Hollywood Party (1937)

(On Cable TV, October 2019) Closer to a technical demonstration than a real movie, the 1937 version of Hollywood Party (there’s a far better known 1934 Hollywood Party featuring Laurel and Hardy) is dull, infuriating, intriguing and charming at once. Plot-wise, it’s nothing more than an east-Asia themed variety show, with more stereotypical, fake accents and cultural appropriation costuming (Charley Chase doing a lame Charlie Chan impersonation … ugh) than modern audiences can tolerate. But here’s the thing: It’s filmed in bright Technicolor, generally set outside, and features a number of moderately well-known actors of the time. Modern audiences will be captivated by a far too-short appearance by the legendary Anna May Wong showing off a few wardrobe pieces, and exasperated by lame comic sketches. The song and dances are an often-uncomfortable mix of adequate and overdone (a white man playing an accordion while dressed in Chinese robes is … special), not wowing anyone compared to the best standards of the time but coming across as an amiable short film. Still, it’s the bright colours and sometimes-daring cinematography (through the use of Venetian blinds) that holds our attention today despite the often-dodgy content. A curio more than an essential viewing, Hollywood Party disappeared from public viewing for sixty years until it was rediscovered in an archive in 2000, and even despite the outdated stereotypes it’s good to have this historical document with us still.