The Dark Side of Hollywood
“Living in Hollywood can make you famous.
Dying in Hollywood can make you a legend.”
- Tagline from Hollywoodland
It has become quite apparent in Hollywood’s past, present and future that everyone loves a good scandal, and even better one that involves murder. During the month of September, within one week from each other, two of the year’s most anticipated biopics hit theaters. After the extreme success over the last two years of the music industry biographical film, Hollywood has taken a turn to the dark side. Instead of focusing on the romantic side of a singer’s life, the film industry focused on the height of its own golden era and the glamour, betrayal and murder surrounding it. During the golden age of film there were two murders that individually claim to be the most infamous in both Hollywood and California’s history. Allen Coulter’s Hollywoodland and Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia took two of history’s most infamous Hollywood crimes and brought them to the silver screen. Both films took true crime stories, of very similar nature, and brought the victims and surrounding people to life. Even though these two films come from almost the same background, with remarkably similar characters, both are presented in very different ways, with Hollywoodland being told as a more effective story.
Hollywoodland is a film about the rise and fall of television’s legendary Superman actor George Reeves. This film really picks apart the last moments of Mr. Reeves’ life and offers numerous solutions to what may be considered Hollywood’s greatest unsolved case. The Black Dahlia shows one of the most notorious murders in Hollywood during the 1940s, and tells a story of both Elizabeth Short and the people involved with the investigation of the crime. Instead of focusing on the events leading up to the death, the film dives deep into the lives of the people surrounding the case and how their involvement affects their lives. As one can speculate there are strong similarities between the two films, but each has its own distinct style and utilizes different filmic styles to tell its story to the audience.
Lets start with the similarities between the two films. First off, these two films were inspired by two true crime stories that took place in Hollywood within a 12-year span. Both victims were apart of the entertainment industry as actors and were to eventually become infamous due to their deaths. Even though George Reeves could be considered the true star over Elizabeth Short, both were struggling to work steadily in the industry and avoid type casting. Also, both films are biographical in content and offer possible solutions to these notoriously unsolved crimes. Both George Reeves and Elizabeth Short are real people and have a significant place in Hollywood history. Their deaths to this day are considered to be mysterious and, due to the overwhelming amount of information on the Internet devoted to these two individuals, are still very much in the interest of the general public. However, the similarities between the two films run much deeper than their historical basis.
Both films were set during a time in Hollywood when the film noir movement was extremely popular. These dark stories of hardboiled detectives, femme fatales, corrupt policemen and jealous husbands of the Hollywood underground, who were always some how involved with dark and mysterious crimes, were quite popular with audiences. In turn both Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia use these exact same characters to play out there separate stories. The main character in both films is the detective investigating the murder cases. In Hollywoodland Louis Simo, played by Adrien Brody, is a down and out private detective hired by Helen Bessolo, Reeves’ mother, to further investigate the murder of her son once the Los Angeles Police Department closed the case. In The Black Dahlia Josh Hartnett’s character, Officer Dwight ‘Bucky’ Bleichert, is a part of the police department team assigned to investigate the murder of the young and beautiful Elizabeth Short. Both characters share the same types of investigation roadblocks and are met with intense obstacles to over come as a result of their involvement with the murders. The other character similarity these two films share is that of the classic femme fatale. Robin Tunney’s character, Leonore Lemmon, in Hollywoodland seduces the hero, George Reeves, into a seedy engagement right before his death. In The Black Dahlia Madeleine Linscott, played by two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, plays with the main detective on the fact that she has a remarkable resemblance to the murdered actress. In the end, both women have strong ties to the actual murder and in one case turns out to be a possible suspect.
There are many more similarities between these two films but lets take a look at some of the distinct differences between the two. The styles these films are shot in are very different from each other. Hollywoodland comes off as a more biographical film when taken at face value. There is a good amount of screen time devoted to the murder victim’s public and private life, and as an audience member I felt more knowledgeable of who George Reeves was a person upon completion of the film. Even though the film was based in Mr. Limo’s life too, a healthy balance between the victim’s past and investigator’s present life was achieved. The lighting and film stock variations from scene to scene worked well in enhancing the emotions and obstacles that Mr. Reeves was facing during the last years of his life. On the other hand, The Black Dahlia really comes off as a film noir set in the time of the murder. Even though this film was based on a 1987 fictionalized novel version of the crime, it was marketed, presented and in many cases viewed as a biographical film. It uses many more elements from the noir genre, high contrast lighting, heavy back lighting and the classic smoke filled streets, than Hollywoodland does, as diegetic elements. In a way this confuses the audience in whether they are watching a film trying to fit the noir genre or a biographical based picture set in this era. When the murder victim was shown it was usually through grainy stock footage from an old projector, and in the end I really had no idea of who Ms. Short was as a human being. Also, The Black Dahlia utilizes heavy voice over narration, by main character Officer Bleichert, to drive the plot forward and on a whole resembles the once popular film noir style of story telling. This type of narration causes the focus of the film to shift on to his life and feelings rather than the investigation of the crime.
One other major difference between these films is the solutions given in the end by the filmmaker. In the end, both films had to offer solutions to these cases to tell an effective story. Both De Palma and Coulter had to construct a way to give closure to their films and they came up with two very different solutions. Hollywoodland offers three variations on the death of Mr. Reeves, which are all valid and fit into the context of the story well. By doing this Coulter shows the audience there are theories to explain the death of TV’s man of steal, but in the end we will most likely never know the exact reason behind the events that took place in his Hollywood Hills home. I found this method very effect, because this film gives the audience the tools to come up with their own solutions and leaves in the mysterious element, which is why the death is so famous to begin with. On the other hand, The Black Dahlia offers one solution to its heinous crime. Instead of taking a more open-ended approach, like Hollywoodland did, De Palma decided to offer the one solution to his audience as closure for the film. This closure method does give a valid way to end the film, but the solution presented seems a little too far fetched to fit the intensity of the actual crime. With this crime being portrayed as one of the most gruesome and heinous crimes in history, I found it rather hard to believe that the high society, drunken mother of a Hollywood socialite was capable of planning the murder of the infamous Hollywood starlet. In reality this case has faced so many invalid confessions and possible solutions that the one presented in the film almost seems too comical to fit into this gritty, harsh story, and in my opinion really hurt the status of the film. Due to these two major differences between Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia, I believe Hollywoodland to be a more effective as a biographical film and as a story.
With all the success of the biographical film through the years, there are so many different films about all different kinds of people that audiences can choose from. The one driving factor that glues all of these films together is that the audiences come to experience a true life that is different from their own. It seems valid to say that the successful biopics, like Ray, Walk The Line, The Queen, JFK, Erin Brockovich etc., use an invisible style of filmmaking that allows the audience to be fully focused on the characters and what made these people so extraordinary. When a filmmaker starts to add different styles and elements into this now sacred genre of film, it starts to pull the attention away from the lives of these amazing people. Hollywoodland was able to effectively tell a biographical story and stay within the boundaries of a basic narrative film, which worked out quite nicely in the end for both the audience and the filmmakers. I felt extremely satisfied at the conclusion of the film with being given an open-ended solution, and appreciated how Coulter left the mysterious elements in the overall story. However, upon the conclusion of The Black Dahlia I felt more of an off balance between fact and fiction due to the highly stylized look of the film. One must be very careful when adapting a fictionalized version of a real life event, and in the end I felt that this film could of been more successful by taking a less stylized approach.
Hollywood, scandal and murder will always go hand in hand. Due to this, there with out a doubt will be many more of these types of films to come in the future. One day we might be watching the murders of Sharon Tate and her guests, the life of Joey Ramon and his famous punk band, or the bizarre events leading up to the Heaven’s Gate Cult mass suicide unfold on the big screen. But for any biographical film to be a success one must remember that the story being told has to be about the people and the lives they affected. Both Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia were able to take two separate lives and effectively portray them on screen. However, in the end the story that stayed true to its characters and basic filmmaking came out to be the more successful one.
Dying in Hollywood can make you a legend.”
- Tagline from Hollywoodland
It has become quite apparent in Hollywood’s past, present and future that everyone loves a good scandal, and even better one that involves murder. During the month of September, within one week from each other, two of the year’s most anticipated biopics hit theaters. After the extreme success over the last two years of the music industry biographical film, Hollywood has taken a turn to the dark side. Instead of focusing on the romantic side of a singer’s life, the film industry focused on the height of its own golden era and the glamour, betrayal and murder surrounding it. During the golden age of film there were two murders that individually claim to be the most infamous in both Hollywood and California’s history. Allen Coulter’s Hollywoodland and Brian De Palma’s The Black Dahlia took two of history’s most infamous Hollywood crimes and brought them to the silver screen. Both films took true crime stories, of very similar nature, and brought the victims and surrounding people to life. Even though these two films come from almost the same background, with remarkably similar characters, both are presented in very different ways, with Hollywoodland being told as a more effective story.
Hollywoodland is a film about the rise and fall of television’s legendary Superman actor George Reeves. This film really picks apart the last moments of Mr. Reeves’ life and offers numerous solutions to what may be considered Hollywood’s greatest unsolved case. The Black Dahlia shows one of the most notorious murders in Hollywood during the 1940s, and tells a story of both Elizabeth Short and the people involved with the investigation of the crime. Instead of focusing on the events leading up to the death, the film dives deep into the lives of the people surrounding the case and how their involvement affects their lives. As one can speculate there are strong similarities between the two films, but each has its own distinct style and utilizes different filmic styles to tell its story to the audience.
Lets start with the similarities between the two films. First off, these two films were inspired by two true crime stories that took place in Hollywood within a 12-year span. Both victims were apart of the entertainment industry as actors and were to eventually become infamous due to their deaths. Even though George Reeves could be considered the true star over Elizabeth Short, both were struggling to work steadily in the industry and avoid type casting. Also, both films are biographical in content and offer possible solutions to these notoriously unsolved crimes. Both George Reeves and Elizabeth Short are real people and have a significant place in Hollywood history. Their deaths to this day are considered to be mysterious and, due to the overwhelming amount of information on the Internet devoted to these two individuals, are still very much in the interest of the general public. However, the similarities between the two films run much deeper than their historical basis.
Both films were set during a time in Hollywood when the film noir movement was extremely popular. These dark stories of hardboiled detectives, femme fatales, corrupt policemen and jealous husbands of the Hollywood underground, who were always some how involved with dark and mysterious crimes, were quite popular with audiences. In turn both Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia use these exact same characters to play out there separate stories. The main character in both films is the detective investigating the murder cases. In Hollywoodland Louis Simo, played by Adrien Brody, is a down and out private detective hired by Helen Bessolo, Reeves’ mother, to further investigate the murder of her son once the Los Angeles Police Department closed the case. In The Black Dahlia Josh Hartnett’s character, Officer Dwight ‘Bucky’ Bleichert, is a part of the police department team assigned to investigate the murder of the young and beautiful Elizabeth Short. Both characters share the same types of investigation roadblocks and are met with intense obstacles to over come as a result of their involvement with the murders. The other character similarity these two films share is that of the classic femme fatale. Robin Tunney’s character, Leonore Lemmon, in Hollywoodland seduces the hero, George Reeves, into a seedy engagement right before his death. In The Black Dahlia Madeleine Linscott, played by two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, plays with the main detective on the fact that she has a remarkable resemblance to the murdered actress. In the end, both women have strong ties to the actual murder and in one case turns out to be a possible suspect.
There are many more similarities between these two films but lets take a look at some of the distinct differences between the two. The styles these films are shot in are very different from each other. Hollywoodland comes off as a more biographical film when taken at face value. There is a good amount of screen time devoted to the murder victim’s public and private life, and as an audience member I felt more knowledgeable of who George Reeves was a person upon completion of the film. Even though the film was based in Mr. Limo’s life too, a healthy balance between the victim’s past and investigator’s present life was achieved. The lighting and film stock variations from scene to scene worked well in enhancing the emotions and obstacles that Mr. Reeves was facing during the last years of his life. On the other hand, The Black Dahlia really comes off as a film noir set in the time of the murder. Even though this film was based on a 1987 fictionalized novel version of the crime, it was marketed, presented and in many cases viewed as a biographical film. It uses many more elements from the noir genre, high contrast lighting, heavy back lighting and the classic smoke filled streets, than Hollywoodland does, as diegetic elements. In a way this confuses the audience in whether they are watching a film trying to fit the noir genre or a biographical based picture set in this era. When the murder victim was shown it was usually through grainy stock footage from an old projector, and in the end I really had no idea of who Ms. Short was as a human being. Also, The Black Dahlia utilizes heavy voice over narration, by main character Officer Bleichert, to drive the plot forward and on a whole resembles the once popular film noir style of story telling. This type of narration causes the focus of the film to shift on to his life and feelings rather than the investigation of the crime.
One other major difference between these films is the solutions given in the end by the filmmaker. In the end, both films had to offer solutions to these cases to tell an effective story. Both De Palma and Coulter had to construct a way to give closure to their films and they came up with two very different solutions. Hollywoodland offers three variations on the death of Mr. Reeves, which are all valid and fit into the context of the story well. By doing this Coulter shows the audience there are theories to explain the death of TV’s man of steal, but in the end we will most likely never know the exact reason behind the events that took place in his Hollywood Hills home. I found this method very effect, because this film gives the audience the tools to come up with their own solutions and leaves in the mysterious element, which is why the death is so famous to begin with. On the other hand, The Black Dahlia offers one solution to its heinous crime. Instead of taking a more open-ended approach, like Hollywoodland did, De Palma decided to offer the one solution to his audience as closure for the film. This closure method does give a valid way to end the film, but the solution presented seems a little too far fetched to fit the intensity of the actual crime. With this crime being portrayed as one of the most gruesome and heinous crimes in history, I found it rather hard to believe that the high society, drunken mother of a Hollywood socialite was capable of planning the murder of the infamous Hollywood starlet. In reality this case has faced so many invalid confessions and possible solutions that the one presented in the film almost seems too comical to fit into this gritty, harsh story, and in my opinion really hurt the status of the film. Due to these two major differences between Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia, I believe Hollywoodland to be a more effective as a biographical film and as a story.
With all the success of the biographical film through the years, there are so many different films about all different kinds of people that audiences can choose from. The one driving factor that glues all of these films together is that the audiences come to experience a true life that is different from their own. It seems valid to say that the successful biopics, like Ray, Walk The Line, The Queen, JFK, Erin Brockovich etc., use an invisible style of filmmaking that allows the audience to be fully focused on the characters and what made these people so extraordinary. When a filmmaker starts to add different styles and elements into this now sacred genre of film, it starts to pull the attention away from the lives of these amazing people. Hollywoodland was able to effectively tell a biographical story and stay within the boundaries of a basic narrative film, which worked out quite nicely in the end for both the audience and the filmmakers. I felt extremely satisfied at the conclusion of the film with being given an open-ended solution, and appreciated how Coulter left the mysterious elements in the overall story. However, upon the conclusion of The Black Dahlia I felt more of an off balance between fact and fiction due to the highly stylized look of the film. One must be very careful when adapting a fictionalized version of a real life event, and in the end I felt that this film could of been more successful by taking a less stylized approach.
Hollywood, scandal and murder will always go hand in hand. Due to this, there with out a doubt will be many more of these types of films to come in the future. One day we might be watching the murders of Sharon Tate and her guests, the life of Joey Ramon and his famous punk band, or the bizarre events leading up to the Heaven’s Gate Cult mass suicide unfold on the big screen. But for any biographical film to be a success one must remember that the story being told has to be about the people and the lives they affected. Both Hollywoodland and The Black Dahlia were able to take two separate lives and effectively portray them on screen. However, in the end the story that stayed true to its characters and basic filmmaking came out to be the more successful one.
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