level that might be appreciated by children, as long as they aren't too mature. Lee Tracy fans, stay away! There are many classic performances by him elsewhere. For Tom Kennedy fans, it might be worth a look.

Craig Smith I came across this by accident and discovered that over time people have lost sight of this movie and that is a shame. Herman Tibbits (Paul Guilfoyle) gets out of five years in prison and just wants to be a duck farmer. His wife Goldie is not sure she wants that and thinks that one more robbery would help them considerably. In an attempt to steal what they think is $50,000 they meet up with a struggling writer named Mike Winslow (Lee Tracy) who is on the same train as them heading to Hollywood. There are many plot lines to this movie. Winslow is trying to get in good with Barbara Lang (Joan Woodbury), who wants to be an actress. Mike wants to write movie scripts for Wonder Studios. Herman and Tibbits want to go straight and work with Winslow. In fact, it is Herman who knows how to be a real robber and that is what helps Winslow write very effective movie scripts. Turns out they are too effective as they are based on Herman's life before prison and that makes the attention of The Hawk (the head of the gang that Herman had been part of) who the movies are about.It is all of that coming together that makes this such an interesting movie. The movie keeps up a steady, increasing pace throughout. The dialogue is crisp and well written. The start of the movie lays out a very solid foundation. The middle builds the pace and the ending has a lot of action. It is amazing that a 65 minute movie has so much in it and yet doesn't leave you wondering what got missed (nothing does). 9/10