The Cat's Meow

Released 2001
Stars Kirsten Dunst, Cary Elwes, Edward Herrmann, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, Victor Slezak, Jennifer Tilly
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich

William Randolph Hearst did, or did not, get away with murder on board his private yacht Oneida on Nov. 15, 1924. If he did, there is no question he was powerful enough to cover it up. Hearst was the carnivorous media tycoon of the age, proprietor of newspapers, magazines, radio stations, wire services, movie production companies, a private castle, and his mistress, Marion Davies, an actress of great but perhaps not exclusive charms. He was above the law not so much because of clout or bribery but because of awe; the law enforcement officials of the day were so keenly aware of their inferior social status that they lacked the nerve to approach him. The silent movies of the time are filled with scenes in which cops arrest a millionaire, discover who he is, respectfully tip their hats to him, and apologize.

On that day in 1924, the Hollywood producer Thomas Ince possibly died, or was murdered, on board the Oneida. Or perhaps not. According to one story, he was shot dead by Hearst through an unfortunate misunderstanding; Hearst mistook him for Charlie Chaplin, and thought Chaplin was having an affair with Davies. Other theories say Hearst accidentally stuck Ince with a hat pin, precipitating a heart attack. Or that Ince drank some bad rotgut. There is even the possibility that Ince died at home. There was no autopsy, so the official cause of death was never determined. No guests on the yacht were ever questioned; indeed, no one can agree about who was on the yacht during its cruise. In Hollywood at the time, whispers about Ince's death and Hearst's involvement were easily heard, and the story told in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Cat's Meow" is, the film tells us, "the whisper heard most often."

Summary by Roger Ebert

Who knows how much of this is actually true and how much is pure conjecture, but the movie tells a very interesting story. I wonder if William Randolph Hearst was really this insecure, and did he really kill his friend while trying to kill Charlie Chaplin? No one knows anymore, but one thing that must be certain is Tom Ince was killed and it was covered up. I believe that because of the few facts that we know: 1) Hearst sent Ince home to his house instead of a hospital, 2) Ince died within two days, 3) he was immediately cremated and no autopsy was performed, 4) Hearst started printing cover-up stories before Ince was even dead, and 5) Louella Parsons subsequently received a lifetime contract with Hearst. I think it's clear Ince was accidentally or intentionally mortally wounded on this cruise, and the police did nothing about it. The movie isn't an examination of what may have happened on that cruise, though. It's a possible interpretation that concentrates on the characters instead of the facts. Director Peter Bogdanovich lovingly recreates the era and transports us back to the early 1920's, but he focuses on the characters, which is just how I like it. --Bill Alward, January 4, 2003