The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974 TV Movie) User Reviews

Tinseltown time capsule from the Golden Age (of TV movies)

[melvelvit-1 · 7/10 · 1 December 2016]

In a quest for ratings, the producer (Don Murray) of an early morning TV talk show heads to L.A. to find out whatever became of a half-forgotten movie queen and inadvertently sets off a string of killings...

Confusing TV murder mystery set in Hollywood with voice-over narration, nubile females, and even a detective's trench-coat for Don (why didn't he just call COLUMBO?). Veteran actors Gloria Grahame, John Ireland, Van Johnson, Yvonne Decarlo, Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell, and "special guest star" Walter Pidgeon pop up in small roles. Grahame was probably the titular mystery woman because the makers, Columbia Pictures, could use clips from old movies Gloria made at that studio free of charge.

I've come to enjoy the rhythmic narrative flow of these TV movies (the action regularly builds to a crescendo with a quick fade-to-black where commercials were inserted) and I also love the credits that invariably include "guest stars" galore and at least one "special guest star". I'm looking forward to tracking down more.

Great TV mystery

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 29 December 2020]

Gary Nelson, who made this, also directed The Black Hole and Freaky Friday, which is an interesting set of films to have on your IMDB. He also made this TV noir, which is all about a man trying to find a woman who has faded away.

The cast makes this, including Don Muray (Bus Stop), Van Johnson, Bery Convy (before his game show days, Convy would show up in movies like Jennifer), Joe Santos from The Rockford Files, Yvonna De Carlo, John Ireland, Walter Pidgeon, Cameron Mitchell (!) and Candice Rialson (!!)

The closer the investigation gets to the answers, the more people die. Much like a lot of mae for TV movies, this was a backdoor pilot for a series, which I really wish had happened. This combines so many noir movies into one film, like Laura for one, with a fair bit of Sunset Boulevard.

Gloria Grahame plays the woman who everyone is looking for, who we also see in the film in two clips of her most famous noir appearances, Human Desire and In a Lonely Place. I wonder where else future installments of this series would go.

a film noir ode to 40's and 50's Hollywood

[Cheyenne-Bodie · 12 September 2006]

Don Murray ("Advise and Consent") starred in this pilot produced by David Gerber ("Police Story"). Don played a TV journalist/producer. Beautiful Laraine Stephens ("Bracken's World") was his network superior. The concept was somewhat similar to "Savage", a pilot from a year earlier that starred Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. "Savage" was based on a "Name of the Game" episode written by Mark Rodgers. Mark Rodgers also wrote this fascinating film.

Don is trying to find out what happened to a movie star who hasn't worked for fifteen years. Brilliant Gloria Grahame had the title role of "The Girl on the Late, Late Show". Grahame's films included "The Bad and the Beautiful", "Crossfire", "It's a Wonderful Life", "The Big Heat", "Odds Against Tomorrow" and "Oklahoma". A stunning body of work. It would be a treat to see any of those films on "The Late, Late Show".

But Gloria Grahame's best film was "In a Lonely Place" with Humphrey Bogart. That film was directed by the great Nicholas Ray ("Rebel Without A Cause"), and "In a Lonely Place" was also Ray's best film. Nicholas Ray and Gloria Grahamae were man and wife when that film was made, but split soon thereafter. Gloria Grahame eventually married her stepson with Nicholas Ray. Gloria's glory days in films were pretty much over by 1960.

Don Murray looks at scenes of Gloria Grahame with Bogart in "In a Lonely Place" as he tries to get a fix on this beautiful, sexy, talented, troubled woman. You understand how Don becomes obsessed with Gloria and with finding her, and yet you know the woman he is falling in love with no longer exists. In the last scene Don locates the faded, perhaps insane Gloria who is sitting all alone watching "In a Lonely Place" on television. Don walks away, leaving Gloria to commune with a younger version of herself.

Hiring Gloria Grahame to almost play herself and using actual scenes of "In a Lonely Place" were stunning conceptions for any movie, much less one made for television. "The Girl on the Late, Late Show" tries to be a "Sunset Boulevard" for the actors of the 40's and 50's, rather than the silents. This TV movie is not anywhere near the class of "Sunset Boulevard", but it is still a one of kind effort.

The rest of the carefully chosen cast includes Sherry Jackson as a stripper, Ralph Meeker as a cop, John Ireland as a bad guy and Cameron Mitchell as a film director who worked with Grahame in the old days. Walter Pidgeon and Van Johnson, who were fellow MGM contract players with Grahame in the 40's, are also aboard.(Don Murray and Walter Pidgeon had starred 14 years earlier in the superb "Advise and Consent"). As you watched the movie, you couldn't help but think about these actors' careers, and how they were currently being treated by Hollywood (and the public). These aging actors were like old friends. You worried about them and were glad to see they were still around, still basically the same.

The script is just one big silly cliche.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 28 July 2022]

While the attempts to recreate the mood of a classic film noir is admirable, the results aren't quite as successful. This seems to be trying to recreate the Hollywood magic of "The Bad and the Beautiful" with several stars from that film and a few other contract players from MGM in guest-starring cameos, as well as some other veterans as well. This reminds me of "Death at Love House" (made after this) with its focus on the studio era of movie making, but that's a mystery horror film while this is strictly a noir rip-off that overloaded with ridiculously trite dialog just seems juvenile and silly.

New York TV talk show producer Don Murray (one of the last Hollywood golden age contract players) who's obsessed with trying to find out the mystery of what happened to Carolyn Parker, a film noir vixen who disappeared after only eight movies, and that puts him in danger and leads to the murder of a few people he talk to.

In her one scene, Yvonne DeCarlo looks like she's going to a costume party dressed as Bette Davis in "Madam Sin", and Walter Pidgeon gets some really eye rolling dialog as a has-been director. Van Johnson get some better material as Parker's one-time co-star and forner lover. Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell and Huntz Hall are equally ill-served by the script. Gloria Grahame, the girl with the cotton stuffed cheeks and odd sounding voice, is seen mainly in film clips as Parker, and when she does show up, it's a complete let down and a total waste of the previous 70 minutes. Ultimately, this was an attempt to cash in on the nostalgia craze of the 70's and ends up being a big Edsel. It's not even amusing as camp.

A great little mystery

[jjturley · 8/10 · 19 August 2005]

This story concerns a New York television producer, 'William Martin' (played extremely well by Don Murray) who presents classic movies on the local "Late, late, show". Inbetween movies, actors are interviewed and there is the occasional colorful guest. There is a wonderful segment with George Fischbeck (yes, the former LA weatherman) playing the role of cat psychiatrist. Mr. Martin gets the inspiration to interview an actress (named 'Carolyn Porter', played by Gloria Grahame) who will appear in several upcoming old movies. Ms. Porter was famous in the 1950s, but what has she done lately? Where is she now? Of course, any sane person would check IMDb to get the information!! But back in 1974, there was no such thing...

Mr. Martin flies to sunny Los Angeles and visits the studios. He is struck with how 'The Great Carolyn Porter' is so forgotten. He cannot locate her files and nobody knows anything. She stopped making movies in 1954 and then disappeared. No doubt, she is probably married and living a quiet life.

But not everything is as it seems.

It soon becomes clear that Ms. Porter was meant to be forgotten, since people that Mr. Martin contacts are getting murdered. Of course the LA police take interest and provide unusually good assistance. The LA policeman is played by Joe Santos, who is perfect for this role as he is the regular LA policeman in "Rockford Files".

This is a great little mystery. Don Murray is believable as a likable and inquisitive television producer-turned-detective. In this transformation, he becomes more compelled to discover what happened to Ms. Porter even though a killer is on his trail, and mounting obligations are awaiting him in New York. In the course of the story are some wonderful appearances by other notable actors such as Yvonne DeCarlo, Van Johnson, and Walter Pigeon, to name a few. Also, we see the 'Ideal Los Angeles' of the 1970s: Sunset Boulelvard, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the not so congested freeways, and even Malibu. These places are still there, but don't look the same now. And you can't get away from those big 70s' cars and tacky clothing! Hard to find, but highly recommended!

A wonderful TV movie...

[searchanddestroy-1 · 6 December 2009]

TV movies from the seventies will always enjoy me. There is something special in them. Something we don't find now. This feature makes no exception. The story itself is fascinating; it is about the lost Hollywood, Hollywood and its dream. Our dreams. I won't describe the topic, as the other users have already done in a very accurate way.

Of course, there have already been other films about the "real" Hollywood, about its traps and broken faiths, broken dreams. But this one is poignant, especially in the ending. The other user has told it very well. It torn me to pieces. It reminds me a Twilight Zone episode, starring Ida Lupino, an ex star, a forgotten star, who watched her films on a screen, many years later.

And after a little while, I also realized that this little gem was inspired by Otto Preminger's masterpiece: LAURA.

The story of a man who falls in love of the woman he is looking for.

I repeat, the ending is devastating for a sensitive audience.