The 1930s was a decade of transition for America, climbing back from the depth of the Depression.

It was a time of Duesenbergs and Duke Ellington, the New Deal and Nazis. A time of Amelia Earhart and MGM, the Lindbergh baby and Lou Gehrig at the bat; Mutiny on the Bounty and Mussolini on the balcony.

There was the rat-a-tat-tat of Fred and Ginger’s feet, and the rapid-fire guns of the Spanish Civil War.

America worked and played, putting the horrors of the Great War and the Stock Market Crash behind them—never dreaming of the world war and conflagration to come.

Through it all there was Hollywood, the Dream Factory, where anything could and would happen—

A cowboy could be a singer, a tap dancer could be a gangster, and Frankenstein could find a bride.

Fresh-faced girls would leave their Midwest farms and take Greyhound buses to LA, dreaming of stardom.

And Joey Elliot’s confused little life would take an unexpected turn, leading to a career and a future beyond anything he could ever have imagined …