Show People (1928)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Agnes Christine Johnston (treatment) and
Laurence Stallings (treatment) ...

Release Date:

20 November 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Colonel Pepper brings his daughter, Peggy, to Hollywood from Georgia to be an actress. There she meets...

Plot Keywords:

Studio | Actress | Georgia | Hollywood | Love Triangle

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Marion Davies	...	Peggy Pepper
William Haines	...	Billy Boone
Dell Henderson	...	Colonel Pepper
Paul Ralli	...	Andre
Tenen Holtz	...	Casting Director
Harry Gribbon	...	Comedy Director
Sidney Bracey	...	Dramatic Director (as Sidney Bracy)
Polly Moran	...	The Maid
Albert Conti	...	Producer

Runtime:

83 min (copyright length) | USA:78 min (Turner Library Print)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (musical score and sound effects) | Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Studio scenes taking place at the "Comet Studios" were taken at the derelict Mack Sennett "Keystone" studios, where such comedy greats as Charles Chaplin and Ben Turpin worked early in their careers. Sennett built and moved to a larger studio earlier in the year, so director King Vidor filmed his slapstick studio scenes at the older, vacated site.

Quotes:

Peggy's maid: Pardon my depravity, but that terrible comedian person is downstairs.

Movie Connections:

Featured in So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton & MGM (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Wedding March

Great Silent Comedy

Updated from a previous comment. The great and underrated Marion Davies shows her comedic stuff in this late (1928) silent comedy that also showcases the wonderful William Haines. Davies plays a hick from Georgia who crashes Hollywood with help from Haines, a bit player in crude comedies. They appear together in cheap comedies until Marion is "discovered" and becomes a big dramatic star.

A great lampoon on Hollywood and its pretensions. Davies & Haines are a wonderful team, and the guest shots from the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, John Gilbert, Elinor Glyn, Norma Talmadge, Mae Murray, Rod LaRocque, Leatrice Joy, Dorothy Sebastian, Estelle Taylor, Louella Parsons, Renee Adoree, Aileen Pringle, and Marion Davies (you have to see it) are a hoot. A must for any serious film buff or for anyone interested in the still-maligned Marion Davies! Dell Henderson plays the father. Polly Moran is a maid. Paul Ralli is the slimy leading man.

SHOW PEOPLE was said to have used the career of Gloria Swanson as its model (I think Mae Murray is closer). Davies and Swanson were friends. But this film's story does parallel the rise of Swanson from one-reel Mack Sennett comedies with Charlie Chaplin to STAR in Cecil B. DeMille films of the late teens and early 20s.

Davies and Haines were huge MGM stars and friends. Odd that MGM never teamed them up in a talkie. They're great together! A sweet romance and delightful spoof of early Hollywood. Greta Garbo and Bebe Daniels are mentioned but do not appear.