Hollywood and Vine (1945) User Reviews

Daisy - the Most Over-Worked Pooch in the Movies!!!

[kidboots · 5/10 · 20 September 2010]

Daisy must have been the most overworked animal star of the 1940s. She appeared in over 40 films starting with "Blondie" in 1938 and finishing with "Badman's Gold" in 1951. Her bread and butter was, of course, the Blondie series but she still found time to appear in films like "The Perfect Snob" (1941) where she was uncredited as "Beano" and "Hollywood and Vine" (1945), where as Emperor, the story revolved around her.

Daisy is the real star of this movie. She plays a cute pooch, Emperor, who goes to Hollywood with a starstruck young hopeful and is the one who makes it big. The movie isn't much but the story of the dog has some novelty. Emperor becomes a big star - dining at all the fancy restaurants, his picture in the gossip pages, even being investigated for tax evasion. Thrown in is the missing dog angle and a dog hating spinster who tries to claim him and takes the studio to court!!

Wanda McKay and James Ellison (looking a dead ringer for Ralph Bellamy) supply the tepid romance and two stars from the past - June Clyde as Gloria, who came to Hollywood with stars in her eyes only to end up as a stand-in, and Ralph Morgan, who was a great villain in the early thirties, he plays the head of Lavish Studios.

The dog ought to be in pictures

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 27 July 2014]

Had Hollywood And Vine not been done by poverty row PRC studios I might have given this a better rating. It's a nice comedy about a couple of hopefuls trying to break into pictures.

James Ellison is a writer and Wanda McKay an actress, but it's a stray dog that Ellison mistakenly believes belongs to McKay that makes it big in Tinseltown. Ralph Morgan playing a dual role as a pair studio executives decides this is the dog to rival Lassie over at that big studio that has a lion logo.

Such players as Franklin Pangborn, Emmett Lynn, and even 'Prince' Michael Romanoff make this a pleasant hour of film making.

This could have been done at MGM and would have been a bigger hit there.

A Dog Star Is Born

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 1 July 2010]

According to the DVD sleeve summary, "A small-town girl heads to Hollywood in the hopes of making it as a starlet on the big screen. Hanging out at a soda counter in the hopes of being discovered, she befriends the soda jerk not knowing he's really a screenwriter looking for material on a script." Yes, this is a variation on one of filmdom's most frequently wagged tales. This time, the emphasis is on comedy, and the star turns out to be a dog. It's very occasionally funny, with Wanda McKay and James Ellison likable in the leads. The supporting cast works harder at getting laughs, especially Franklin Pangborn and Emmett Lynn. And, newsboy Billy Benedict gets more lines than usual. The location footage of 1940s Hollywood is a plus.

***** Hollywood and Vine (4/25/45) Alexis Thurn-Taxis ~ Wanda McKay, James Ellison, Franklin Pangborn, Emmett Lynn

Delightful

[dougdoepke · 29 December 2013]

Delightful little comedy from an unlikely source, PRC. Except for the charming Wanda McKay and a likable James Ellison, it's a wacky cast, featuring such specialists in exaggeration as Pangborn, Belasco, Lynn, and most of all, little Daisy. Seems Martha (McKay) wants to break into movies, and with her brilliant smile I'd hire her in a minute. Seems too, screenwriter Larry (Ellison) would like to help, but he's too busy being an inept soda jerk. Meanwhile, Daisy shows she can twirl and dance like any two-legged critter, and so gets hired on immediately. Show-biz is nothing if not fickle. So, will our lovey-dovey twosome finally find happiness and success on Hollywood and Vine. Stay tuned. No, this is not Grant or Hepburn or MGM, but it is a minor little gem, just right for an hour's worth of harmless amusement.

Strange Hollywood comedy about what it takes to get a head in tinsel town

[dbborroughs · 5/10 · 15 July 2006]

Weird Hollywood comedy about a young girl who tries to make a name for herself in Hollywood, meets a nice guy and then finds success as the owner of a dog that makes it big in the movies.

Funny but really strange. The humor and the performances often border on deranged (and I don't mean that in a good way). There were times when I didn't know if it was a comedy or not (though I suppose not knowing whether this was a comedy or drama going in didn't help). At other times I didn't know what type of comedy it wanted to be as it shifted gears through several styles (slapstick,screwball,punny) all at once. There are several great actors in it, Frank Pangborn, Charles Middleton (uncredited) and Frank Morgan who give it their all and make it fun to watch even if you get the feeling that they weren't too sure about the material either.

Its worth a try if you're in the mood for an off beat comedy, but I don't know what you'll make of it, I'm not sure what I did.

The first black and white film I've ever watched...and now I want to watch more!

[green_day_gurl_ · 7/10 · 27 August 2005]

This was a pretty decent movie--the acting was very good (the male and female leads, and the dog of course, all did an amazing job!), but the storyline seemed almost like it was too pieced together. The storyline didn't exactly "flow", and the movie seemed like it should have been a little bit longer, but I'd still suggest watching it. Although the comedy in it is very general and not very unique, a lot of it still had me laughing. If you're into older movies, I would definitely suggest watching this one. It was the first black and white movie I've ever seen, and I did actually like it. Now that I've watched it, I'm interested in the older kind of movies, and now I want to watch more :)

Our vines have sour grapes.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 28 May 2015]

There's a raisin in the sun over Hollywood, and the wrinkles in it show in the script of this PRC comedy where it is indeed a dog-eat-dog world for "Blondie's" beloved Daisy who manages to make it big a la Benji as the lost pooch becomes a screen star while its screenwriter owner tries to find it. Daisy's right under his nose at his very own studio where big boss Ralph Morgan is thrilled with his new star but not with missing writer James Ellison who is hiding out working as a soda jerk for the prissy Franklin Pangborn, turning his banana special into his biggest seller by adding a secret ingredient he overheard accidentally on a radio show. Small town waitress Wanda McKay is in town attempting to break into the movies, tries to avoid Ellison's advances, but finds out she can't resist a man with a dog. A few points are gained for the presence of familiar character actors like Morgan, Pangborn and Vera Lewis (very funny as an elderly landlady who confuses Ellison for her missing husband), but that's not enough to recommend it. The film culminates in a custody battle over the cute pup, but really, it's all a furry mess and ultimately instantly forgettable.

Exuberant silliness in Hollywood

[csteidler · 7/10 · 18 May 2012]

In his top floor office, millionaire businessman Pop Barkley (Emmett Lynn) tells a roomful of reporters the story of his success. He begins his tale in the days when he ran a roadside diner, and the action flashes back to a pretty girl stopping in for a hamburger on her way to Hollywood….

Wanda McKay is perfect as the girl brimming with brightness and confidence. "It'll be different with me," she tells the friend who warns her that fame and fortune are tough to achieve. "I'm positive I'll get my break immediately."

In the diner, McKay briefly encounters the picture's two other stars: Jimmy Ellison, a popular (and handsome) Broadway playwright on his way to Hollywood himself to write for the movies; and Daisy, the friendly and talented dog who appears from nowhere, begs a meal, and then hitches a ride the rest of the way to the coast.

The dialog is slick, the pacing fast, and the acting enthusiastic in this sweet and nutty comedy. Much of the humor is broad yet affectionate satire of Hollywood types and conventions; Leon Belasco, for example, is the crazy imported director who bashes the latest script he is given: "The dialog is terrible, it's full of accents," he gripes—in his own exaggerated European accent.

Even better is Ralph Morgan as studio boss B. B. Lavish (of Lavish Studios), whose next big picture is going to be a mammoth biography of Napoleon, his hero. He has busts of Napoleon—which he talks to—displayed all around his office. He stands with one hand tucked inside his shirt, Bonaparte-style, when making pronouncements or decisions. Also, his secretary is named Josephine.

A typical line from Robert Greig as (of course) the exceedingly dignified butler: "It has always been my contention, sir, that Hollywood is not a place. It's a state of mind."

Ellison and McKay are charming, witty and beautiful; they look good together and are easy to cheer for. However, it's Daisy who practically steals the show: Daisy dances to Strauss's "Emperor Waltz" playing on the juke box, reacts humorously to the other characters' follies, and just generally out-cutes everyone else on the screen.

Somewhat unfortunately, the picture wraps up in rather a hurry. (We never do find out just how the diner owner made it from burger flipper to millionaire….) But overall, what a happy-spirited movie, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense! Good, wacky fun.

Oh, just for the record: B.B. Lavish's name is not pronounced as you would expect—everyone addresses him as "Two B's."

It's Daisy!!! And this dog steals the show!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 4 February 2016]

This is a real oddity...a film from tiny PRC Studio that I really liked! While most of PRC's pictures were rather awful, this one was terrific all due to Daisy. Who is Daisy? It's an adorable and well-trained dog that gained most of its fame in the Blondie and Dagwood films...and it really rescued this film.

The film is about Larry Winters...a big-time Hollywood writer who becomes infatuated with a lady. They meet each other and at the same time they meet a homeless dog (Daisy). Larry takes the dog with him and searches for the girl. But she thinks he's just some poor schmuck and so he pretends to be so that he can win her heart. In the meantime, the dog goes off to Hollywood and becomes a sensation!

The reason I liked the film is that without Daisy the film was pleasant. But with this great trained dog, it was absolutely charming. Well worth seeing.

Hollywood and vine - a great location

[froberts73 · 8/10 · 8 May 2011]

First of all, critic db Burroughs, who didn't seem to know what he was watching, didn't know who he was watching. The actor he called Frank Morgan was Ralph Morgan, Frank's brother. Read the credits.

Producers Releasing Corporation usually made Monogram look like MGM, but every now and then they came out with a gem.

I'm fairly familiar with the studio. My father had a one man printing press on the lower east side - Active Printing, yet. Most of his work were one sheeters for clothing manufacturers, but he also printed sheet music for some of the biggies around 52nd St. - that's how I met W. C. Handy - and he did the NYC work for PRC.

This Producers Releasing Corp. item was certainly pretentious-less and, certainly a helluva lot of fun, at times, completely nutty

There was enough corn to fill a couple of Del Monte crates, and most of it produced a lot of laughs.

More laughs from a cast of some of the funniest character actors of the time, essentially playing themselves. The topper, of course, was Franklin Pangborn, always put upon, and, thankfully, given more time in this flick.

Making the most of a little time on screen was Dewey Robinson who always played a not-too-bright tough. His love of a banana surprise was a hoot.

The leads were just fine. James Ellison who played leads in a few major musicals but had no staying power, was coupled with Wandy McKay, a cutie beauty who kept very busy but did not top major marquees. The pair had good on-screen chemistry.

The star, of course, was good old Daisy, on loan from the Bumstead family. Button cute, it did every doggie trick in the books. This movie was made before movie animals talked. Kids today must think animals have mastered the English language.

Bottom line - this, obviously, was a low-budgeter, but who cares? It did what it set out to do - created a lot of laughter.

Having a fairly good time at Hollywood and Vine

[glennstenb · 7/10 · 9 September 2019]

Although "Hollywood and Vine" is enjoyable to view one time through, one could wish it were a little more filled out. However, if it had been more filled out, it likely would have been too tedious, and hence less enjoyable, to comfortably watch. So we have what we have. The story is a good enough one to be told and the acting good enough to tell it. B-movie stalwarts Ms. McKay and Mr. Ellison look characteristically so very happily 1940s in their personal appointments and behavior! It is a pleasant production throughout, gentle, lightly comedic, and respectful, and the veteran supporting cast adds fun and flavor. Vehicles from the 1930s and 1940s are fun to see. However, twice Ms. McKay's changes of heart toward Mr. Ellison seem abrupt and without reason. Furthermore it seemed to me that it was as if some of the film's scenes were re-shot and edited-in later., with the post-production editor possibly overwhelmed by the amount of material from which to choose and the amount of time available to do it. Here's my recommendation: if you watch the movie long enough to see the two leads part after discovering each other at the the highway cafe, go ahead and stay around for the rest of it.

silly but fun insider's story of hollywood

[ksf-2 · 8/10 · 24 January 2018]

I always like films wih Frank Pangborn.. here, he's Reggie, pharmacy owner, next to the studio. Wanda McKay is Martha, who is headed for hollywood. (Although McKay's real claim to fame is that she was married to musician Hoagy Carmichael.) Ralph Morgan (the wizard's brother) is Mr. Lavish, head of the studio. We watch as Martha tries to get a start in hollywood, but it just isn't happening. Larry (James Ellison ) follows her around, and keeps trying to return her dog, which isn't really hers. The whole story is pretty corny, and it barely holds together, but it's fun if you go along for the ride... kind of an insider's look at hollywood. Cameo by Dewey Robinson, the banana surprise guy. It's all silly, but fun. A shortie from PRC, at 58 minutes. Directed by Alex ThurnTaxis... one of the five films he directed; didn't seem to spend much time in hollywood, unlike everyone else in this film! apparently ThurnTaxis was related to the royal family of Austria, and was on the committee that investigated the murders of the russian Tsar's family. Now THAT's a movie !