The DVD for this film bears the title "The Lure of Hollywood"--perhaps in an attempt by Alpha Video to make it appear to be an exploitation film (and they market quite a few of them). IMDb does not list this alternate title, so it took some digging until I could establish that these were the same film.
Marian Nixon plays a girl who doesn't want to settle for second best. She is offered chance to be a model and jumps at it. Her boyfriend is upset--he just wants to marry her and settle down to a life of domestic bliss. But she has stars in her eyes--and soon learns to use publicity to create a new movie star persona. Throughout all this, the sappy boyfriend is always waiting nearby--hoping that she'll come to her senses and give up this new life.
Overall, a decent film but one that seemed pretty tame and a bit tepid from time to time. Had this been made during the Pre-Code years (1934 or before), the film probably would have been a bit racier...and more interesting. Still, it's not a terrible film and it's worth seeing if you want to see what a very low-budget version of both "A Star is Born" and "Red-Headed Woman" would be like if they were merged into one movie. Otherwise, there are a lot better movies out there that touch on these same themes, as occasionally "The Reckless Way" comes off as a bit cheap and second-rate.
