Lucky Stars

8/30/2024

A behind-the-scenes look at screen tests and how they work in Hollywood. Lynne Overman is presenting everything as straight facts, but his hard-boiled delivery gives everything a "winking" sense of tongue-in-cheek. The first scene is with a very young Betty Jane Rhodes. She is getting ready in a make-up mirror before walking in for her screen test. Their back and forth is pretty funny and a self reflexive, when he wishes her luck, and then says they all need it, like by doing this short his career is going down the tubes. What follows is a very nice soft-focus musical number with Betty Jane. Afterwards, the focus shifts to a young opera star that Paramount is testing. Gladys Swathout performs a number, and then the short wraps up abruptly. Overman talks about the number of tests d