Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths (1990 Video) User Reviews

okay look at some sad Hollywood deaths

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 31 January 2007]

Hollywood Heaven purports to be a documentary about the untimely and tragic deaths of Hollywood stars - but doesn't really give the topic a documentary treatment. It depends on clips and photos of a variety of stars - James Dean, George Reeves, Rock Hudson, W.C. Fields, Marilyn Monroe, Tyrone Power, Alan Ladd and Rudolph Valentino, and is done on the cheap. Much of the footage is familiar - Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to the President, for instance, and it also contains a few mistakes. Despite what has been said, George Reeves' footage in "From Here to Eternity" was not cut because someone in the audience said, "Look, there's Superman." It's an urban legend; it simply isn't true.

If you're not familiar with this material, you'll find this documentary, which I believe went straight to video, of some interest.

Dated look at some icons and film legends lives.

[ger55champ · 5/10 · 6 December 2021]

Mostly old and dated footage .Watchable but nothing memorable. I enjoyed a rare clip of the beautiful Sharon Tate ,who was murdered in 1969, the Manson family being responsible..

Life and Death Hollywood Style

[dougdoepke · 6 August 2018]

A must for old movie fans. It's packed with colorful footage from several key decades of celebrity movie-making. There's Valentino from the 20's, Fields from the 30's, Power from the 40's, and a host of famous stars from the 50's. Clips from the celebrity's best-known film features are included and make up the bulk of the footage. The ones from Fields' comedies are a particular hoot, including the notorious dentist's chair sequence. Lives of the subjects are also capsulized including background, marriage(s) and unusual death. It's the latter that establishes the documentary's common thread. Naturally, the star's particular appeal is emphasized, but the footage doesn't shy away from controversial aspects, such as Hudson's homosexuality, Lugosi's drug use, or the mysterious deaths of Wood and Reeves. And though the script could easily descend into errant gossip, I don't believe it does, relying on reputable fact instead. Understandably, Monroe receives the most footage. From the clips, it appears neither her plaintive appeal nor tragic life story has diminished by passing years. Then there's Dean's spooky premonition of death in his road safety interview with Gig Young shortly before the actual event. Anyway, old movie fan or not, it's still a fascinating overview of Hollywood human interest expertly gleaned from several decades of movie-making.