In 1936, Mary Astor was working a full day at the studio, shooting DODSWORTH. At night, she was in court in a custody battle for her daughter. Her diaries, which recounted her affairs, were in the possession of her ex-husband, and he was prepared to use them in court and the press. It reached the point where, after the shooting on DODSWORTH had wrapped, she was led into Goldwyn's office, where industry leaders asked her to settle the matter quietly, rather than triggering another "Sinful Hollywood" boycott. She told the men who could crush her career no and walked out.
This is not an unbiased documentary, nor does it pretend to be. Of course any finite collection of facts must inevitably tilt one way or another; this one takes Miss Astor's side and makes no bones about it, with narration by Lee Grant, on-screen commentary by Molly Haskell and Leonard Maltin, and the daughter at the center of the fight showing up to talk about her relationship with her mother, and to read excerpts from the diaries.
It's not a very deep or insightful documentary, but it does seem to get its facts unapologetically straight.
This is not an unbiased documentary, nor does it pretend to be. Of course any finite collection of facts must inevitably tilt one way or another; this one takes Miss Astor's side and makes no bones about it, with narration by Lee Grant, on-screen commentary by Molly Haskell and Leonard Maltin, and the daughter at the center of the fight showing up to talk about her relationship with her mother, and to read excerpts from the diaries.
It's not a very deep or insightful documentary, but it does seem to get its facts unapologetically straight.