Show People

"Wisecracker," the biography of actor William Haines, offers a gratifying anecdote about the former star when he was past 70 and long retired from making movies. The old gent was not sentimental, and seldom watched his own films, but in 1972 he was persuaded to attend a Los Angeles museum screening of Show People, the late silent feature in which he co-starred with Marion Davies. Before the screening, Haines was worried that this comedy would provoke the wrong kind of laughter, but he was pleasantly surprised (and no doubt relieved) at how well it held up, and how much the audience enjoyed it, especially the younger viewers. Watch the film today and you can see why: Show People is a delightful Hollywood satire, one that retains its charm because it lampoons its targets with wit and flair, yet without malice. It's still funny, and its satirical points still resonate. Needless to say, the technology of movie-making has changed vastly since the silent days, but the pretensions and follies of the filmmakers themselves haven't changed all that much.

Show People also ranks with the very best surviving work of Marion Davies, a first-rate comic performer who deserves a prominent place in the pantheon of great comediennes. Where her career was concerned, however, Davies was both blessed and cursed by the patronage of her paramour, the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. It's well known that Hearst exerted strong influence over Davies' choice of material, and well known too that, despite her gift for comedy, he initially preferred to see her play dignified heroines in period costume dramas. But by the late '20s, for whatever reason, Marion was permitted to strut her stuff in several exuberant light comedies, including The Red Mill and The Patsy. These films are highly enjoyable, but to my taste, Show People, directed by the great King Vidor, is her most enjoyable showcase. William Haines gives an engaging, likable performance as her boyfriend and co-star Billy Boone, but this is the leading lady's show all the way.

Marion plays Southern belle Peggy Pepper, an aspiring actress who storms Hollywood accompanied by her father, determined to become a movie star. (Her dad Colonel Pepper is played by actor/director Dell Henderson, a veteran of Griffith's Biograph dramas who—coincidentally?—resembled Hearst!) One of Marion's funniest bits, often excerpted elsewhere, is her audition at the Comet Studio casting office. While Dad helpfully identifies the emotions she portrays ("Sorrow! . . . Joy!") and drops a handkerchief across her face, Peggy assumes the appropriate expression and posture. She's hired, only to discover that Comet makes low-brow comedies, the kind of comedies where people squirt each other with seltzer, and inept cops tumble over each other racing to the rescue. Of course, Comet is intended as a take-off of Mack Sennett's Keystone, but the real target of the satire becomes clear as the story unfolds. As Peggy Pepper rises in the Hollywood hierarchy she leaves Comet for the more prestigious High Art Studio, assuming the name "Patricia Peppoire" as more befitting her new station in life as a serious actress. At some point it occurs to us, as it surely did to viewers in 1928, that Davies' rival Gloria Swanson started out in Keystone comedies before rising to prominence in dramas for Cecil B. DeMille. And as Miss Peppoire takes herself more and more seriously, giving the high-hat treatment to former colleagues such as lowly comic Billy Boone, Davies' performance takes on an element of wicked parody aimed squarely at Gloria herself. This is especially notable during an interview sequence, when Miss Peppoire's spokesman spouts pretentious nonsense while the star delivers a spot-on impersonation of Swanson. I suppose this was intended as a friendly spoof, but I have to wonder if Swanson maintained a cordial relationship with Davies after this movie was released.

In any event, Show People is a delicious treat for buffs, who will relish the parade of star cameos throughout. Charlie Chaplin contributes a nice bit, sans makeup and looking quite distinguished, eagerly seeking Patricia Peppoire's autograph! And, in a show of good sportsmanship, Marion Davies herself contributes a cameo appearance, evening the score for poking fun at Swanson by poking fun at herself. (The joke being that Miss Peppoire finds Miss Davies quite unimpressive.) This is a silent film that may well appeal to viewers not especially attuned to silents, that is, those who appreciate movies about the movie business. Show People surely belongs in the company of such classics as Sunset Boulevard and Singin' in the Rain, among Hollywood's most expertly produced, invigorating exercises in self-examination.

Perhaps the funniest 'backstage at Hollywood' movie ever, especially for a look at comedy short factories like Keystone.

Marion Davies should get a medal for bravery for taking a part where acting poorly in front of a camera is part of the role. Plenty of cameos for film buffs.

A young lady from Georgia (Marion Davies) goes to Hollywood in the hopes of becoming an actress.

"Show People" offers an entertaining inside look at 1920s Hollywood and reflects on the actual acting career of starlet Marion Davies. Though one of the great comic talents of her day, featured in many of the decade's successful comedies, such as "Tillie the Toiler" (1927), she too often appeared in extravagant, costly period romance films at the behest of her newspaper tycoon lover William Randolph Hearst, who supposedly enjoyed seeing his mistress in fancy costume.

This is a great semi-fictional look at 1920s Hollywood, with some great cameos. I especially love the encounter with Charlie Chaplin, because I can relate to the Davies character. It took me many years to be able to recognize him when not in his tramp disguise, and I suspect this is what prompted the scene -- how was one to know what he looked like (or sounded like) at the time without the mustache?

The great and underrated Marion Davies shows her 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. They appear in cheap comedies until Marion is "discovered" and becomes a big dramatic star. A great lampoon on Hollywood and its pretentions. Davies & Haines are a wonderful team (too bad they never made a talkie together) and the guest shots from the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, John Gilbert, Elinor Glynn, 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!

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.

Among the greats scenes are Marion's introduction to films (where she gets a big surprise), Marion's departure from the comedy troupe, and Marion's wedding-day comeuppance.

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, Lew Cody, King Vidor, 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. Harry Gribbon is the comedy director, 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. Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, Bebe Daniels, Pola Negri, Mary Pickford, Harold Lloyd, Alla Nazimova are mentioned but do not appear.

There are two versions of this silent classic on DVD. One has the original synchronized score (which features the song "Crossroads") and a British version by Kevin Brownlow (which features a new score by Carl Davis).

Marion Davies and William Haines are great in this film, not to be missed!