waitress Mary Evans is an aspiring actress who has an opportunity to meet film director Maximillan Carey when she serves him one night. He is very drunk but is charmed by the young girl, and he invites her to a premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Adhering to his policy of living life with a sense of humor, he picks her up in a jalopy rather than a limousine and then gives the parking valet the car as a tip. Max takes Mary home with him after the event, but the next morning remembers nothing about the previous night. She reminds him he promised her a screen test and expresses concern about his excessive drinking and flippant attitude, but he tells her not to worry. Mary's first screen test reveals she has far more ambition than talent, and she begs for another chance. After extensive rehearsals, she shoots the scene again, and producer Julius Saxe is pleased with the result and signs her to a contract. Just as quickly as Mary achieves stardom, Max finds his career on the decline, and he avoids a romantic relationship with her for fear she will be caught up in his downward spiral. Mary meets polo player Lonny Borden. He genuinely loves her and, although he is jealous of the demands made on her by her career, he convinces her to marry him, against Julius and Max's better judgment. Lonny becomes increasingly annoyed by the dedication of his movie star wife to her work, and finally walks out on her. After their divorce is finalized, Mary discovers she is pregnant. Mary wins the Academy Award for Best Actress, but her moment of glory is disrupted when she's called upon to post bail for Max after he's arrested for drunk driving. She takes him to her home, where he wallows in self-pity despite her encouragement. Later, alone in Mary's dressing room, he stares at his dissolute image in the mirror and compares it to a photograph of himself in earlier days. Finding a gun in a drawer, he kills himself with a bullet to the chest. Mary becomes the center of gossip focusing on Max's suicide. Hoping to heal her emotional wounds, she flees to Paris with her son and reunites with Lonny, who begs her to forgive him and give their marriage another chance.
The film's original title was The Truth About Hollywood. Adela Rogers St. Johns loosely based her plot on the experiences of actress Colleen Moore and her husband, alcoholic producer John McCormick, and the life and death of director Tom Forman, who committed suicide following a nervous breakdown. Producer David O. Selznick wanted to cast Clara Bow as the female lead, but executives at RKO's New York offices were hesitant to invest in a Hollywood story because similar projects had been unsuccessful in the past. By the time Selznick convinced them the picture had potential, Bow was committed to another film. Constance Bennett considered What Price Hollywood? her best film. Four years after the film was released, Selznick approached Cukor and asked him to direct the 1937 version of A Star Is Born starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. The plot was so similar to What Price Hollywood? that Cukor declined. RKO executives considered filing a plagiarism suit against Selznick International Pictures because of the obvious similarities in the story, but eventually opted not to take any legal action. Cukor went on to direct the 1954 musical version of A Star Is Born, starring Judy Garland and James Mason.
Reception
In a review published on December 31, 1931, Variety called the film "a fan magazine-ish interpretation of Hollywood plus a couple of twists" and added "George Cukor tells it interestingly. Story...has its exaggerations, but they can sneak under the line as theatrical license." In the 21st century, TVGuide.com rates it three out of four stars and comments: "Though the conclusion is a pat romantic ending, this is a strong drama that shows the real Hollywood behind the glamorous facades." According to RKO records, the film lost $50,000.
