Malice in Wonderland

Back in the 40's and 50's one of the most powerful people in the world was Hedda Hopper. She had a big chunk of America champing at the bit to find out the latest dirt of celebrities. Louella Parsons worked for her for several years, and (after being taken advantage of one-too-many times) decided to branch out on her own.

This bio TV movie plays out some of the story of these Gossip Columnist giants. Each one wanted to get the BIG Scoop on the latest Hollywood scandal. These women worked very hard, working all of their contacts, to get the story.

Their mutual dislike for one another is well-portrayed. This movie shows the rush for fame quite well. I enjoyed the performance of Liz Taylor (as Hedda Hopper); she was perfect to play this larger-than-Life character. And, I liked Jane Alexander's role (as I enjoy most of her portrayals). There are many familiar faces in the cast (also a nice thing).

First of all Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon was mostly lies and he said she said. Secondly hedda worked for louella not the other way around as one of the reviews said. I love almost anything with Elizabeth Taylor. All in all a good movie.

It's a TV movie based on a book about the rivalry between Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons as Hollywood gossip queens between 1928 and 1944. Jane Alexander does a great job as Hedda and even moves and sounds like her. Elizabeth Taylor, on the other hand, seems a tad too glam for the dowdy Louella. Story tells of Louella's entrenchment in Hollywood as a reporter for William Randolph Hearst, who was partnered with MGM thru his Cosmopolitan Picture production company. The deal not only divided the costs of Marion Davies' films for MGM, but pretty much guaranteed massive publicity for MGM films thru Hearst's media empire of newspapers, magazines, and radio stations. But Louella got too powerful so Louis B, Mayer (according to this movie) arranged the struggling Hedda to write gossip for a local non-Hearst newspaper.

The two women battle for scoops, praise their favorites, and viciously attack anyone who has crossed them. The film goes into the battle over Citizen Kane ad studio attempts to kill it.. Much name dropping and all the usual and familiar gossip about John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, Marion Davies etc.

Although there were other movie columnists like Sheilah Graham and Jimmy Fidler by far the reigning two were Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. At first Louella reigned alone with the backing of the Hearst newspaper syndicate and a radio show Hollywood Hotel. She had the studios in an uproar lest she report some indiscretion that one of their stars did. Their answer, create their own columnist to print their spoon fed publicity.

What Louis B. Mayer played here by Richard Dysart did is find the divorced much younger discarded trophy wife of stage immortal DeWolf Hopper who was struggling to make it as a character player. Hedda Hopper with some strong right wing opinions and a young son William Hopper to support seemed to be the right one. Dysart got the other studio moguls to go along.

It was their worst nightmare. Hedda got free of their control and they had two women now as the reigning purveyors of gossip and self appointed morals police of tinsel town. And the two couldn't stand each other.

Elizabeth Taylor who certainly had her life dissected by columnists plays Louella Parsons. Louella was a short dumpy woman and while Taylor gave it her best shot, I could never see Liz Taylor as short and dumpy. Parsons had a great source for gossip closed to all but her. Louella's husband John Martin was a doctor and his specialty was venereal disease. In his hands he held the celebrated privates of Hollywood. Why people went to him, God only knows. He's played here and underplayed by Jon Cypher.

Jane Alexander as Hedda Hopper is nothing short of outstanding. I remember Hedda Hopper in her last years on her favorite venue which before her death was Art Linkletter's House Party show. Alexander really got her down perfectly. By that time television had relegated print columnists as relics of a bygone era. Hopper had to go where the audience was. Hopper was a leading proponent of the Blacklist. That aspect of her was brought out in the film Trumbo.

Malice In Wonderland is an outstanding made for television feature. I wish it would come out on DVD and/or Blue Ray.

I first came across these two harpies when I read Kenneth Anger's superb "Hollywood Babylon". His waspish descriptions of this brace of bitches is both hysterically witty and makes you eager to learn more about them. I bought "Hedda and Louella" by George Eells from The Strand book shop in New York but found it rather plodding - I didn't wade too far into the tome. Apparently, this film is based on that book and I was hoping it would be a condensed precis that would make me re-engage with the book, but it didn't. My word, is it dull! The script is dull, the direction - is there any? - is dull and the performance of most of the actors with the exception of Dame Liz and Richard Dysart (who disappointingly plays Louis B. Mayer as a human being instead of the baby eating ogre Kenny Anger makes him out to be). Oh for the film version of "Hollywood Babylon"!