The Cat's Meow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Cat's Meow | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the US release of The Cat's Meow |
|
| Directed by | Peter Bogdanovich |
| Written by | Steven Peros |
| Starring | Kirsten Dunst Edward Herrmann Eddie Izzard Cary Elwes Joanna Lumley Jennifer Tilly Claudia Harrison Victor Slezak James Laurenson Ronan Vibert Chiara Schoras Claudie Blakley Ingrid Lacey John C. Vennema Steven Peros |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 114 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Cat's Meow is a 2001 American film released in 2002. It explores the events behind a November 1924 murder on a yacht owned by publisher William Randolph Hearst, played here by Edward Herrmann.
The story places Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), Marion Davies (Kirsten Dunst), Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes), Elinor Glyn (Joanna Lumley), and Louella Parsons (Jennifer Tilly) aboard the ship. Steven Peros adapted his own play for the screen, which was directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
Orson Welles told the story to Bogdanovich on tape during their interviews for the book eventually published as This Is Orson Welles (some the tapes themselves were subsequently released under the same title). If the HBO film RKO 281 is to be believed, Welles himself was told the story by Herman Mankiewicz, his co-screenwriter on Citizen Kane. Due to the nature of the happenings onboard, this film presents one of the more popular, but of course unverifiable, versions of the events. Even the identity of the participants is subject to creative license, as many more have claimed to have attended the weekend than a mid-sized yacht can accommodate.
Bogdanovich wanted to shoot the movie in black and white to present an old Hollywood feel, but when he was told that it would have to be in color, he decided to present the same feel with costumes in entirely black and white (with some silver and gold highlights).
[edit] External links
| Films Directed by Peter Bogdanovich |
|---|
| Targets • Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women • The Last Picture Show • What's Up, Doc? • Paper Moon • Daisy Miller • At Long Last Love • Nickelodeon • Saint Jack • They All Laughed • Mask • Illegally Yours • Texasville • Noises Off • The Thing Called Love • The Cat's Meow • Hustle • Infamous |
