The Cat's Meow - Plot

Plot

It is 15 November 1924, and among those boarding the luxury yacht Oneida in San Pedro, California are its owner, publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, and his mistress, silent film star Marion Davies; Thomas H. Ince, whose birthday is the reason for the weekend cruise, and his mistress, starlet Margaret Livingston; Charlie Chaplin; English writer Elinor Glyn; and Louella Parsons, the film critic for Hearst's New York American.

Elinor Glyn provides the narration:

In November 1924, during a weekend yacht party bound for San Diego, a mysterious death occurred within the Hollywood community. However there was no coverage in the press, no police action, and of the 14 passengers on board only one was ever questioned by authorities. Little evidence exists now or existed at the time to support any version of those events. History has been written in whispers, and this is the whisper told most often. The yacht, you see, belonged to William Randolph Hearst. Only in a place like this do reporters and autograph hounds have absolutely no scruples about stampeding mourners at a funeral. Welcome to Hollywood, a place just off the coast of planet Earth. After we all leave the man in the box will disappear. Just his ashes will remain. After all, it's fire that can hurt you, not ashes.

Several of those participating in the weekend's festivities are at a crossroads in their lives and/or careers. Chaplin, still dealing with the critical and commercial failure of A Woman of Paris and rumors he has impregnated 16-year-old Lita Grey (who appeared in his film The Kid) is in the midst of preparing The Gold Rush. Davies longs to appear in a slapstick comedy rather than the somber costume dramas to which Hearst has kept her confined. Ince's eponymous film studio is in dire financial straits, and he hopes to convince Hearst to take him on as a partner in Cosmopolitan Pictures. Parsons would like to relocate from the East Coast to more glamorous Hollywood.

Hearst suspects Davies and Chaplin have engaged in an affair, a suspicion shared by Ince, who hopes to find proof he can present to Hearst in order to curry favor with him. In the wastepaper basket in Chaplin's stateroom, he discovers a discarded love letter to Davies and pockets it with plans to produce it at an opportune moment. When he finally does, Hearst is enraged. His anger is fueled further when he finds a brooch he had given Davies in Chaplin's cabin. Hearst concludes it was lost there during a romantic liaison, and he rifles Marion's room for further evidence.

Armed with a pistol, Hearst searches the yacht for Chaplin in the middle of the night. He discovers Davies and Ince, who has donned the derby Chaplin had been wearing earlier, in a huddle at the foot of a staircase leading to the boiler room. He overhears Davies tell Ince she never loved "him." Mistaking the derby-clad Ince as Chaplin, Hearst naturally assumes the "him" refers to himself, and in jealousy shoots Ince in the back of the head. A stunned Davies later tells Hearst he misunderstood the conversation — the "him" that she never loved was actually Chaplin.

Hearst arranges to dock in San Diego and have a waiting ambulance take the still-alive Ince to his home. He phones the injured man's wife and tells her Ince attempted suicide when Livingston tried to end their affair, and assures her he will make sure the truth does not reach the media. To the rest of his guests he announces Ince's ulcer flared up during the night and he is in need of immediate medical attention. Davies, of course, knows the truth, and confides in Chaplin. Also aware of the truth is Parsons, who had left her cabin to investigate the mysterious noises she heard and witnessed the shooting. Parsons assures Hearst his secret will be safe in exchange for a lifetime contract with the Hearst Corporation, thus laying the groundwork for her lengthy career as one of Hollywood's most powerful gossip columnists.

After seeing Ince off, Hearst confronts Davies and Chaplin. Chaplin berates Hearst for what he has done and expects Davies to join him. Hearst however challenges Chaplin to guarantee Davies that he can promise her a happy life. When Chaplin fails to answer, Hearst informs Chaplin of the vow of silence he and the fellow guests have made to keep the weekend's activities a secret. Chaplin despairs as he realizes the murder has strengthened Davies' love for Hearst.

The film concludes with the guests leaving Tom Ince's funeral, as Elinor Glyn relates what became of them:

• Margaret Livingston went on to star in a number of successful films and her salary "inexplicably" went from $300 to $1000 a movie.
• Marion Davies starred in more of Hearst's films before finally being allowed to feature in a comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929, which was (as Chaplin predicted) a success. She stayed by Hearst's side until his death in 1951.
• Charlie Chaplin married his teenage lover Lita Grey in Mexico and his film The Gold Rush was an overwhelming success.
• Louella Parsons worked for Hearst for many years and subsequently became one of the most successful writers in the history of American journalism.

Tom Ince was largely forgotten after the events of his death. Very few newspapers reported it, no police action was taken, and of all the people on board only one was ever questioned, and in Hollywood, "the place just off the coast of the planet Earth", no two accounts of the story are the same.