Definitely one of the most fascinating bad movies ever, certainly better than "Myra Breckenridge" and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", and definitely a notch above because it is less crude. Who would believe that the man who produced all of those beach party movies and Vincent Price horror films of the '60s would mix with James Ivory, best known for dozens of classy literary films in the '80s and '90s. The 1920's poem (later the subject of two musical plays) gets a colorful, lavish production, and has a fascinating nearly award-worthy performance by James Coco as a Fatty Arbuckle like silent comic who is all of a sudden engulfed in scandal as a result of the gauch bash he throws at his audacious Hollywood Hills mansion. Raquel Welch is his not quite devoted mistress, sticking around because of the possible fame and contacts it gives her, and the notoriety she will end up with.
It's obvious that they put some thought into the silent films within the film, and there are some musical moments that are quite nice as well. I did feel like I was back in this period, the late 1920's, with Perry King and Royal Dano great in support and some fun character performances by familiar faces such as Dena Dietrich and Bobo Lewis. In spite of the perfect physical detail however, the film seems misguided in the direction that it takes, and perhaps that is the fault of what happened in the editing room. The sum of its parts is a mix of negative and positive, and Coco gets the best chance to sink his teeth into probably the only well written character, someone who certainly is deserving of sympathy. Welch, who apparently was very difficult at least as far as the director was concerned, seems to just be walking through her part without any real enthusiasm but it's definitely lovely to look at.
The nostalgia craze of the 1970's definitely had its hits and misses, and for me, this is a bittersweet miss that I give a higher rating to admitting that it probably didn't deserve it, but it truly is enjoyable to watch even though it's just missing the element of greatness that somehow is eluded in the final product. I'll always remember the helicopter shot of the town car driving through the hills with the ocean in the distance, an unforgettable sight.
It's obvious that they put some thought into the silent films within the film, and there are some musical moments that are quite nice as well. I did feel like I was back in this period, the late 1920's, with Perry King and Royal Dano great in support and some fun character performances by familiar faces such as Dena Dietrich and Bobo Lewis. In spite of the perfect physical detail however, the film seems misguided in the direction that it takes, and perhaps that is the fault of what happened in the editing room. The sum of its parts is a mix of negative and positive, and Coco gets the best chance to sink his teeth into probably the only well written character, someone who certainly is deserving of sympathy. Welch, who apparently was very difficult at least as far as the director was concerned, seems to just be walking through her part without any real enthusiasm but it's definitely lovely to look at.
The nostalgia craze of the 1970's definitely had its hits and misses, and for me, this is a bittersweet miss that I give a higher rating to admitting that it probably didn't deserve it, but it truly is enjoyable to watch even though it's just missing the element of greatness that somehow is eluded in the final product. I'll always remember the helicopter shot of the town car driving through the hills with the ocean in the distance, an unforgettable sight.