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4.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Windy Riley Goes Hollywood remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Is this worth watching today? Only if you have twenty minutes to kill and a major crush on Louise Brooks.
If you like fast-talking 1930s comedies where nobody breathes between sentences, you might dig it. If you want a plot that makes sense, stay away.
It’s basically a short film based on a comic strip. Windy Riley is this guy who is supposed to be racing from New York to San Fran without stopping.
But then he just... stops? He crashes into a movie mogul's car and suddenly he is working in a studio.
The logic is paper thin. It’s like the movie forgot its own premise within four minutes.
Let’s be real. Nobody is watching this for Jack Shutta, who plays Windy. He’s fine, but he’s basically a human migraine with how loud he talks.
We are here for Louise Brooks. This was during her "exile" phase after she left the big studios, and you can tell she's just a little bit too good for this stuff.
She plays Laury La Verne. A star who is apparently "fading," though she looks incredible as usual.
There is a shot where she’s just sitting there looking bored. I felt that deeply.
She has this bob haircut that changed the world, but here she’s just stuck in a room with a guy who won’t stop yelling about publicity stunts.
It’s actually kinda sad to see her here compared to something like Thunderbolt or her European masterpieces.
The director is listed as William Goodrich. That was actually a fake name for Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
He was trying to make a comeback behind the camera. You can see some of his old gag-timing in the physical bits, but it feels rushed.
Everything in this movie happens at 100 miles per hour. Not because it’s exciting, but because they only had two reels of film to use.
It feels like a fever dream where people keep opening and closing doors for no reason. It's way more chaotic than something like Behind Office Doors which came out around the same time.
The sound quality is pretty rough too. There’s this constant hiss, and sometimes the dialogue just drops out when someone turns thier head away from the mic.
I noticed one extra in the background of the studio scene who was just staring directly at the camera for like three seconds. He looked as confused as I was.
It’s not a "good" movie by any standard. But it’s a fascinating piece of history.
It’s like looking at a postcard from a really weird vacation. You're glad you saw it, but you wouldn't want to live there.
If you’re looking for more from this era that actually has a budget, maybe try If I Were King or even Pack Up Your Troubles.
Otherwise, just enjoy the 18 minutes of Louise Brooks being unbothered by the chaos around her. She really was the coolest person in every room she walked into.
Even a room filled with yelling guys and cardboard sets.
IMDb 5.9
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