planktonrules Review of Screen Actors

Screen Actors (1950)

Of great interest to film buffs--others might not be quite as impressed

[6/10 · 24 May 2008]

This film short was made with the cooperation of the major film studios and is one of a string of publicity shorts made about the film industry itself. This public relations film purports to show that actors are pretty much like anyone else--with normal hobbies and interests beyond the studios.

I liked this film but considering I am a huge old film buff, it isn't all that surprising. If anyone is a fan of Hollywood's golden age, then they'll probably love seeing some candid shots of the stars at play or working jobs other than acting. The only problem is that, at times, the film seemed more like publicity and I wondered just how true all these supposedly candid shots were. Was it real or just a put-on by publicity agents? I guess we'll never know.

By the way, of all the supposedly candid film clips the one that rather creeped me out was seeing Dan Duryea as a cub scout leader. For those of you who don't remember Duryea, his film roles were sort of like a combination of Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken!!! Would anyone SERIOUSLY let this guy be alone with their kids! I am sure he was a nice guy in real life, but his persona made this seem really, really strange!