Hollywood Knives
“Insanely compelling! Posits an alternative history of Hollywood.”
The Guardian
director
1 x 60’, BBC1
Documentary exploring the secret history of Tinseltown under the scalpel. It uncovers how the careers of some of the biggest names in film history, including Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Frank Sinatra, led to the operating table and how the quest for stardom became irrevocably linked to the surgeon’s blade. Surgery on the stars has been a lucrative but highly secretive affair since the dawn of Hollywood. John Wayne’s wife recalls how he reluctantly succumbed to studio pressure to undergo two facelifts to continue making the movies he loved. Gary Cooper’s daughter shares her father’s anguish about ageing as one of Hollywood’s most loved stars. And surgeons reveal how even icon of female beauty Marilyn Monroe went under the knife.
“A hopelessly engrossing documentary. Hollywood Knives should make us rethink our ideas about celebrity.”
The Express
“I sat glued to the shamelessly watchable Hollywood Knives. It brought home just how quaint this continuing taboo about admitting to cosmetic surgery seems in an otherwise confessional era.”
The Times
“A revealing documentary. For the first time the extraordinary cast list of movie legends who depend on plastic surgery for their glittering careers.”
The Mail
“Hollywood Knives is a guilty pleasure. The real interest lies in how we are conned by images of perfection.”
radio times
“A pretty irresistible mix.”
The Telegraph
“Charts Hollywood’s love affair with cosmetic surgery. In a never-before-broadcast interview, Marilyn Monroe’s doctor reveals how the then unknown starlet had surgery because, if you can believe it, she felt unhappy with her appearance.”
The Independent
“Must-see TV. The most fascinating stories are of the young wannabe stars, instructed to go under the knife by the studios.”
The Sun
“A fascinating documentary. Explains how many movie legends were pressurised into nips and tucks.”
Heat
