The Cat’s Meow (2001)
In November 1924, Thomas Ince, a very successful Hollywood director and producer, was taken ill during a weekend cruise on newspaper magnet William Randolph Hearst’s yacht and died 2 days later. His death certificate showed the cause as being ‘heart failure’ but contemporary rumours spread that Ince had been shot by Hearst and that there had been a cover-up.
The Cat’s Meow, directed by Peter Bogdanovitch (‘The Last Picture Show’, ‘Targets’, ‘Paper Moon’) is a nicely crafted fictionalised version of events during that weekend, starring Cary Elwes as Ince, Edward Herrmann as Hearst, Kirsten Dunst as Hearst’s mistress Marion Davies and my favourite comedian, raconteur and actor, Eddie Izzard, as Charles Chaplin the man behind the ‘Little Tramp’ character.
It’s not an action-packed thriller or even a ‘who-done-it?’ but a thought-provoking and entertaining film for anyone interested in Hollywood’s silent era and its inhabitants’ excesses. And/or Eddie Izzard fans.
Fun fact: The title is a 1920’s slang term meaning ‘the best’. A better-known variation (in the UK) was ‘the cat’s pyjamas’. “When it comes to live stand-up, Eddie Izzard is the cat’s pyjamas.”
No comments:
Post a Comment