IMDb RATING
6.4/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
Semi-true story of the Hollywood murder that occurred at a star-studded gathering aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.Semi-true story of the Hollywood murder that occurred at a star-studded gathering aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.Semi-true story of the Hollywood murder that occurred at a star-studded gathering aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writer
- Steven Peros(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writer
- Steven Peros(screenplay)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Videos1
Zoe Mavroudi
- Servantas Servant
- (as Zoi Mavroudi)
Despina Mirou
- Servantas Servant
- (as Despina Morou)
- Director
- Writer
- Steven Peros(screenplay) (play)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
In November of 1924, a mysterious Hollywood death occurred aboard media mogul William Randolph Hearst's yacht. Among the famous guests that weekend were: film star Charlie Chaplin; starlet Marion Davies (who was also Hearst's mistress at the time); silent-film producer Thomas H. Ince (known for creating the first Hollywood-studio facility and for creating an "assembly line" system for filmmaking); and feared gossip columnist, Louella Parsons. —Carol Lewis, Producer
- Taglines
- "The Whisper Told Most Often..."
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG-13 for sexuality, a scene of violence and brief drug use
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaDespite the fact that Charles Chaplin actually had bright blue eyes, Eddie Izzard wore dark contact lenses to keep with the public perception of Chaplin as dark featured. Most have only seen or remember him in black and white films, and assume he had dark eyes.
- GoofsWhen he looks up Ince's address, Hearst's address book shows two-letter state abbreviations (CA). These did not come into use until some fifty years later. Further, the address book displays at least one ZIP code, introduced in 1963.
Edit: The abbreviation for California of CA is not necessarily an anachronism. People frequently use abbreviations of their own invention, and Hearst could have invented CA, just as easily as he could have invented OR, WA, etc.
- Quotes
Marion Davies: Nothing can happen this weekend.
Charlie Chaplin: So what are you doing next weekend?
- Crazy creditsThe characters, entities, and events depicted and the names used in this motion picture are ficticious. Any similarities to any actual persons living or dead or to any actual entities or events is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Anatomy of a Scene: The Cat's Meow
- SoundtracksAfter You've Gone
Performed by Kirsten Dunst with Ian Whitcomb & His Bungalow Boys
Written by Henry Creamer and Turner Layton
Top review
Star rating: 3 out of 5
The Cat's Meow offers an insight into what may (or may not) have occurred during a fateful pleasure cruise aboard media mogul William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924. One guest didn't survive the trip, and afterwards the other passengers only ever talked about what happened during those few days in riddles. The film is at pains to point out that it only depicts one possible version of events, which unfortunately does rather undermine the convincing storyline.
The story begins in Hollywood, "a land just off the coast of the planet earth", in that decadent decade dominated by the Charleston, flappers, and bootleg moonshine. The women's costumes are thus visually spectacular all satin and feathers but some of the actors seem to be overwhelmed by the splendour, and appear somewhat wooden as a result. The notable exception to this is Kirsten Dunst, who plays the effervescent Marion Davies, Hearst's mistress. However, the best lines in the film surely belong to the wonderfully cynical and sarcastic Joanna Lumley.
The thing the movie does capture to perfection is the double standards extant in Hollywood. One of the characters disdainfully dismisses the Prohibition, claiming that alcohol isn't illegal "for us". And that seems to pretty much sum up the attitude of the film fraternity at the time that they are above rules and regulations. Even murder, it would seem, can be hushed up.
This isn't a murder mystery as such; anyone with a thorough knowledge of Hollywood history will know who died, and the whispers surrounding the event. But the average viewer may question if, after all this time, they really care what the truth is. Better instead to enjoy this film as a fiction.
The story begins in Hollywood, "a land just off the coast of the planet earth", in that decadent decade dominated by the Charleston, flappers, and bootleg moonshine. The women's costumes are thus visually spectacular all satin and feathers but some of the actors seem to be overwhelmed by the splendour, and appear somewhat wooden as a result. The notable exception to this is Kirsten Dunst, who plays the effervescent Marion Davies, Hearst's mistress. However, the best lines in the film surely belong to the wonderfully cynical and sarcastic Joanna Lumley.
The thing the movie does capture to perfection is the double standards extant in Hollywood. One of the characters disdainfully dismisses the Prohibition, claiming that alcohol isn't illegal "for us". And that seems to pretty much sum up the attitude of the film fraternity at the time that they are above rules and regulations. Even murder, it would seem, can be hushed up.
This isn't a murder mystery as such; anyone with a thorough knowledge of Hollywood history will know who died, and the whispers surrounding the event. But the average viewer may question if, after all this time, they really care what the truth is. Better instead to enjoy this film as a fiction.
helpful•30
- jennifer_litchfield
- Jan 13, 2005
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,209,481
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $111,037
- Apr 14, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $3,646,994
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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