Girl 27
Directed by David Stenn
Directed by David Stenn
This was obviously a low-budget documentary...and, in the end, that lack of funds hurts it, oftentimes overshadowing the interesting story.
In 1937, there was a big party thrown in California by MGM Studios for many of its salesmen. Nearly 100 girls were invited to the party, told that it was an acting job. Acting, however, wasn't really in the cards. Nineteen year-old MGM extra Patricia Douglas was one of those girls and towards the end of the party, she was dragged to a parked car and raped by one of the partygoers. Unwilling to be a victim, Douglas pressed charges against MGM and her rapist, but little did Douglas know that MGM executives had huge control over both the town and the politicians running it, and Louis B. Mayer (an 'M' in MGM) would do whatever he could to squash Douglas and make her appear as slutty and immoral as possible.
As much as Girl 27 is about Patricia Douglas's story, it's also a story of filmmaker David Stenn's quest to get the reclusive Douglas to talk to him and tell her side of the story. And that's really where this film falters. Stenn tells us the whole tale, then talks about his quest to find Douglas. Once he finds her and convinces her to talk, Douglas simply repeats everything that Stenn's already told us. Her telling of the story is a let-down because we already know every single thing that happened. Add to that, Stenn intersperses very odd old-school Hollywood clips that don't really have anything to do with the film (Laurel & Hardy and The Three Stooges are examples). It seemed like he said, "Hey, I can get the rights to this...let me throw it in here."
So, while there's an incredibly interesting old-Hollywood tale here, it's unfortunately not presented in a manner that's very compelling.
The RyMickey Rating: C-
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