The line hits like a slap- literally: “Let me tell you the truth for once in my life...I was the slut of all time!” From that notorious confession, we jump into one of the most infamous Hollywood melodramas of all time, MGM’s "Butterfield 8". Today on "Going Hollywood" we're unpacking this notorious guilty pleasure from 1960, and why this film is widely called trash while still being weirdly hard to look away from.

We dig into the behind-the-scenes story that makes "Butterfield 8" essential Hollywood gossip history: Elizabeth Taylor reportedly despised the script, rushed to finish her final MGM contract, and pushed for demands that shaped the production, including New York locations and a role for Eddie Fisher. Then we get into the on-screen chaos: Gloria Wandrous as “call girl” versus “model,” the Production Code-era dance around sex, and the film’s relentless need to shame and punish its heroine. Along the way, we talk about Lawrence Harvey’s chilly performance, the mink coat plot trigger, and that marathon car crash finale.

The most revealing part might be the meta-layer. "Butterfield 8" plays as a commentary on Taylor’s real-life scandal with Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, right down to casting and styling choices that feel pointed. We also explain the title itself as a phone exchange tied to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and we trace how Taylor’s near-death illness and tracheotomy helped shape her first Best Actress Oscar narrative, even as many argue Shirley MacLaine deserved the win for "The Apartment". Subscribe, share the episode with a classic film friend, and leave us a review, then tell us: is "Butterfield 8" glorious trash or just trash?

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Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

It's our first crossover episode!

Taking a page from 1990s "Must See TV", today we have a special treat. Join us for a "Going Hollywood/Front Row Classics" crossover event as Tony welcomes FRC's Brandon Davis and guest Ben Burke to the show to discuss the (questionable) guilty classic, MGM's musical remake of "The Women", 1956's "The Opposite Sex" .

We talk about the remake’s biggest swings: adding eye-popping Metro-color, wedging in yawn-inducing production numbers, and most criminal of all: introducing men into the cast! Add into the mix a murderous row of gifted actresses whose lifeless performances and lack of on-screen chemistry leave this legendary story of real housewife bitchery strangely lifeless, and you're left with the one big question: WHY? From June Allyson’s lackluster “society wife” energy to Joan Collins as a Crystal who never quite gets her claws, we compare performance, pace, and the intangible spark the original captures so effortlessly.

If you love classic Hollywood history, MGM musicals," The Women", 1950s fashion, or remake autopsies, you’ll have a lot to argue with us about.

If you enjoy the conversation, subscribe, share this with a fellow old-movie obsessive, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

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Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

A gangster’s superstition turns into a citywide con, and somehow it becomes one of the most humane stories of the 1930s. We’re talking about Frank Capra’s "Lady For A Day" (1933), where Apple Annie sells apples in Times Square and Dave the Dude buys one before every deal like it’s a talisman. When Annie’s daughter returns from Spain expecting a wealthy society mother, Dave and his crew scramble to build a high-society illusion overnight, complete with manners, clothes, and a borrowed life.

What surprised us most is how well the film balances fantasy with real Depression-era texture. Mae Robson makes Annie feel fully lived-in, and we dig into why her performance carries the movie even when she isn’t getting the punchlines. We also get honest about what works less, what characters we wish had more time, and the scene we think could have been milked for even better comedy during Annie’s rapid makeover.

After the film talk, we share listener survey results that overwhelmingly favor the 1930s and 1940s, plus the series and stars you want us to cover next. If you enjoy classic Hollywood podcasts, film history, and thoughtful movie reviews, hit play, subscribe, and share the show. Then leave us a rating and review, and send a text or voicemail so we can feature your thoughts on an upcoming episode.

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Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

One performer. No guest stars. No dancing chorus to hide behind. Just one unbelievably talented and chutzpah-filled 22-year-old staring down the biggest network in America—and winning all the marbles.

It’s Barbra Streisand in the 1960s.

Today, we revisit her first two iconic CBS television specials, My Name Is Barbra (1965) and Color Me Barbra (1966), and explore how a girl barely out of her teens could make an hour of pure singing feel like must-see television. These weren’t conventional variety shows. They were something closer to the prototype for the modern music video—built around persona, irony, theatrical movement, visual storytelling, and, above all, Streisand’s ability to inhabit a song rather than merely sing it.

We dig into the creative gamble behind Streisand’s five-million-dollar contract, the three-act structure that makes each special play like a miniature stage production, and the extraordinary way she turns every song into a character piece. Along the way, we get into all the backstage happenings: the elusive studio audience, the tale of five ill-fated penguins, an overly amorous llama, and all the fascinating production choices that helped make these specials feel so different from anything else on television at the time.

So join us as we take a trip into "Streisandland" circa the 1960s. It’s a journey you won’t soon forget.

If you love classic Hollywood, TV history, or the craft of performance, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a rating and review so more listeners can find Going Hollywood.

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Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

We take a listener recommendation and give Brad one more chance to become a George Stevens fan. Will he? Won't he? You'll have to listen to find out, as we tackle what is, arguably, Steven's masterwork and certainly one of the greatest films of the 1950s: "A Place in the Sun".

One bad decision is a plot. A thousand tiny compromises is a life, and "A Place in the Sun" (1951) stares straight at that truth until it becomes unbearable. We follow Montgomery Clift’s George Eastman as he reaches for the "American Dream", only to find it quickly morph into the American nightmare. Is he a character who truly meant to do harm, or was he simply a victim of the illusion and promise of the "American Dream"? This one will give you plenty to think about.

We talk about Theodore Dreiser, the real-life murder case that inspired the original novel, and why Stevens’ adaptation chooses implication over explanation in key moments. Then we get nerdy about craft. Stevens’ extreme close-ups, long static shots, and eerie dissolves don’t just look beautiful; they tell us the story in ways that mere dialogue cannot. We also touch on Edith Head’s iconic costumes, Franz Waxman’s sweeping score, the film’s Academy Awards run, Charlie Chaplin’s legendary praise, and the ugly art-versus-commerce fight over TV broadcasts chopped up by commercials.

Finally, there's the cast. The 17 year-old Elizabeth Taylor, at the peak of her youthful bloom, beauty and possibility; her polar opposite, Shelly Winters, in a career-defining performance as the young woman who blocks Clift from obtaining his place in the sun and pays the ultimate price for it. There is Clift himself, an American Icarus, whose ambition to attain the American Dream at any cost sends him plummeting to his ultimate destruction. Listen, then share your take with us: is George Eastman a villain, a casualty, or both? If you like what you hear, subscribe, rate and review, share the show with a friend, and please fill out the survey linked in the show notes.

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Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

“She croaked the blues right out of the horn.”
So went a famous movie review by-line, and it kills us to admit it, but it’s true. It’s also true that it is by popular demand that we’re tackling it all…the good, the bad, and the filters, because, it’s today ladies and gentlemen! From Warner Bros. in 1974, we’re talking about “Mame”.

But we’re going to try to look past the punch lines, and dive into the notorious bomb with a little tenderness and understanding, because the story of how it misfires is more complicated than just “Lucy can’t sing.” We break down the core mismatch of persona that shapes everything, then we widen the lens to the choices around the film. From the direction, to the screenplay, to the editing, to why a cast this loaded ends up feeling oddly muted (with one magnificent exception).

We also get into the juicy behind-the-scenes turns that fans love: Bette Davis lobbying for Vera, Madeline Kahn originally cast as Agnes Gooch before being fired, and the way musical “surgery” can strip story motivation and emotional payoff. Along the way we still call out what works, including the opening sequence, the sets, and those moments when the movie accidentally becomes mesmerizing as a guilty pleasure.

If you’ve ever argued about a notorious adaptation, or wondered how ambition and timing can derail great material, you’ll have opinions by the end. Subscribe, share the episode with a fellow classic film fan, and leave a review so more listeners can find us.

Text us or Leave a Voice Mail

Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

"So gentlemen prefer blondes do they?"

This famous opening line is delivered with more than a little irony by our leading lady, the lethally funny Lil Andrews, in today’s film: MGM’s 1932 pre-Code classic “Red Headed Woman”. After all, the woman saying it is cinema’s most celebrated platinum blonde—Jean Harlow—who trades peroxide for provocation and proceeds to set the screen ablaze as a redhead whose morals are negotiable but whose style is impeccable. Marriages go smash, reputations take a nosedive, and even murder gets a crack at the spotlight—all served up with a wink and a wicked little laugh by Harlow in her star-making turn as the gold digger to end all gold diggers.

Even in glorious black and white, “Red Headed Woman” crackles with the fiery havoc Jean Harlow unleashes—and it is easy to see why the film caused such a stir in 1932. We look at what makes this MGM pre-Code lightning strike so distinctive: its glossy style, wicked humor, and gleeful refusal to punish bad behavior on cue. Along the way, we explore the film’s ties to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Anita Loos, Lil Andrews’ ruthless ambition, its blunt view of sex and power, and the Paris ending that pointedly dodges a tidy moral lesson. We also explore the popularity and prevalence of these morally questionable characters during the depths of the Great Depression, examining why audiences embraced their defiant, anti-establishment attitudes and how the enforcement of the Production Code in 1934 brought their era to an abrupt end.

If you love classic film history, pre-Code cinema, and Hollywood’s Golden Age deep dives, hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a fellow movie lover, and leave us a rating and review so more listeners can find the show.

Text us or Leave a Voice Mail

Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

It’s our very own “bottle” episode. Sort of…

Your movie picks are taking over the show today. A listener voicemail, classic Hollywood wish lists, and a friendly debate over a famous ending all in one relaxed “bottle” hang. Hit play, then tell us what we should cover next?

Along the way, we shout out the people who keep “Going Hollywood” lively with smart opinions, strong taste, and the kind of detailed requests that make our watch list impossible to ignore.

Text us or Leave a Voice Mail

Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com

Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod

To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com

Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.