The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)

Documentary on the rise, fall, and subsequent lesser rise of the famously self promoting producer and studio head Robert Evans. Evans discovery is a famous Hollywood story, an executive for his brothers women’s clothing company, Robert was discovered by the actress Norma Shearer while swimming in the pool of a Beverly Hills Hotel. Shear thought Evans looked a lot like her late husband MGM production chief Irving Thalberg, and asked him if he’d like to play Thalberg in the movie Man of a Thousand Faces, a bio-pic about Lon Chaney. Evans of course said yes and that was the start of a brief acting career, one highlighted by his almost being thrown off the movie The Sun Also Rises, until producer Daryl F. Zanuck intervened (hence the title of this documentary).

Evans quickly transferred his Hollywood ambitions from acting to producing, and managed to briefly set up shop at 20th Century Fox before the undoubtedly eccentric new owner of Parmount, Charles Bluhdron, taped the neophoite to run that studio. Evens quickly elevated it from 9th to 1st place among Hollywood studios with a string of hit’s the included Rosemary’s Baby, The Godfather, and China Town. Evans eventually left his job as head of the studio to concentrate on the slightly less draining duties of producing, but was eventually sidelined by drug addiction, and tangential involvement in a Hollywood murder case which dried up his career and lead to near poverty. Eventually others who recognized Evans talent brought him back into the business and he’s been mildly successfu ever sincel, even voicing himself in an odd and thankfully short-lived animated series of Comedy Central (Kid Notorious).

While the rise is much more interesting then the fall, and large portions of his personal life a left out (save his marriage to Ali McGraw, which gets a lot of screen time) this is an uncommonly watchable and cinematic documentary. It’s very kinetic, full of movement, picture montages, movie and television clips, decidely period lit re-productions of Evans Hollywood home, all held together by Evans own memorable voice giving narration. Certainly a clever, showy movie befitting a maybe too clever, too showy man. Quite likable all the same. Thumbs up.