Connecting truth, scandal, fabrication and lies are a huge guilty pleasure that gets the audience thinking, talking and yes, writing. Hollywood loves to take a look at itself in complimentary and not so complimentary ways. Pictures such as WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD (1932) , SOULS FOR SALE (1923), IN A LONELY PLACE (1950), THE BAD AND BEAUTIFUL (1952), SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950), the vicious DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975), BARTON FINK (1991), THE PLAYER (1992), and MATINEE (1993). The list goes on. The 2006 Focus Features picture HOLLYWOODLAND enters onto that list with a difference: it is an inquiring, sympathetic look at the death of fifties SUPERMAN TV star George Reeves. That “solved” incident is connected with our friends from the E. J. Fleming book THE FIXERS at MGM: none other than Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling.
HOLLYWOODLAND (2006), which was shot in California and Ontario, Canada, using many Canadian actors in supporting roles, features Adrian Brody as the fictional Lewis Simo. He is a cheap private investigator operating out of a motor court with his girlfriend Kit Holliday (Caroline Dhavernas).
Simo is taking money from a client, Chester Sinclair (Larry Cedar), whose wife is having ‘unauthorized carnal relations.’ Simo says all the right gumshoe phrases, offers Sinclair a shoulder yet no solution. He gladly talks Sinclair’s cash fee for expenses with a straight face. Sinclair leaves the motor court and Simo sheepishly says ‘ that it’s money’ when Kit says that the whole thing isn’t right. Simo visits his ex-wife Laurie (Molly Parker) and learns that their son is upset over the recent death of Superman. Simo finds his son Evan (Zach Mills) tossing things around in their backyard when he goes to drive him to school. Laurie tells him that all the children are upset at the death of Superman.
Simo tries to reason with Evan on the way to school, giving him an Etch- a- Sketch drawing machine as a gift. It is tossed away. Simo then says in a wonderful bit of dialogue to his son that ‘That astronauts, cowboys and people like that that one sees are not real.” Evan knows but it doesn’t stop him from staring out the window as they drive.
After dropping Evan off at school Simo heads to a diner where he meets a former police colleague to get a lead on something they won’t touch. Simo gets razzed about not being a real detective yet gets fee the headline of George Reeves’ suicide that is screaming out of the paper. The police will not touch it because it is close to MGM ,who have closed the case. Simo launches himself into the case as he senses a large payoff.
The picture unfolds in a series of flashbacks in the neo noir style where we meet George Reeves (Ben Affleck) and follow his career in show business and his romance with Tonie Mannix (Diane Lane). Solid on screen chemistry between Lane and Affleck as they flirt themselves to dinner, a walk, a cuddle and into bed after meeting at a party. Reeves wakes up the next morning and realizes he has slept with wife of Eddie Mannix. The Eddie Mannix who runs MGM studio. This fact does not sit well for his career or so he thinks.
The relationship grows and Reeves auditions for a cheap television show called SUPERMAN which he doesn’t think will last but it’s money.
The picture moves back to the present with Simo convincing Reeves’ mother Helen Bessolo (Lois Smith) that she should pursue the truth by getting the right headline in bold type. Bessolo is convinced her son did not commit suicide and agrees to pay Simo to find the truth. She can only pay by cheque, though.
The investigation and Reeves’ career and relationship with Tonie Mannix go back and forth in a non confusing pattern to the story. The picture reaches a conclusion that is somewhat ambiguous, but it was dealing with the actual events. Along the way we meet a series of interesting characters like Reeves’ manager Art Weisman, played with style by Jeffery DeMunn. The actor may appear to be a cliche manager; he is always fast talking with a smooth, almost friendly approach that I think is a blend of people like Lew Wasserman who ruled Hollywood after the studio system’s collapse
Robin Tunney does a funny and aggressive turn as Lenore Lemon. She was the woman that broke up Reeves and Tonie Mannix. Lemon is a gold digging, dark haired woman in the femme fatale tradition. Tunney plays her with gusto and open sexuality in clothes and manners representative of ‘party girls’ that attended functions to be with them and perhaps get money or recognition.
Ben Affleck does well as George Reeves. He apparently threw himself into research for the role. Affleck watched the entire SUPERMAN television series, and studied Reeves’ voice patterns in tapes and commercials. He does an excellent job with some minor makeup additions to his face to look like Reeves, particularly in the credits of the SUPERMAN television series. Affleck later said he took the role because it was a broken character, plus it distanced him from the large budget pictures he had been cast in before.
A tension filled moment happens when Reeves, in a live action stunt as Superman is confronted by a child who unwittingly points a real gun at him, wanting to see the bullets bounce off. Interestingly, both Lane as Martha Kent and Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman would connect in another superhero drama, JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017).
Diane Lane shine as Tonie Mannix with laughter, a beguiling smile, wonderful face and eyes that seem to dig right into Affleck on screen. Lane wears the clothes well, as do all the actors. Tonie Mannix was a former dancer. It was a shame that that was not put into the screenplay.
Bob Hoskins as Eddie Mannix and Joe Spano as Howard Strickling absolutely steal the show. Hoskins is tough and coarse, almost Tony Soprano like in his physicality and voice. Mannix was connected and this maybe an exaggeration. Hoskins jumps out of one particular scene when Reeves, Tonie, Mannix and his Asian mistress are at dinner. Reeves tries to engage Mannix’s mistress in conversation when Mannix growls at him not to talk to her. When Reeves inquires as to why Mannix tells him with a wry smile that she doesn’t know English.
Joe Spano also comes across as the smooth yet direct Howard Strickling whose job is to make things right when something prevents one person from buying a ticket to a film. Spano’s Strickling is smooth and erudite with a hint of menace. He is someone who does his job with ruthless precision. Hoskins and Spano both make the best of limited screen time, which makes what they do more interesting.
The key scene, and you can take from it what you will, is between Mannix and Tonie. Tonie has just told Eddie that Reeves is leaving her. Mannix tells her that she is lovely and he will do anything to protect her happiness. HOLLYWOODLAND shows three examples of Simo’s possible investigation by presenting three ways that Reeves may have died. Each is different, some conjecture, but they are presented as ideas of what might have happened.
HOLLYWOODLAND (2006) was helmed by television director Allan Coulter who replaced Mark and Michael Polish. They were up and coming filmmakers who worked with actors James Woods and Nick Nolte on successful Festival Feature NORTHFORK (2003) and the Billy Bob Thornton feature THE ASTRONAUT FARMER (2006).
Facts are changed, characters are written in and events are condensed in HOLLYWOODLAND (2006). The facts are that Mannix did have a wife named Tonie who had numerous affairs of which he had full knowledge and encouraged. Mannix encouraged them because it made Tonie happy. Mannix also had an Asian mistress among others, all with full knowledge of his wife.
HOLLYWOODLAND (2006) is as entertaining as the historical fiction or fact books one finds on the shelves. Symbolism abounds with what we do for money, also that we don’t listen to people or really know what they do. How much to we really know people is brought out with a moment between Kit and Simo at night. Simo really doesn’t know what Kit can do or what she is capable of.
If one watches HOLLYWOODLAND (2006) for the well paced action, the characters, brilliant wardrobe plus cars and a story of what might have happened without hitting one with conclusion over the head then it is enjoyment. Reeve’s death is still a true event in Hollywood history that has been officially solved. Or has it?
STARDUST AND SHADOWS 
Welcome all to the show that never ends.