Hyde in Hollywood (Complete play) - Gay, Closeted, Gossip, Blackmail & Revenge

From American Playhouse, 1991. The PBS series was essential for those not living in big cities with a large theater district. It was often the only way for them to see a play, especially lesser known ones like this. Even NYers like myself would never have seen this had an older friend not donated it to my archives.

Younger viewers who have never seen a play or black & white movie may be annoyed by the rapid-fire somewhat unrealistic dialogue. For better or worse, that was the style of dialogue in 1939, and playwright Peter Parnell did a good job capturing its flavor. Many younger viewers may also be confused by some of the references. For example, Hedda and Luella refer to two of the most powerful gossip columnists at the time, Hedda Hopper and Luella Parsons. They were competitors and can make or break an actor's career. There are also a lot of references to the Studio System. In Hollywood's Golden Age, the movie studios were self-contained mini-universes. And if they gave you a contract, you basically belonged to them. They control your life, and can trade and lend you to other studios like property.

There is also a lot of celebrity name dropping, which you can mostly ignore. It's just an attempt to emphasize the 1939 setting.

7.4/10 stars on imdb.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102082/

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Hyde-Hollywood-Peter-Parnell/dp/0881450901

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• gay
• lgbt
• closet
• closeted
• hide
• hyde
• in
• hollywood
• homophobia
• homophobic
• bias
• prejudice
• coming
• out
• Broadway
• play
• Peter
• Parnell
• Frechette
• Robert
• Curtis
• Brown
• Fran
• Brill
• Julie
• Boyd
• blackmail
• gossip
• golden
• age
• revenge

[lgbtTV4]

1) From American Playhouse, 1991. The PBS series was often the only way for those not living in big cities to see a play, especially lesser known ones like this. Even NYers like myself would never have seen this had an older friend not left it for my archives.

Younger viewers who have never seen an older play or b/w movie may be annoyed by the rapid-fire somewhat unrealistic dialogue. That was the style of dialogue in 1939, and playwright Peter Parnell did a good job capturing its flavor.

[lgbtTV4]

2) Younger viewers may also be confused by some of the references. For example, Hedda and Luella refer to the two most powerful gossip columnists at the time. Their columns make or break an actor's career. There are also a lot of references to the Studio System. In Hollywood's Golden Age, the movie studios were self-contained mini-universes. And if they gave you a contract, you basically belonged to them. They control your life, and can trade and lend you to other studios like property.

[lgbtTV4]

3) There is also a lot of celebrity name dropping, which you can mostly ignore. It's just an attempt to emphasize the 1939 setting.

This got 7.4/10 stars on imdb. Go to the Description for the imdb link and a link to its Amazon page.

[Ranlon]

After Gloria Sawnson glorifieing the old Hollywood in such a brilliant way, everything that came after seems bleek and superfluous.

[myronfan]

Thanks for posting this. I used to love American Playhouse and its productions, such as Lemon Sky. I missed this one, however.

[ANTINUTZI]

Many thanks for the upload of this astounding work. As I watched, 2 quotes came to mind: "Give the people what they want. It's what they deserve". (P.T. Barnum) and "No one ever built a monument to a critic". (Jean Sibellius). Researching my torpedoed M.A. thesis, I discovered that Democracy, The Renaissance, The Enlightenment, and The Digital Age were/are absolutely ours, too. And why we were/are so virulently hated. Well, I'm still here- and I'll fight back as long as I live. Thanks again.

[cutemikey]

If you find it boring at first, stick with it, guys. Ignore all the 1930's talk and names. It gets good about 15 mins in,, when the gay stuff starts happening. Thanks for uploading this!