Review: ‘Hollywoodland’ analyzes legendary death

Directed by: Allen Coulter

Starring: Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Adrien Brody, Bob Hoskins, Lois Smith

Rated: R

The motion picture industry can always be counted upon to jump on a trend. A few years ago there were two films out simultaneously that dealt with the “forbidden dance” known as the lambada. Somehow, I managed to miss them both. A pair of films dealing with Joan of Arc surfaced in 1999, and just recently, two films about one chapter in the life of Truman Capote were released. Audiences are most familiar with “Capote.” The other film is “Infamous.”

Two movies dealing with the same subject matter will be released this fall, but the principal characters are different.

A tag line for Allen Coulter’s film “Hollywoodland” sums it up: “Dying in Hollywood can make you a legend.”

Coulter’s film explores this via the facts and speculation surrounding the 1959 death of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman on the 1950s TV show. The second film, due out later this month, is Brian De Palma’s “The Black Dahlia.” It deals with the still unsolved murder of want-to-be movie star Elizabeth Short. Her life and grisly murder have been the stuff of Hollywood legend since her body was found in January 1947.

The death of Reeves is equally mysterious, if not as macabre as that of Short. Officially ruled a suicide by means of a gunshot wound to the head, there are many who put forth other plausible explanations, all of them claiming Reeves was murdered.

Three scenarios of the actor’s death are examined in “Hollywoodland.” All are given equal weight, and the viewer is left to come to his own conclusions.

One scenario that circulated when I was in grade school was that Reeves, thinking he really had super powers, jumped out a window to his death. Had the Internet been around back then, I’m sure this tale would have been taken as gospel.

Reeves’ life story was made for Hollywood tabloids and pulp novels. In 1939 he had a very minor role in “Gone with the Wind,” and throughout the next decade was a bit player in dozens of films. A typical credit is “Pool Player #1.” That’s the character he played in 1942’s “Sex Hygiene.”

In 1951, he starred in “Superman and the Mole People,” and when TV offers came in for a Superman series, Reeves was cast again as The Man of Steel. The Superman character proved to be a double-edged sword. The campy, low budget show was a hit with kids and widely syndicated long past its original run. But getting work as a “serious” actor became increasingly difficult.

Reeves, a hard-drinking ladies’ man was the cuckold of Toni Mannix (played here by the always stunning Diane Lane). Mannix’s husband was Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a tough guy/studio executive with paramours of his own. Even with high-powered friends like these, Reeves couldn’t get serious work.

He drank more and soon a young starlet named Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney) caught his eye. He made an effort to split with Mannix, which to say the least, didn’t play too well with her. Then Lemmon proved to be as sour as her last name implied. The pair fed each other’s worst tendencies.

On June 16, 1959, police were called to a party at Reeves’ home. After saying goodnight to Lemmon and two guests, Reeves, according to those three, went upstairs and shot himself.

In “Hollywoodland,” the story of Reeves is told in flashbacks beginning on the day he dies. A parallel tale weaves in and out and features the somewhat seedy private investigator Louis Simo. Adrian Brody steals the film with his portrayal of Simo, who is based on real-life P.I. Jerry Geisler. Simo is estranged from his wife, his young son is devastated by Superman’s death and his best client is paranoid and convinced his wife is having an affair. When Simo hears Reeves’ death has been ruled a suicide he seeks out the actor’s mother and assures her that – for a small fee – he can generate enough publicity and doubt to warrant re-opening the case as a suspected murder. The distraught and somewhat “confused” mom seems interested only in getting her son the recognition she believes he deserves. She hires Simo anyway.

While Simo had merely planned on generating some quick and easy cash, he’s soon drawn into the fray and begins to believe there was indeed foul play afoot. For his trouble, he gets berated by the cops and beaten senseless by someone who wants him to take a walk.

Kudos to Ben Affleck for his job as Reeves. Affleck has the same dapper good looks and sly smile that Reeves sported, and he bulked up for the role to assure he would look as “un-super” as Reeves had in the original tights and cape. The look of the film elicits a perfect 1950s mood that adds a lot to the feel of melancholia surrounding this sad, (mostly) true Hollywood story.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.[[In-content Ad]]