The movie is 56 years old

Let's do a reality check on this one. First of all the movie is 56 years old. The movie also has an intresting twist, today,due to it's time frame. It was made in 1950 and the setting is la la land, Southern California. Despite it's age, everything, almost everything looks modern. It has that timeless aura about it.

Television was in it's infancy then. People, on average, were earning less than $50 a week. They went to the movies to be entertained, by sitting in a comfortable seat, in a darkened theater, and for a couple of hours happily abandoned the realities of their humdrum lives and allowed themselves to be transported into the fantasy of the storyline being presented on screen. Men, for a couple of hours became screen writers, like Dix Steele. Women became actresses, like beautiful Laurel Gray. The plotline became almost a secondary issue as we savored their drinks, wore their sharp clothes, drove their classy cars and lived in their comfortable arty apartments with expensive furniture. There, in the dark, it became an out of body experience. It realy was quite a trip.

When all was said and done, the movie over, you left the space capsule of the theater and stepped back into the reality of your world.

You can sit in front of your TV today and watch this movie, but you won't get to go on that trip; that escape from reality trip: we have things today that would have been impossible for us to have then. the space capsule has left forever, It's way out there in cyberspace, way way out.

Finally, Bogey said the only thing an actor owes his audience is a good performance. I think he gave one here.