Constance Bennett discovers “What Price Hollywood?”

What Price Hollywood? (1932), directed by George Cukor, is a poignant Pre-Code drama that explores the meteoric rise and tragic fall associated with Tinseltown fame. The story follows Mary Evans (Constance Bennett), an ambitious waitress at the Brown Derby who catches the eye of Maximillian Carey (Lowell Sherman), a brilliant but alcoholic film director. Max gives Mary her big break, and she quickly transforms into a celebrated screen icon. However, as Mary’s star ascends—leading to a whirlwind romance and marriage to a wealthy polo player—Max’s career and health spiral downward due to his relentless drinking, creating a stark contrast between her newfound success and his professional obsolescence.

The film takes a somber turn as the pressures of the spotlight take their toll on Mary’s personal life and Max’s dignity. After a series of scandals and a heartbreaking tragedy involving Max, Mary realizes the steep emotional cost of her celebrity status. Often cited as the primary inspiration for the various iterations of A Star Is Born, the movie serves as a cautionary tale about the volatility of the entertainment industry. It concludes with a bittersweet reflection on sacrifice, suggesting that while Hollywood can grant one's wildest dreams, it often demands a devastating personal price in return.

 

Lowell Sherman and Constance Bennett

George Cukor (1899–1983) was a titan of Hollywood’s Golden Age, celebrated for his sophisticated wit, impeccable style, and a rare ability to elicit career-defining performances from his actors. Often labeled a “woman's director”—a reductive title he both embraced and transcended—he became the go-to filmmaker for the industry’s greatest leading ladies, including Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, and Judy Garland. His filmography is a masterclass in literary and stage adaptations, ranging from the sparkling social comedy of The Philadelphia Story (1940) and Adam’s Rib (1949) to the grand musical tragedy of A Star Is Born (1954). Though he famously lost his position as the director of Gone with the Wind due to creative clashes, Cukor’s legacy remained untarnished, eventually culminating in a Best Director Oscar for My Fair Lady (1964). Known for his “invisible” directorial hand, he prioritized the emotional truth of a scene over visual gimmicks, cementing his status as one of cinema's most literate and enduring storytellers.

Constance Bennett (1904–1965) was a leading American actress and producer who ranked as one of Hollywood’s highest-paid stars during the early 1930s. Born into a prominent theatrical family as the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and the sister of actress Joan Bennett, she became the epitome of cinematic sophistication, known for her husky voice, blonde elegance, and independent personality. After a successful transition from silent films to "talkies," she delivered a career-defining performance in George Cukor’s What Price Hollywood? (1932) and later excelled in sophisticated comedies such as Topper (1937) and Two-Faced Woman (1941). Beyond her acting, Bennett was a shrewd businesswoman who founded her own cosmetics and clothing lines and was one of the first women to produce her own films. In her later years, she dedicated significant time to entertaining U.S. troops and made a final screen comeback in the 1966 remake of Madame X before her death.

Lowell Sherman (1885–1934) was a quintessentially suave and cynical figure of the early sound era, distinguished by his polished “man-about-town” persona and a razor-sharp delivery that made him a favorite in Pre-Code cinema. Originally a successful stage actor, Sherman specialized in playing sophisticated villains, charming scoundrels, and weary aristocrats—most notably in What Price Hollywood? (1932), where his portrayal of the alcoholic director Max Carey earned critical acclaim for its depth and pathos. However, his most enduring legacy lies behind the camera; he successfully transitioned into directing, helming the Mae West classic She Done Him Wrong (1933) and the first three-strip Technicolor feature, Becky Sharp (1935). Tragically, Sherman’s career was cut short by double pneumonia at the age of 49, just as he was becoming one of the most versatile and influential writer-director-actors in the industry.

Neil Hamilton (1899–1984) was a versatile American actor whose career remarkably spanned from the silent film era to the television age. Initially, a popular leading man of the 1920s discovered by D.W. Griffith, Hamilton transitioned seamlessly into “talkies,” starring in major productions like the original Beau Geste (1926) and playing the romantic lead in the first sound-era Tarzan films. In George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? (1932), he showcased his range as the wealthy but frustrated polo player Lonny Borden. While his status as a film protagonist waned in the 1940s, he found enduring pop-culture immortality in the 1960s as the stolid Commissioner James Gordon on the Batman television series. Over a fifty-year career with more than 260 credits, Hamilton remained one of Hollywood's most reliable professionals, bridging the gap between the birth of cinema and the golden age of broadcast TV.

 

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What Price Hollywood? Trivia

• The Blueprint for a Legend: The film is widely recognized as the primary inspiration for the 1937 film A Star Is Born. While the later versions shifted the focus to a central romance, the narrative arc of a rising starlet mentored by a self-destructive, fading industry veteran remains the core of both stories.
• Real-Life Inspiration: The character of the alcoholic director Max Carey was reportedly based on several real-life figures, including director Marshall Neilan and John McCormick (the husband of actress Colleen Moore). Both were brilliant men whose careers were famously derailed by heavy drinking.
• Cinematic Innovation: Director George Cukor and cinematographer Charles Rosher used experimental techniques to portray Max’s alcoholism. They utilized distorted lenses and montage sequences to simulate a drunken stupor, which was highly sophisticated and visually daring for a film made in 1932.
• A "Waitress" in the Know: To prepare for her role as Mary Evans, Constance Bennett actually practiced her waitressing skills. Her character’s workplace, the Brown Derby, was a real-world Hollywood landmark where the "stars" actually ate, adding an authentic layer of "meta" commentary to the film's depiction of the industry.

 

Discussion questions

1. The Nature of Mentorship vs. Romance: Unlike its successors in the A Star Is Born franchise, this film keeps the relationship between Mary and Max primarily platonic. How does the absence of a romantic bond between the “rising star”and the “falling mentor” change the emotional stakes of the story? Does it make Max’s tragedy more or less poignant?
2. The “Price” of the Title: By the end of the film, Mary Evans has achieved international stardom but has lost her marriage and her closest friend. Based on the film’s portrayal of the studio system, do you think the “price” of Hollywood is presented as an inevitable tax on talent, or a result of the characters’ specific personal choices?
3. Pre-Code Realism vs. Later Censorship: What Price Hollywood? was released just two years before the strict enforcement of the Hays Code. How do you think the film’s gritty depiction of alcoholism, divorce, and suicide would have been altered if it had been made only a few years later? Are there elements of the 1932 version that feel “more honest” than the 1937 or 1954 remakes?
4. The Dual Perspective of Fame: The film presents two simultaneous arcs: Mary’s ascent and Max’s decline. How does George Cukor use visual motifs (such as mirrors or camera angles) to contrast the two journeys? Does the film suggest that for every new star that rises, an old one must fall to maintain the industry's balance?