HOLLYWOOD STORY. Universal International, 1951. Richard Conte, Julia Adams, Richard Egan, Henry Hull, Fred Clark, Jim Backus, with Francis X. Bushman, Betty Blythe, William Farnum, Helen Gibson & Joel McCrea. Director: William Castle.

   A movie about movies. A heartfelt tribute to the silent movie era with all its salaciousness and scandals, Hollywood Story follows film producer Larry O’Brien (Richard Conte) who becomes obsessed with the unsolved 1929 murder of silent film director Franklin Ferrara. So much so that he has decided to make a movie about Ferrara’s death. But to make the movie authentic, he realizes he needs to play PI and solve the crime. This, of course, puts a target on his back.

   There’s a wide range of characters who could all be suspects, including Sally Rousseau (Julia Adams), whose mother Amanda was an actress who worked with Ferrara. There’s also O’Brien’s friend, Sam Collyer (Fred Clark) whose gun was used in the killing. And then there’s a gaggle of former silent movie stars, all of whom may have had a reason to want Ferrara out of the way. Complicating matters is the longstanding rumor that Ferrara had an estranged brother who died in China.

   It’s just convoluted enough to work. At least that’s my opinion. With William Castle at the helm and with plenty of on-location shots in LA, the movie never stalls. It moves along at a solid clip and provides plenty of suspense about who or what may lie behind the Ferrara murder. While the ultimate resolution may be a bit of a letdown, it’s plausible enough to make Hollywood Story worth a casual watch should you find the premise intriguing. Just don’t go in with the highest of expectations. Sunset Boulevard (1950), this is not.