Hollywood Story (1951)

A New York film producer (Richard Conte) relocates to Hollywood to work in movies. When he comes across the story of the 1929 unsolved murder of a famous silent film director, he decides to make that story his next movie. But someone doesn't want him to make that movie ..... like the still surviving murderer. Directed by William Castle (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL), this programmer is a fairly decent noir-ish whodunit but alas, like too many movies, it can't sustain itself all the way through and the film's ending is pretty routine. Filmed on the streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles, it's fun seeing 1951 Hollywood and L.A. (especially if you live or have lived in L.A.). But the film can't deliver what it starts out promising ..... a nifty little murder mystery with some juicy Hollywood backstories. It doesn't help that the ghost of the superior SUNSET BOULEVARD (released the year before) hovers over the film. The movie includes cameos from some silent film stars like Francis X. Bushman, William Farnum, Betty Blythe and Helen Gibson. Also in the cast: Joel McCrea, Julie Adams, Richard Egan, Fred Clark, Jim Backus, Henry Hull and Paul Cavanagh.