Checking in on the stars in Screen Snapshots, Series 13, No. 5

Is this worth your time?

Look, if you are a massive fan of old Hollywood gossip or just love seeing what people wore to the beach in 1933, you’ll dig this. If you want a structured narrative or anything resembling a modern documentary, you’re going to be bored to tears within thirty seconds. It’s a relic, plain and simple. 📽️

Ralph Staub is basically the original paparazzi, but with way more access and way less spite. He walks around with his camera, and everyone just sort of… smiles? It’s a very weird, low-stakes vibe.

The whole thing feels like you stumbled into someone’s attic and found a shoebox of Polaroids that haven’t faded yet. You see actors just standing around, looking uncomfortable, waiting for Staub to finish his shot so they can go back to their coffee. It’s oddly charming in its total lack of polish.

Tiny moments that don't matter

• There’s a shot where someone is fixing their hat that lasts about three seconds too long. I kept waiting for them to walk away, but they just stood there.
• The lighting is incredibly harsh, like a desert noon in the middle of a soundstage. Everyone looks a little squinty.
• I couldn't help but think about how different this is from the frantic energy in The Call of the Game, where everything feels so much more staged.

It’s funny to see these icons of the silver screen looking like regular people. They aren't performing. They’re just waiting for the next scene or hanging out by a trailer. You see a bit of that same 'off-duty' energy in The American Beauty, but here it feels even more stripped down. Almost accidental.

Is there a point to any of this? Not really. It’s just footage of people being people, which I guess is the whole point of a 'snapshot.' It’s the antithesis of the grand, sweeping drama you get in something like Johan Ulfstjerna. This isn't trying to change your life. It just wants to show you who was hanging out at the studio commissary that week.

Maybe it’s the simplicity of it that kept me watching. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for grainy black and white film. 🎞️

I found myself wondering if anyone in the background knew they were being filmed. Probably not. Staub just sticks the lens in their faces and hopes for the best. It’s invasive, yet somehow polite. A strange middle ground that doesn't really exist in celebrity culture anymore.

It's not great. It's not bad. It's just a time capsule that someone left open. If you’re bored on a Sunday morning, you could do worse than this.