What Price Hollywood?

Terrific performances, a sharp story by Adela Rogers St John, and characteristically elegant, subtle direction from Cukor make this largely affectionate but sometimes biting satire on Hollywood and its star system a perennial delight. Its story - waitress-turned-actress Bennett's star rises while that of her mentor/director, the cynically self-loathing alcoholic Sherman, fades - served as a run-through for the more famous A Star Is Born (also produced by Selznick), and the steady shift from light, bubbly comedy to the genuine darkness of the scenes leading to Sherman's suicide is effortlessly made. Funny, moving, and unusually honest.