Hollywood Hotel

Saxophonist Dick Powell wins talent contest and goes to Hollywood. There he gets mixed up in drama revolving around a movie star and her double, played by real-life sisters Lola and Rosemary Lane. Middling musical comedy from Busby Berkeley with a decent cast and backdrop. Dick Powell seems bored and I imagine he was after doing so many musicals prior to this. Nice to see two of the Lane sisters in the same movie. However, Lola is actually one of the worst parts of this. She plays a diva movie star in the most over the top manner possible. She plays to the rafters and it's just too much. The rest of the cast ranges in quality. Glenda Farrell is always good and a few years earlier she might have had the female lead. Sadly she was starting down the ladder by this time. Acquired comedic tastes Hugh Herbert and Ted Healy do their usual bits of business. If you're familiar with them, you'll know what I mean and whether or not you can stomach them. Speaking of Healy, this is one of his last films before his controversial death. Ronald Reagan has a bit part and gossip columnist Louella Parsons makes her acting debut. The songs are nice but only the opening "Hooray for Hollywood" number stands out. For a Berkeley musical, it's pretty restrained.