Beyond Hollywood - Los Angeles - Nightlife & Entertainment Reviews

Los Angeles is, and rightfully so, a tourist mecca and should be seen by all. Parts of the city though seem to appear silent underneath the heavy heavy hysteria of life in the city that makes stars.

As Sam Goldman said "God makes stars, it's our job to find them". In the middle of one of those typical evenings in Los Angeles, a star premiere at Mann's Chinese Theatre, the shooting of a TV pilot in a back alley off Caheunga there was the most rewarding event for any fan of the golden screen.

At the Egyptian Theatre they were in the middle of their classic 'noir' season and tonight was time for 'The Naked Street' starring Anthony Quinn and Anne Bancroft. Bancroft was scheduled to introduce the film, one of her first, but had passed away some months earlier. An film historian, unfamiliar with public speaking, took her place and did his best. The lights dimmed and the film started. The print was in bad condition, even after a restoration, and snapped several times throughout the screening. Any other cinema in the world would have called it a day and apologised to the patrons...but this is the Egyptian...the serious older brother and Mann's Chinese Theatre. So we fought on, like a boxer who should've retired long before this fight. What we got was a fantastic film that was an exercise in how to make stories...but it was also more than that. It was a journey to an era that has been removed from Hollywood memory...gone since the restoration projects of the 80's...what we got was vintage entertainment.

If you have a chance catch something...anything at the Egyptians and soak up the atmosphere. It's haunting.