Encontre-me em Hollywood

This is a pleasant little movie starring Red Skelton and Virginia O'Brien as actors in the infancy of the silent era. I enjoyed the film, but I didn't find it as entertaining as the three previous film reviewers.

Both Red Skelton and Virginia O'Brien turned in nice performances; I kept waiting for her to sing at least one song, but it never happened. Gloria Grahame and Leon Ames also were believable in their roles.

The movie was rather predictable and reminds one of Singin' in the Rain in spots.

It is a movie worth checking out, but I won't be watching it again.

If "slapstick" is your genre here is one of the best. I saw it in 1947 or -48 shortly after its release.

I have been on the lookout for it on tape but to no avail. Hopefully it will be preserved as one of the outstanding examples of "slapstick".

Today as part of a Red Skelton tribute on his birthday TCM showed this among many of his other movies, and I'd like to say that even though I only tuned in in time to see only half of this movie, Merton was no disappointment! You're not exactly splitting your sides, but you are entertained and amused as long as you are watching it. Skelton makes it look so easy, but achieving what he was able to while keeping his comedy clean as a whistle is pure genius and well worth watching!

Red Skelton plays a small town movie fan with dreams of being a star. He gets his opportunity, albeit not as he would have hoped. He wanted to be a romantic leading man and instead he becomes a (unintentional) comedy sensation. Along the way he's helped by a stuntwoman who falls for him. Rare leading lady role for Virginia O'Brien, a wonderful comic actress known for singing songs in a deadpan style. No singing here, but she does get lots of Eve Arden-esque lines opposite Skelton's clueless hero. This was basically and sadly the end of her movie career. She was done with MGM and essentially the business shortly after. Gloria Grahame is great in a fun part as the vampy Hollywood star Skelton's character is in love with. This story had been filmed at least twice before, the best of which was the 1932 version with Stuart Erwin and Joan Blondell. Skelton puts his own touch on things, for better or worse. I think he was fairly dialed back here, maybe too much so. Still, I enjoyed the picture.

Seeing both Stu Erwin and Red Skelton essay the role of Merton Gill in two vastly different ways makes me now more curious than ever about what Glenn Hunter's performance on stage and on the silent screen was like. Did Hunter lean more to Erwin or Skelton or did he have a unique interpretation all his own. As his 1924 film version of Merton Of The Movies is considered lost, we may never know.

We certainly can't go back to the original stage production of Merton Of The Movies for consideration either. With Glenn Hunter in the title role it ran for 392 performances during the 1923-24 season on Broadway and was written by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. As in the Erwin version I did not see the acid wit in the script that Kaufman was noted for.

Interpretation is the key to this film, Skelton relied far more on his gift of physical comedy. Unlike the 1932 version which was set in that present era of the early talkies, this Merton Of The Movies was set in the early silent days as the play was. Skelton is Merton Gill who has a degree in theater arts from a correspondence school and armed with that heads to Hollywood to become a serious actor like his idol Leon Ames.

But the man is naturally funny as Red Skelton was in real life. He can't see it though.

Red's got two women in his life, silent era vamp played very nicely by Gloria Grahame and Virginia O'Brien of the deadpan as the girl who loves him for what he is.

Skelton is fine, but Leon Ames may have had his career role as the vain stage actor who thinks film is beneath him though he does it because he's developed a habit of eating. I think Ames borrowed a lot from John Barrymore in how he presents this character. In any event Ames looks like he's having a great old time hamming it up in a role that calls for precisely that.

Red Skelton's version of Merton Of The Movies holds up well though I prefer Stu Erwin's Make Me A Star with its glimpse of the Paramount lot of 1932 and cameos of the various stars working there at the time. It's a timeless story and could use a remake today. As I said when I reviewed Make Me A Star, I think Jim Carrey would be tremendous in the role.