For Fans of Old Hollywood

One thing I did find interesting is that people in the business were saying that Peter Bogdanovich is VERY sensitive to people pointing out that the only movies of his that were any good were the ones his ex wife helped him produce (even without credit). They say he is quick to claim that Polly Platt did very little on them.

In her unpublished autobiography, she said that she was the one to find the book "The Last Picture Show." And she was the one to pitch it to the studio. Peter didn't like the idea of writing about teenagers in Texas because he couldn't relate. So she, knowing his ego, suggested to make the film about him, how he never got the pretty girl in high school. She was behind the whole look of the film.

I watched YouTube clip with the cast interviewed at a screening to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film. When Peter Bogdanovich is asked how he got the idea to make the film, he said he saw the book in a drug store. And that his wife read it but couldn't see how it could be a film. In other words, the opposite of what she had written.

Who knows which story is true(r). But it is true that his films suffered A LOT after she stopped helping him. So I tend to believe her story.

I thought Sal Mineo passed it to him. The Switchblade Kid wanted the Timothy Bottoms part of Sonny. Poor, Sal.

Platt co-wrote "Targets", which is an interesting movie (with some really bad acting). Unfortunately, she also wrote "Pretty Baby".

I find the podcast to be very hit and miss. I binged on the Manson Murders season a few years ago, it was so interesting.

However, I don't like how she over pronounces words. And I've noticed some odd pronunciations of some actors names. I remember an episode where she kept pronouncing Joel McCrea's last name as MC-CREE-UH and not MC-CRAY, which really bothered me. I had to turn the episode off. I don't even LIKE Joel McCrea!!!

Her mispronunciations are really amazing. I remember her talking about Chaplin's film Mon-sewer Verdoux even though the clips she played featured character saying Monsieur properly.

And then there is her constant substitution of "ridden" for "written."

The woman who narrates the podcast has the most annoying voice ever. It's just unbearably nasal, and the weird pronunciations, and the way she hangs on to the ends of words makes the whole thing a ghastly listen.

Until the current Polly Platt season, Longworth usually did not have anything new. It was all cobbled together from the standard bios and history books.

But she is an excellent storyteller and brings together disparate sources in ways that are fascinating.

Her early episode on Isabella Rosselini is a good example. Most of the info on Rosselini is stuff you heard before, but by arranging the data and drawing unexpected connections she makes a compelling case for Rosellini as a culturally significant figure.

Another early episode on Frances Farmer completely altered how I see her life and afterlife.

He one misstep was the Angerbot.

R5, she used to appear on DVD extras of film critics discussing a film, and she was wholly incapable of pronouncing anything correctly even back then. A friend of mine said they edited out as much of her as they could on one panel because of her voice. I avoided her podcast because I just knew she would be the kind of person who would start a podcast and not even TRY to improve her speaking voice or her pronunciation.

She's not a bad film writer per se, but she got to where she is through sucking up to the right people and having a gimmick rather than by having talent, kind of like Kim Morgan but with less shitty plastic surgery, though now that she's married to Rian Johnson, I'm sure that's coming.

Her "Six Degrees of Song of The South" is gripping. One of her best podcasts, and more relevant than ever.

The Maureen O'Hara episode was very surprising. And the Manson Family episodes.

I’m leery of some of her "facts" though. In the Manson episodes, she claimed that Roman Polanski returned to LA from London after the murders, and was put up at the Paramount bungalow that had just been vacated by Julie Andrews after she completed The Sound of Music. (The Sound of Music was made at Fox, in 1965.)

Yes, she does get some facts wrong. Usually the simple one.

I think part of the reason the podcast works is that she seems pretty ignorant of film history. So she makes no assumptions and explains a lot that a more knowledgeable person would think everyone already knew.

But she does seem to get one major fact wrong per each episode.

My friend and I have a drinking game. One shot for every mispronunciation and a double for every factual error.

But we are both lushes.

[quote]But it is true that his films suffered A LOT after she stopped helping him.

That's not funny. I don't find that funny at all. I'm sorry.

I have listened to all of YMRT. I started with Joan Crawford series when I was taking a film noir class and obsessing over "Sudden Fear." KL does have a weird way of speaking/reading, and it is emphasized in the format, but it doesn't bother me the way it does for the more sensitive types. I am not such a know-it-all that I can pick out mistakes in the course of the program, so I just listen and enjoy it. Seems like it would be hard to enjoy a historical program if you are already something of an expert on the subject, unless you embrace it for the drinking game opportunity.

Annoyances aside, I appreciate the YMRT format of one voice at a time, telling a cohesive story. I don't mind when she has guests do the voices for characters in the stories. (Hey, Maggie Siff!) I don't want to listen to people hem and haw and add "like" and "you know?" to fill space as they gather their thoughts as they speak. I can't stand podcasts with multiple hosts who talk at the same time, laugh at their in-jokes and try too hard to be banter-y and fun.

Peter Bogdonovich's life with and after Polly Platt is a parade of douche bag moves that end up being truly bizarre and mighty creepy. He's an egomaniacal, self-interested, unreliable narrator and well-known for minimizing PP's contributions to his films, so I believe her versions of the stories. I love "The Last Picture Show," and think it's beautiful to look at, and a story told well.

Her voice/mispronunciations don't bother me. I just assumed she was drunk.

Peter really was a piece of work. A terrible husband, terrible father, terrible friend and not a great director in my opinion.

The fact that Polly had to do the hair and make up for Cybill while knowing that she had an affair with Peter on set- holy shit. I don't think I could have done that without losing my mind.

At first I struggled with the podcast and her voice. But now Karina's voice is like ASMR for me, it puts me to sleep in 5 min. I mean that as a compliment.

Polly not only had to do hair and makeup for Cybil, she had to make her look sexy -- knowing that it would give her husband a hardon.

I like the story about how Polly hid under the table when Cybil and Peter entered a restaurant. When she later told Peter she had been there (before sneaking out through the kitchen) he said, "I even sent Cybil in along, first to make sure you weren't in there."

Polly then knew that Cybil had seen her and wanted to parade in with Peter.

Polly not only had to do hair and makeup for Cybil, she had to make her look sexy -- knowing that it would give her husband a hardon.

I like the story about how Polly hid under the table when Cybil and Peter entered a restaurant. When she later told Peter she had been there (before sneaking out through the kitchen) he said, "I even sent Cybil in along, first to make sure you weren't in there."

Polly then knew that Cybil had seen her and wanted to parade in with Peter.

Cybil is a shit person, huh.

Sorry, I can't get worked up over a marriage that collapsed fifty years ago.

The Gloria Grahame and dead blondes series was really good, the Manson series was also superb. I thought YMRT was going on permanent hiatus but quite thrilled Karina is back!

She always pronounced double tees like dees. “Boddle” . I think she may have a slight speech impediment this hat she makes up for with over-enunciating. I don’t mind, her editing and production are great and I’ve learned a lot from her podcast. I’m so glad she doesn’t blather about herself and writes do well. I now hate Cybil Shepherd and Pete B. What a pair of douches.

I would love to read Polly autobiography, as it seems both candid and well written.

How hard would it be to get some speech training like anyone else who broadcasts does? She still won't be able to pronounce names but at least we would be spared her telling us the show was ridden by herself.

I don't think her pronunciation matters to her, sadly.

Bogdanovich also groomed Louise Stratten, the little sister of Dorothy Stratten, as Dorothy's replacement after she was murdered. They tried to pretend he waited until she was 18 until they started dating but there were photos of them together when she was 13 or 14, then rumors started showing up in the tabloids when she was 15. Louise and her mom even sued a magazine that printed one of the photos to try to hide the whole thing.

But Polly pretty much spilled the beans here, saying that Peter and Louise had been together for "a long time." Polly knows what he's really like.

[quote]He gave up making movies to write a book about her death, and he became devoted to Dorothy’s mother, Nelly, and her 12-year-old kid sister, Louise.

[quote]Too devoted, some said. He sent Louise, an insecure, pudgy girl with none of her sister’s delicate features, to a private school and to modeling classes. He bought her a baby grand piano and took her along on trips to Paris and Hawaii. He gave her a gold-and-diamond necklace and, when she graduated from high school, a Pontiac Trans Am. In 1986, he gave her a movie role.

[quote]Two weeks ago, Bogdanovich married Louise, now 20, in a small ceremony in Vancouver, renewing speculation about just when his interest in the girl became more than that of a close family friend—and about just what it had become.

[quote]When allegations of a romantic attachment between Bogdanovich and Louise first surfaced in 1984, when she was 16, they were silenced by a slander suit filed by Louise and her mother. (The suit was later dropped.) Some of those who know Bogdanovich best expressed little surprise at the marriage. Polly Platt, Bogdanovich’s first wife and mother of his two daughters—who were friendly with Louise during her frequent sojourns in L.A.—says the pair “had been together for a long time.”

Oof.

I enjoy the podcast. She does a really good job of bringing information together, and offers a fairly fresh appraisal of our Hollywood favorites. Someone told me that her website has bibliographies for each show. Too bad she doesn’t do any interviews or first hand accounts. At the end of the day, most is shit we have all heard before.

Karina and Rian Johnson came into my vintage shop in DTLA. Very nice couple! Refreshing as we get some real douchebag celebs and their awful stylists.

I love the subject matters covered but the host's unpleasant voice and upspeak make my ears bleed. They're also really loose with the facts as if they did scant research, but instead just typed what they read on social media. Every time I listen I hear some "conventional wisdom" that isn't factual. Whenever I listen I think, "This is a great podcast for straight people."

Why did Peter Bogdanovich and Cybill Shepherd break up?

Hardly any link previews show up on this site anymore.

Have seen been forsaken by Muriel?

Sold off to a hedge fund?

I just listened to the Frances Farmer one.

[quote]I am not such a know-it-all that I can pick out mistakes in the course of the program, so I just listen and enjoy it.

It's not about being a know-it-all, it's about not being told the truth. I get that you're enjoying it, but some of what you're being told is wrong, and there are just too many people who think "oh well, I don't care if it's wrong or a lie, it was enjoyable."

Bogdanovich has always been a shit heel.

He can minimize Platt's contribution's to his films all he wants but the proof is in the career.

Bogdanovich made three great films, (The Last Picture Show, What's Up, Doc? and Paper Moon) all with Platt as a co-creator, and after that, he never made another great film.

I spent glorious two weeks listening to Adam Roche's The Secret History of Hollywood podcast while walking my sister's dog when she was abroad a few years back. Besides other shorter subject matters he had almost 20 hours dedicated first to Alfred Hitchcock and then the same to the Warner brothers. Let's just say I no longer wonder why WB makes so dark films or whether Hitch was truly a messed up perv. Unfortunately for us Audible snatched him up and at least the WB and Hitchcock podcasts went behind Audible paywall.

I thought he'd stopped doing free podcasts altogether but now I find that's not the case. He's apparently got a new podcast coming out about Cary Grant and I definitely don't want to miss that. The production values are super high and Adam's got a sexy British voice. He apparently used to be a sous-chef which is where his attention to detail must be coming from.

I remember starting a thread years ago about his podcast but got like two replies. I was like, well, whatever, you don't know what you're missing.

R33---One of the horrifying mistakes mentioned by a poster is that the date Julie Andrews checked out of a bungalow was wrong. If this is the kind of detail that irks people, then indeed, it's going to chafe the know-it-alls and likely will be a problem only for them.

YMRT is a gossipy history program and who but the red pencil editors set will be looking for such critical errors? The average listener isn't going to fact check every tiny detail because in the scheme of things there is no actual reason to go to that trouble... I actually feel ok going through the rest of my life having been misinformed about who previously occupied a bungalow. I'm not going to be tested or paid for the accuracy of the information I've retained about Roman Polanski's accommodations in 1968.

I do understand it makes a certain type of person feel mighty mighty to 'know more than the expert.' I'm sure it is positively thrilling!

But why don't those people produce superior podcasts with better facts, pronunciation, articulation and modulated tones?

[Quote] One of the horrifying mistakes mentioned by a poster is that the date Julie Andrews checked out of a bungalow was wrong. If this is the kind of detail that irks people, then indeed, it's going to chafe the know-it-alls and likely will be a problem only for them.

You're missing the point. If someone is off with a fact by YEARS, that calls their fact checking, and thus the narrative they construct, into question.

[quote]One of the horrifying mistakes mentioned by a poster is that the date Julie Andrews checked out of a bungalow was wrong.

On a Manson episode, I'm assuming? That fake fact has been lingering for years and has been debunked dozens of times. When Longworth mentioned it on the podcast, it suddenly started getting traction again, showing up in the Daily Mail and Deadline and all sorts of places as a true and verified fact.

The reason they keep bringing it up is because it makes a good story and people like you don't give a shit if something is true or not.

It seems Longworth doesn't give a shit if something is true or not, either. Why would I bother listening to someone's podcast if all they're doing is telling some lies because it sounds good? I don't have any time in my day for that. I'll listen to actual fiction, not fiction passed off as truth.

Wow Peter Bogdanovich was a nasty CUNT.

R35 I listened to his Hitchcock podcast, agree it was superb!

TCM has a new podcast - The Plot Thickens

It is all about Bogdonavich, if his story interests you, you would like this.

"Wow Peter Bogdanovich was a nasty CUNT." Bogadanovich is still alive, somehow.

R27, except that it's hosted by that every present fucktard Ben Mankiewicz. Mankiewicz does not give an accurate picture of Bogdanovich at the height of his career for an instant. The part that made me laugh out loud was when Mankiewicz states that Bogdanovich "even looked like a movie star!" Judge for youself:

Well, Marie Dressler was a movie star.

I’ve listened to a large portion of the YMRT episodes and I have often wondered what sources she is taking from- obviously from old film books but other information presented is more questionable and she doesn’t say what her references are.

One of the weak points of the podcast is that the material is delivered essentially 100 percent by her- no archival audio sources, no interviews, no other outside interpreters of the histories. I was shocked during one of the Lena Horne episodes when she included a few moments of Lena herself talking in an interview. Is this because she’s cheap or doesn’t want conflicting views of the story she wants to tell?

Lastly, whenever she tries to read out quotes from someone from the Golden Age of Hollywood, she uses a horrible old-timey “hard-boiled” accent that makes you want to puke. Is this her attempt at a mid-Atlantic accent? I also find a lot of Millenials do the same thing- no sense or feeling of the actual tenor of history. You would think if she loves and has watched a lot of old movies she’d have a better sense.

My father grew up in rural Oklahoma in the 1940s, and he marveled at the authenticity of 'Last Picture Show', being amazed that Bogdanovich could portray everything so perfectly. Not just the look of it, and casting good actors, but the 'feel of it' was perfect, he said.

I was fascinated by the Bogdanovich/Shepherd duo because I started consuming celebrity gossip in the 1970s, and they were all over the place. I read his book about Dorothy Stratten, which was well-written aside from being tremendously self-serving. Although he's a creep, I enjoyed his portrayal of Dr. Kupferman in 'The Sopranos', which he did very well. I liked 'Saint Jack', the movie he made with Ben Gazzara about Singapore, but then when I listened to his DVD commentary it was so boring that it somewhat ruined by affection for the movie.

[quote]But why don't those people produce superior podcasts with better facts, pronunciation, articulation and modulated tones?

What sort of criticism is this? Might as well just say, if YOU don't like the president, why don't YOU run for office? Yeah, that's not how things work, but nice try.

Part of my family is from Wichita Falls, Texas and I too was so impressed by the brilliance of “The Last picture Show “ in portraying this rather bleak, yet strangely romantic corner of America. I doubt Bogdonavich has the kind of sensitivity and sensibility to have done this without Polly Platt. He’s too shallow.

I love R36's idea that if listeners are not going to fact check, it is okay to be inaccurate.

In the old days, you wanted to be accurate BECAUSE people would not be fact-checking and would depend on you for the information you put out.

But I guess in the Trump era, because people will not be fact-checking it is okay to make false or misleading statements.

R45---ANY fucking body can do a podcast---why, the format is simply MADE for the curmudgeon at home who cannot stop him/herself from pick, pick, picking at whatever product is not up to the highest of standards...and then doing it better just to show 'em! It is a DIY format designed for the oneupmanship of super achievers listening (or quitting listening) as they grind their teeth in fury.

You compare apples to assholes when you bring in running for president as your false equivalency reason why all the complaining, sour know-it-alls can't do a better job than those whose work they disparage.

The fact is, it's a lot of work, and not many people are willing/able to live up to those high standards, not even the ones who impose them on others. It's much easier and fun nit pick harrumph and flounce!

[Quote] It's much easier and fun nit pick harrumph and flounce!

Your attempts at deflection are neither effective nor amusing.

R47---I like the idea that a podcast about Hollywood gossip should be fact checked like it's an entry in the Encyclopedia Brittanica because the fate of the human race depends on it. A mistake in fact checking is EXACTLY like the four+ years of constant lies from the Grifter in Chief and his swindling cronies! How did I miss that?

R49---The Sternest Taskmaster!

R50, oh please!

No one is treating this like it is important. But as someone else said, when you are not an expert and you hear stupid mistakes, you start wondering about the whole thing.

The idea that we should all be happy with sloppy work does not fly with most people. I feel that if I work hard to do a good job why can't Karina Longworth do the same. She has story telling gifts, but her laxness about facts and pronunciation makes me wonder what she thinks her job is. I used to work in publishing and handled a few pop culture books. It did not matter that the subject was slight--most people wanted to do as good and accurate a job as possible. Why doesn't Longworth?

Something like getting an accurate movie synopsis or the name of a director is not rocket science. You can check most of this stuff on IMDB or Wikipedia!

And yes, I think we have grown so accustomed to hearing bad information that many people like you, start accepting it as standard. No one said that it was like four years of constant lies from the president. What was said was that four years of constant lies makes us accept inaccuracy in media.

If you have that kind of reading comprehension problem, then it is not surprising that you are comfortable with inaccuracy.

Peter Bogdanovich made some great movies in the early 1970s. And he's a pig who should be treated in the same way as Roman Polanski.

You forgot UGLY pig, R53.

An Ugly pig who thought he was hot. R54

I listened to the Six Degrees of Song of the South on a road-trip over the weekend and it was interesting, but I just CANNOT get past the name mis-pronounciations. WHY did she keep referring to Paul Robeson as ROB-ISS-UN. I just don't GET IT. She says every other obscure name correctly, but she can't say Paul Robeson?!?!

The episode featuring Helen Lawson is outstanding.

I suspect OP is related to or is the YMRT person, because they berated me in another thread that I couldn't listen to her because of her voice. Then s/he ran off and made this thread and gets offended at any criticism made about it.

R2 I always head that Sal Mineo recommended it to Platt.

I’d rather listen to a turd slide out of my asshole into the toilet.

R58 Yes, this is ALL about you, and not because someone listens to a very popular podcast. Idiot.

R59, Maybe it’s in the Boze Hadleigh interview? I remember Sal saying he wanted to buy the rights to the book.

R43, all her sources are listed on the website.

I've listened to a few episodes now and her pronunciation bothers me, too. But posters here are saying the Polly Platt episodes are so great I'm wondering if I can get past it, if it would be with listening to them.

[quote] just CANNOT get past the name mis-pronounciations

Pronounciationizing is a matter of white privilege.

I listened to the You Must Remember This Season 1 podcast last year. I didn't mind Longworth's voice. I was too engrossed in the story of Polly Platt, who I knew little about. I couldn't get into Season 2 about the gossips, for some reason.

I recently binged The Plot Thickens Season 2 podcast about Julie Salamon's time on the production of The Bonfire of the Vanities. That led me to Season 1 about Peter Bogdanovich. It's a bit of a let-down right after Salamon's season, and especially having listened to You Must Remember This Season 1. There's a huge gap in quality, content, scope, and production (thus far). I've only listened to two or three episodes and I've grown disinterested.

I'm not sure if it's a coincidence, but the Polly Platt podcast started airing right after or about the time the Bogdanovich one finished.

R66 are you listening to Karina Longworth’s collab with Vanity Fair? Love is a Crime about Joan Bennet? It’s great.

If you speed her up to 1.25x (I use spotify), she almost sounds normal.