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Snag This: Girl 27
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »
As a Los Angeles native and a film history buff, I am endlessly fascinated by little-known tales that continue to emerge from Hollywood's storied past. Girl 27, now available for free streaming courtesy of our friends at SnagFilms, first caught my eye when it was released on DVD a couple of years ago: A woman hired as a movie extra in the 1930s is instead raped at an MGM party. If that real-life premise sounds intriguing, or causes the hairs on the back of your head to stand up with righteous indignation, you might want to check out the movie.
Beginning on a Biblical note with a quote that "nothing hidden ... will not be disclosed," the documentary mixes black and white archival footage with recent interviews of outraged observers looking back at the events of 1937. MGM, the biggest studio in the world at the time, sponsored a convention for its sales force; dozens of young women were lured there with the promise of work as an extra or bit player. Instead, they were wined and raped. Well, at least one woman was: Patricia Douglas, a 20-year-old lady who was brave enough to press a lawsuit against the studio, only to be discredited and "disappeared" from the legal record. David Stenn was finishing a book on Jean Harlow when he learned about what happened and was compelled to write about it, spurred on by his editor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. As narrator and director, he's somewhat self-serving (as pointed out by an irritated Carina Chocano in her Los Angeles Times review), but the doc brings a shameful, unknown story to light.
Watch Girl 27 in its entirety for free, right here at Cinematical -- after the jump!
Indies on DVD: 'My Best Friend,' 'Darryl Hunt,' 'Crazy Love'
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », New on DVD », Cinematical Indie »
My latest starting point is DVD Talk; their list is not comprehensive, but I appreciate the simplicity. Looking over what's out this week, I realized I need to watch more movies in theaters! I haven't seen any of these releases yet, but I plan to do some catching up. My rental picks begin with Patrice Leconte's My Best Friend. Monika Bartyzel called it "an entertaining, solid comedy." Daniel Auteuil plays "a completely conceited art dealer who is stunned to learn that none of his so-called friends like him" and is inspired to gamble on himself. The DVD from IFC includes a "making of" feature and the trailer.The Trials of Darryl Hunt "tells the story of ... a black man who was tried and convicted for the rape and murder of [a] white newspaper reporter," according to Christopher Campbell. "Hunt was sentenced despite there being no physical evidence, simply off a testimonial given by a former Ku Klux Klan member." ThinkFilm's DVD includes bonus interviews and an "exclusive HBO featurette."
Another doc, Crazy Love, about a long-term relationship with, shall we say, questionable elements, made James Rocchi wonder: "What movie didn't get in to Sundance because this horrible, clammy, grim and pathetic tale of co-dependent madness did?" But Kim Voynar had a very different view, describing it as "an engaging, intelligent" film. Magnolia's DVD features an audio commentary by co-director Dan Klores and the couple, deleted scenes and other extras.
Other titles that sound intriguing include documentary Girl 27 (a woman hired as a movie extra in the 1930s is instead raped at an MGM party) and the box set Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy (including Blood Wedding, Carmen and El Amor Brujo) from Criterion.
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