My review was written in February 1983 after a showing at a Times Square screening room.
After several years of testing odd reels (mainly obtained from collectors) on audiences at a local repertory theatre, "Hollywood Out-Takes & Rare Footage" emerges as a pleasant compilation feature aimed primarily at film buffs. There is enough humor, nostalgia and camp value in the package to attract wider audiences, however as demonstrated in its strong recent opening at a Greenwich Village first-run theatre.
Presented without narration (and with a minimum of identifying cards or titles), package consist of several types of footage: out-takes of familiar stars blowing their lines and then swearing; various public service pitches by stars, usually related to the World War II effort; and films of movie premieres and awards ceremonies boasting dozens of familiar faces.
Though prominent in the film's title, the out-takes here are its weakest element. Brief but repetitive, they feature mainly Warner Bros. Talent of the 1930s and 1940s and offer the trivia of seeing usually composed stars losing their temper, among them James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien, Kay Francis, John Garfield, Edward G. Robinson, Errol Flynn and Barton MacLane.
Far better is the series of pitchemen short films. Shirley Temple's legendary screen presence is amply demonstrated in a spot for the Red Cross, Bette Davis impressively hawks war bonds and with the late Ruth Donnelly selling a 1935 G. E. dishwasher, Frank Sinatra sings and preaches a pro-tolerance message in an RKO short. Best of all is the priceless "At Home with Joan Crawfrod", as the much-maligned star puts her children to bed (an offscreen "Good night, mommy dear" is voiced over) and asks us to help kids in need by contributing to the Red Sox-Variety Clubs' anti-cancer "Jimmy Fund" campaign.
Camp value of the Crawford spot is topped only by a 1937 "Daily Beauty Rituals" short starring Constance Bennett. In yellow and blue-dominated Cinecolor, she intimately demonstrates her skin care secrets in a show-stopping segment.
Special segments give much attention to Bette Davis, Judy Garland & Mickey Rooney and Marilyn Monroe. Garland contributes a moving rendition of "Over the Rainbow" in a filmed radio show with Bob Hope, while Monroe is featured in an intriguing screen test opposite Richard Conte plus home movies shot at a party given by Ray Anthony..
Including some low-quality tv kinescope material, the awards and premiere segs are nostalgia trips including the 1954 "A Star Is Born" launch and 1939 Oscars ceremony. Best bit is the 1960 Golden Globe winners, with an impressively jiggly Jayne Mansfield interacting with host Ronald Reagan and Mickey Rooney.
Though generally upbeat, film climaxes with a ghoulish segent: Gig Young interviewing James Dean off the set of "Giant", in which Dean (providing almost a textbook of his physical and vocal mannerisms) warns of the dangers of fast driving on the highways. In common with the Crawford material, the black humor provided by the audience's hindsight is strictly a matter of taste.
