Hollywood Story

Hollywood Story is a 1951 American thriller film noir directed by William Castle, and starring Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan and Henry Hull. The film was an attempt by Universal Pictures to take advantage of the success of Paramount's Sunset Boulevard which was released the previous year. The plot is based on the notorious murder of silent movie director William Desmond Taylor. While Hollywood Story reaches a fictional conclusion, it follows the circumstances of the real-life event closely. Upon the release of the film, Universal promoted the appearance of several once famous silent screen celebrities. It came to light that the ones with speaking parts had received just $55 per day of shooting for their roles. Others, like Elmo Lincoln, the first screen Tarzan, were used as non-speaking extras and received only $15 per day.