Why you should spend 10 minutes on Hollywood - The Second Step

If you are obsessed with old movie history, you need to watch this right now. It is only about ten minutes long, so you have no excuse. But if you hate old black-and-white promotional stuff, you will definitely want to skip it.

Basically, this is a short film about Jane Barnes trying to make it big. She already got her studio contract, which the narrator calls "the first step." Now she has to do the actual boring work, like modeling hats and being a stand-in.

The best part is easily when she gets to stand in for Maureen O'Sullivan on a Tarzan set. Yes, Cheetah the chimp is actually in this! 🐒

Honestly, the chimp looks totally lost. There is a moment where Cheetah just stares at the camera like he wants to go home, and they just kept it in the movie.

It has that same weird, fake-behind-the-scenes vibe you get in Hollywood on Parade No. A-4. Everything is super staged, but they pretend it is all totally natural.

Also, Chico Marx randomly shows up for like five seconds. No one explains why he is there, and then he just vanishes from the film entirely.

The narrator, Carey Wilson, talks in this super serious voice. He acts like Jane is fighting a war, even though she is just getting her hair brushed by a lady. It is pretty funny how dramatic he gets.

One shot of Jane smiling in a funny hat goes on for way too long. It gets super awkward, like the camera guy fell asleep at the wheel.

If you enjoy weird old-school Hollywood curiosities like Down to Their Last Yacht or even ancient stuff like Cinderella, you will like this. It is a neat little time capsule of a dream that didn't really work out for Jane.

It is not amazing, but it has alot of charm. Plus, it is super short so it won't waste your afternoon.