Souls for Sale

[**100 Winter Film ❄️☃️ - 2/100**
*](https://boxd.it/SIi0e)
Remember... what a name! It reminds me that I always dreamed of naming a daughter Delirio (Delirium in Spanish).

Movies that show the inner workings of Hollywood have always been a very popular genre with audiences. There are works as diverse as the beautiful Singin' in the Rain, the dark Sunset Boulevard, and the tender The Artist. I even notice a strong inspiration from Babylon, Remember, and Nellie LaRoy; they seem like very similar characters to me. Surprisingly, this genre has been exploited since the silent era. Hollywood needed a film for image rehabilitation more than ever. The recent scandals related to the Arbuckle case or the famous death of Wallace Reid due to his drug problems caused Hollywood to be seen as a kind of Sodom and Gomorrah where excess was the order of the day, giving plenty of ammunition to all the lobbies that saw cinema as a harmful influence. And honestly, Souls for Sale is fucking insane.

The classic story of a humble girl who arrives in Hollywood as a complete unknown and manages to become a Remember, a star, attracts two suitors who are in love with her: a director and an actor. But it turns out she's already married to a man she left on a whim, since he's a sort of Bluebeard who murders his wives, and she fears that if the truth comes out, the scandal will ruin her career.

The plot of Souls for Sale is certainly far from being one of the great gems of silent cinema, but it is a film to remember. In fact, it borders on the absurd. Remember ends up in Hollywood by accident, fleeing her unhappy marriage, and decides to become an actress because she has to make a living and can't find any "normal" work, so she has no choice but to become a movie star! The film never hides its portrayal of Hollywood stars as ordinary people not necessarily involved in a shady lifestyle. Not only do the protagonist's parents reflect the existing prejudices against that world, but also Remember's husband, who accuses her of immorality because of her job after having dedicated himself to killing young women across the country. It's one thing to be a murderer, but another to be a movie star!

[**100 Winter Film ❄️☃️ - 2/100**
*](https://boxd.it/SIi0e)
Remember... what a name! It reminds me that I always dreamed of naming a daughter Delirio (Delirium in Spanish).

Movies that show the inner workings of Hollywood have always been a very popular genre with audiences. There are works as diverse as the beautiful Singin' in the Rain, the dark Sunset Boulevard, and the tender The Artist. I even notice a strong inspiration from Babylon, Remember, and Nellie LaRoy; they seem like very similar characters to me. Surprisingly, this genre has been exploited since the silent era. Hollywood needed a film for image rehabilitation more than ever. The recent scandals related to the Arbuckle case or the famous death of Wallace Reid due to his drug problems caused Hollywood to be seen as a kind of Sodom and Gomorrah where excess was the order of the day, giving plenty of ammunition to all the lobbies that saw cinema as a harmful influence. And honestly, Souls for Sale is fucking insane.

The classic story of a humble girl who arrives in Hollywood as a complete unknown and manages to become a Remember, a star, attracts two suitors who are in love with her: a director and an actor. But it turns out she's already married to a man she left on a whim, since he's a sort of Bluebeard who murders his wives, and she fears that if the truth comes out, the scandal will ruin her career.

The plot of Souls for Sale is certainly far from being one of the great gems of silent cinema, but it is a film to remember. In fact, it borders on the absurd. Remember ends up in Hollywood by accident, fleeing her unhappy marriage, and decides to become an actress because she has to make a living and can't find any "normal" work, so she has no choice but to become a movie star! The film never hides its portrayal of Hollywood stars as ordinary people not necessarily involved in a shady lifestyle. Not only do the protagonist's parents reflect the existing prejudices against that world, but also Remember's husband, who accuses her of immorality because of her job after having dedicated himself to killing young women across the country. It's one thing to be a murderer, but another to be a movie star!