I'm crawling out from under my rock to share a Yuletide rec:

A Thoroughly Stupid Thing (3552 words) Fandom: Singin' in the Rain (1952) (Cosmo/OC, Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden)
Cosmo Brown's attempts to find happiness in a Hollywood freshly wired for sound are complicated by his own insecurities, as well as the looming implications of the Hays Code.

It's a lovely, gentle story that's bittersweet because while I applaud Cosmo's choice, I can see where things will land. And it's not unbelievable, either; all one has to do is look at William Haines and the choice he ultimately made. Bonus film rec: Show People (1928) starring William Haines and Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor. Davies plays a small town girl who makes it big in Hollywood. Along the way, she falls for Billy, a slapstick comedian (Haines), but she is seducing into the life of being a "serious" actress and a star, only to discover at the end she still loves the comedian. There is the classic pie fight and Davies does a wicked Mae Murray impression at one point.

Released one year after The Jazz Singer hit the screens, this is Hollywood of the period shown in Singin' in the Rain, as silents were on their way out. There are a number of clips available on YouTube, but the best seem to have embedding disabled, but I encourage you to go have a look


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messages on the machine.