On the same street as the theater is this 1893 structure, built by mining millionaire Lewis Bradbury, where characters George Valentin (fading star) and Peppy Miller (rising talent) pass each other on the ornate staircase, with Peppy stopping to blow him a kiss.
After a sprightly first ten minutes, the magic simply evaporates from the surface of the film, and one actor after another comes to grief: Will Ferrell overheats as a fadingstar called Jack, who fancies himself as a Darren de nos jours, while Shirley MacLaine is handed the part of Endora and pretty much abandoned to her fate.