Movie vs. Reality: Hollywoodland
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
February 7, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
In each entry of this column I’m going to be looking at a different movie “based on a true story” or whatever phrasing is attached to it and compare it to the actual story. Hopefully I’ll be able to separate fact from Hollywood. But I’m also going to be talking about what those changes mean and why they were made. Do the changes have some artistic merit or are they just attempts to make the story fit into a neat Hollywood package?
After unsuccessfully spending years trying to have their creation published, two Jewish young men; Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster finally had a breakthrough. Their character Superman was published and introduced to the world in 1938. Of course no one at the time - including the creators - could have foreseen the amount of success Superman would have.
Over the seven plus decade of his existence he has become one of the most well known - and profitable - fictional characters in the world. Unfortunately his creators didn’t always get to reap the monetary rewards of their creative work. In fact almost for as long as the character has been around, there have been copyright disputes. To this day, the creators’ heirs find themselves trying to regain control of the character. But misfortunes have hardly been exclusive to Siegel and Shuster. Superman has been so closely associated with bad luck that there is even something called “The Superman Curse.” This refers to series of troubles that creative people went through after being involved in adaptations of Superman in various media.
Arguably the most notorious victim of “The Superman Curse” is George Reeves. Reeves played the title character on Adventures of Superman from 1952-1958. Unfortunately, in 1959, at the age of 45, Reeves was found in his home dead from a gunshot wound. The death was ruled a suicide, but there has been controversy surrounding the circumstances of his death. Many believe that Reeves was actually murdered. And Hollywoodland (2006), directed by Allen Coulter, tries to shed some light on one of Hollywood’s biggest mysteries. The movie stars Ben Affleck as George Reeves.
What the Movie Got Right
The main focus of Hollywoodland is Reeves' life during the Superman years and his subsequent death. Because of this the movie doesn’t spend too much time on his childhood. However a character does - in passing - mention that Reeves never knew his father and that his mother had lied to him growing up.
Although Reeves' acting career began promisingly - with a role in Gone with the Wind - by 1951, it had stalled. But at a party, Reeves meets a beautiful woman, Toni Mannix (Diane Lane) and the two quickly hit it off and wind up spending the night together. The next day he learns that Toni is married to Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), the general manager of MGM. At first Reeves fears that having an affair with Toni could kill his career, but Toni assures him that she and her husband have an open relationship. Emboldened by this and the hope that she might help his career, Reeves and Toni continue their relationship. The two fall in love and before long Toni begins buying George many expensive gifts, including a car and a house.
It is during their relationship that Reeves is offered the title role on Adventures of Superman. Initially he is hesitant to take the part because he considers it childish. When he does sign on, the show is still without a sponsor. But it is eventually picked up - by Kellogg’s - and Reeves is blown away by how successful the show is. The role makes him a celebrity with the show’s young audience and gives him a steady income, but it is not the serious work that he craves. Even though the show was not the creative project he was longing for, he did have fun with the cast members and crew. Reeves was known as a jokester on the set and often pulled pranks during shooting.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Reeves grew tired of the role and wished to quit the show. It was during this time that he began to resent Toni and his role as her arm candy. Reeves believed that Toni could have at any time talked to her husband to help his career but didn’t. He thought that Toni liked him where he was despite his own aspirations.
Eventually, Reeves does get what he wants when Adventures of Superman is cancelled. He sees this as a blessing and an opportunity to pursue other interests like starting his own production company. He also hopes to one day direct his own projects. Of course this would require some financing and he heads to New York to inquire about some prospects. While in New York Reeves meets a young woman named Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney). The two of them have a fling that very quickly turns serious. Because of this, Reeves ends his relationship with Toni. Not surprisingly, she is heartbroken about this and her husband is enraged to see his wife hurt. But it doesn’t take long for Leonore to realize that Reeves is not as well off financially as she thought.
It is here that we see the theories on how Reeves' death occurred. Although the movie does not attempt to answer the mystery, it imagines how each scenario may have played out. One belief is that Toni’s husband had Reeves killed for hurting his wife. As mentioned before, they had an open relationship, but Eddie did love her and wanted to see her happy. Because of this - as the theory goes - when George broke Toni’s heart, Eddie had him killed during a small gathering at George’s house.
The second theory is that George was accidentally killed by Leonore in an argument at the same house party. When Leonore met Reeves she assumed that he had a lot of money and was quickly disappointed to find out that wasn’t the case. In this scenario, she is angered by George’s dour mood during the party. When he goes upstairs she follows him and as the two begin to argue, Reeves mentions that he wants to call off their engagement. She pulls out a gun that George owned - a gift from Toni - and when he tries to take the gun from him it accidentally goes off, killing George.
A third scenario positions George’s disillusionment with his career as a possible motive for the suicide. After the Adventures of Superman, George quickly saw all of his other hopes evaporate. It wasn’t long before he was low on money and had to seriously consider taking on some wrestling work. It is clear that George is disenchanted by his current prospects and at that party George excuses himself from and heads upstairs with a look of sad resignation. In his room he takes out his gun and kills himself.
What the Movie Got Wrong
In Hollywoodland we learn that Reeves' career began promisingly in 1939 and we later see him in 1951. It seems to suggest that he struggled continuously for a decade but the fact is that he spent two years in the war and when he returned in 1945, many studios had slowed down production. Also contrary to the film, George’s career as Superman actually began with a film called Superman and the Mole Men.
During the shooting of the first episode we see Reeves - as Superman - attempt to take off in an alley suspended by wires. The wires snap and he falls to the ground, but that particular - and often repeated - sequence was shot by a stuntman. He did, however, suffer a similar accident later on during the show’s production.
Although the movie focuses prominently on George’s disillusionment with the role, it barely hints at the fact that he really did care about his young fans. Reeves took his status as role model very seriously.
During a public appearance a young fan wants to shoot Reeves with a loaded gun to see the bullet bounce off. George - noticeably shaken - explains that although the bullet wouldn’t hurt him it might bounce off and hit an innocent bystander. Although this is a very popular story and Reeves himself has repeated it, research has been unable to corroborate it.
Another popular story is that Reeves' scenes in From Here to Eternity were substantially cut because of how people reacted to him during a preview screening. Urban legend suggests that because Reeves had become too recognizable as Superman, people were unable to take him seriously in any other role. But the fact is that the film includes all of Reeves' scenes and no preview screening of the films were ever held.
A prominent character in Hollywoodland is a private investigator Luis Simo (Adrien Brody). The movie uses his investigation as a framing device. But Simo is a fictional character loosely based on an actual detective named Milo Speriglio.
The movie does not show the fact that the studio sought to find a replacement for George when it was clear he was not happy with the role. They actually tried to get Kirk Alyn, who had played the character in the original movie serials.
After the show is cancelled, we see Reeves barbecuing his costume as a way to celebrate the cancellation but the fact was that he did this after every season. The movie also depicts Leonore at the reading of his will. She is shown to be shocked that Reeves left everything to Toni. But since she was not mentioned in the will, she was not invited to the reading of it.
Verdict
Bolstered by a strong performance by Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland is a very entertaining and moving film. It not only shines a light on Reeves' life and untimely death, but it also depicts the darker side of following one’s dreams and the heartbreak and disappointment that it can lead to.
Although it has been suggested that Affleck’s somber portrayal doesn’t do justice to Reeves' charming and lighthearted personality, I would argue that it’s because the movie focuses on a darker and more solemn time in the actor’s life. Regardless, it is a great film that is respectful to both the actor and the character. It is a great treat to any Superman fan but one doesn’t need to know anything about the character to enjoy the film.
Next Time: October Sky