Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fantastic!

Better Late Then Never

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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.

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.

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.

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!