Pretty Baby and a Playmate Murder (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 6) / June 29, 2020 by Karina Longworth

Brooke Sheilds and Susan Sarandon, Pretty Baby, 1978 — Brooke Sheilds and Susan Sarandon, *Pretty Baby*, 1978

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

In an attempt to save her family, Polly transitions to screenwriting and producing, basing the prostitution drama Pretty Baby, starring a pre-teen Brooke Shields, on her own daughter. Polly finds herself increasingly overcome by alcoholism, while dealing with Shields’s own alcoholic mother. Polly’s already-difficult relationship with her two daughters is made much more complicated by the murder of Peter’s girlfriend, Dorothy Stratten, and Bogdanovich’s subsequent emotional collapse.

Polly Platt, c. 1970's | Photo Courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

SHOW NOTES:

Sources specific to this episode:

This season is based in large part on Polly Platt's unpublished memoir, It Was Worth It, excerpted with the permission of Sashy Bodganovich.

This episode includes excerpts from interviews with: Nessa Hyams, Antonia Bogdanovich Frank Marshall and Rachel Abramovitz.

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season.

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Land on the Golden Gate - Chris Zabriskie
Cylinder - Chris Zabriskie
Sentimental Blues - Eric Jules Georges Gemsa
After Work - Neuromancer
Simple Sample Blues - Philippe Jacques Michel Bas
Slow Hypnosis - Johan Kristoffer Hugosson
No Place - DJ Masque
Rite of Passage - Kevin MaLeod
Danse Morialta - Kevin MacLeod
Undercover Vampire Policeman - Chris Zabriskie
Blue Feather - Kevin McLeod

Bogdanovich and Stratten, 1980, Time & Life Pictures/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Featuring special guests: Maggie Siff as the voice of Polly Platt.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media, transcription and additional research: Brendan Whalen.

Transcription and additional research: Kristen Sales and Wiley Wiggins

Produced and Edited by: Tomeka Weatherspoon.

Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Byrnes.

Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana.

Executive Producer: Chris Bannon.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

A Star is Born (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 5) / June 22, 2020 by Karina Longworth

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

When Polly begins her own on-set affair, the double standard of what men can get away with in Hollywood versus what was expected for women would push her to a breaking point. With collaborating with her ex-husband no longer an option, Platt starts attempting to rebuild her career, designing classics such as A Star is Born and Bad News Bears, while also navigating predatory men in power in post-sexual revolution Hollywood.

Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson in A Star is Born (1976)

SHOW NOTES:

Sources specific to this episode:

This season is based in large part on Polly Platt's unpublished memoir, It Was Worth It, excerpted with the permission of Sashy Bodganovich.

This episode includes excerpts from interviews with: Frank Marshall, Antonia Bogdanovich, Sashy Bogdanovich, Nessa Hyams, Rachel Abramovitz, and Nancy Griffin.

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season.

Polly Platt c. 1970’s | Photo Courtesy of Antonia Bogdanovich

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

I Know A Guy - Kevin McLeod
Sunset - Kai Engel
There’s a Special Place For Some People - Chris Zabriskie
Sleeping Beauty - Dominic Ashworth, Derek Nash
Still Moment - Gemma Barkerwood, Sophie Barkerwood
Rite of Passage - Kevin McLeod
Never Wake Up - David Schmidt
Trust In Fate - Julien Bonneau, Fransois Rousselot
Suspicious Cat -Ilan Moshe Abou,Thierry Oliver Faure
Michaela - Alfred Jack
Silver Bullet - Elliot Holmes
Divider - Chris Zabriskie
Easy Listening In Jazz - Neruomancer
Some People Call Me Sam - Gabriel Lucas
Undercover Vampire Policeman - Chris Zabriskie
Devil In Disguise - Gabriel Parker
Walkin On Velvet - Kenny Salmon
Snowmen - Kai Engel
We Can Get By Baby - Matthew Sibley, Giacomo Trivelli
After Work - Neuromancer

Walter Matthau and Bears in The Bad News Bears (1976)

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Featuring special guests: Maggie Siff as the voice of Polly Platt.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media, transcription and additional research: Brendan Whalen.

Transcription and additional research: Kristen Sales and Wiley Wiggins

Producer: Tomeka Weatherspoon.

Editor: Brendan Byrnes

Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Byrnes.

Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana.

Executive Producer: Chris Bannon.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Orson Welles, What’s Up Doc, Paper Moon (Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 4) / June 15, 2020 by Karina Longworth

Polly Platt and Peter Bogdanovich on the set of Paper Moon | Photo courtesy of Sashy Bogdanovich

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

In the aftermath of Picture Show—and the collapse of her second marriage—Polly finds an unlikely ally, and a new job, in Orson Welles. Anxious to build on her career momentum (and become the first female film art director accepted into her union), Polly agrees to work on Peter’s next two films, What’s Up Doc and Paper Moon – two massive hits which make Peter one of the most famous directors of the decade.

SHOW NOTES:

Sources specific to this episode:

This season is based in large part on Polly Platt's unpublished memoir, It Was Worth It, excerpted with the permission of Sashy Bodganovich.

This episode includes excerpts from interviews with: Frank Marshall, Sashy Bodganovich, Nessa Hyams, Toby Rafelson, and Nancy Griffin.

Here is a full list of sources referenced on this season.

Polly Platt at the Pool with Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, and Garry in Carefree, AZ 1971 while shooting The Other Side of The Wind, — Polly Platt at the Pool with Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, and Garry in Carefree, AZ 1971 while shooting *The Other Side of The Wind,*

Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Bittersweet Discourse (Piano Only) - Various Composers
Open Roads - Nick Ingman, Tony Kinsey
Tooth Fairy - Various Composers
I Knew A Guy - Kevin MacLeod
Divider - Chris Zabriskie
Protest Generation - Various Composers
There's a Special Place for Some People - Chris Zabriskie
Railroad's Whiskey - Jahzzar
After Work (Piano Elevator Music) - Musique Libre de Droit Club
On My Way Home (Easy Listening Music) - Musique Libre de Droit Club
Lullaby (Berceuse, Piano) - Musique Libre de Droit Club
Playing with Sunbeams (Instrumental) - Franck Fossey, Aurelie Constance Renee Guillier de Chalvron
Meanwhile - Various Composers