Bessie à Broadway

Blackface star Johnny Walker inadvertently gets a job in cute Bessie Love's struggling stage troupe. Ok comedy which really comes alive during the scenes in which the hopeless Bolivar Troupe hilariously perform their Civil War drama on stage.

Matinée Idol, The (1928)

*** (out of 4)

Charming silent film from Capra has a famous actor (Johnnie Walker) deciding to take a vacation to the country where he ends up, accidentally, in a small play where he gets fired by the lead actress (Bessie Love). To play a joke, the actor and his producers decide to take this small play to Broadway but they don't tell the lady that she just fired a famous face. This film was for many decades considered lost before a print turned up and it's good that it did because this is an extremely charming little gem that has the perfect mix of romance, comedy and drama. I was really surprised at how entertaining this film was but it's got a pretty smart little story even though you will have a hard time believing that this actress wouldn't be able to tell that both actors playing against her was the same person. I think Capra handles the material quite well and really delivers an entertaining film. What I enjoyed most is that the film seemed so natural and so smart that you really did get a feel as if you were really watching and seeing a small town acting squad. I've read that Capra learned from these types of groups growing up and it really seems like there's a lot of love being thrown towards these small actors and plays that are often overlooked. The comedy of the film works quite well as the play itself, a real misfire, is actually very funny even if the country actors feel like they're doing dramatic work. We get to see the play acted out twice and each time the film is able to get many laughs. The more dramatic stuff also works well because we can all understand the hurt feeling of trying to be and thinking you're doing good work only to have people laugh at you. Walker and Love both turn in fine performances and their chemistry together also makes the film even better. Love clearly steals the film with her charm and energy that practically jumps off the screen. Johnnie Walkers character is called the greatest "Black Face Comedian" and it seems to be an off note of Al Jolson but it's still pretty good. This isn't one of Capra's best known films and while it's not as powerful as some of his later day stuff, there's still enough here to make it worth viewing.

This Frank Capra fellow just keeps getting better and better. This quick, 56 minute long feature is a real little gem of Capra's early career, further refining his combination of comedy and drama around winning performances. It's also another portrait of the little guy winning over the big guy, even if the win isn't exactly the way one might expect. I think he's already got an authorial stamp, though there's no need to discount Elmer Harris who had written every film Capra had made since leaving Harry Langdon's employ.

Don Wilson (Johnnie Walker) is famous on Broadway for his blackface performances, and he's so tired of the fame and the women throwing themselves at him for it, that he happily agrees to take a weekend in the country with his producer Arnold (Ernest Halliard) where they end up stopping outside the makeshift tent of the traveling acting troupe led by Jasper Bolivar (Lionel Balmore) and his daughter Ginger (Bessie Love). They lead their troupe in a Civil War play of such amateurishness that it derisively entertains the little traveling party, with the added benefit of Don getting a tiny role in the play when ginger fires the actor, using the false name of Harry Mann, and getting some good laughs in the process. It gives Arnold the idea of bringing the troupe to Broadway to add to the revue.

So, like most of Capra's films up to this point, this is essentially a two-act production. In this, the first half is the more purely comic take on what's going on with Don having a whale of a time making Ginger flustered during the performance, getting laughs from his friends, and the rest of the provincial audience taking it more seriously (though with Capra still getting some very good comedy out of them at the same time, like the elderly man who can't hear even with his ear horn and the young son who lies to him about what people are saying). There's been a certain imbalance to Capra's films where one half works materially better than the other, and I think this might represent something of a serious change for him. For, while I do think the second half works better than the first, it's actually the second that I end up having more problems with. It's just that the second half's highs are so very high at the same time that Capra and Harris were refining their output in a way that was really conducive to bringing all of the elements together.

The Bolivar performers come to Broadway with Don maintaining the farce that he's just nobody Harry Mann by using his blackface to appear before them as Don and taking it off when he must appear before them as Harry. There's a masquerade where Jasper drinks too much, and we get to their premiere the next day. The premiere is exactly what the audience would expect with the cosmopolitan crowd taking in the pratfalls of the provincial troupe bumbling their way through the performance with Don in blackface mugging in the background, and it's all countered by Jasper attending the performance in the crowd, highly expectant of a great reception and getting derision instead. It's surprisingly crushing to watch, and it's all cut together in the middle of this botched performance that is really funny at the same time. I think this is successful tonal whiplash, intentionally throwing the audience back and forth making us both part of the problem in enjoying the pain of the poor provincial actors not understanding why they're being laughed at while also sympathizing with them in equal measure.

So, by losing, they end up winning because they teach Don a lesson who decides that he has to make up for it later.

It's another instance of the little guy beating the big guy, but it's done in a way that is more of a moral victory than a literal one. They don't take over Broadway, but Ginger does win over Don's heart, and Don gets Ginger to forgive him his part.

It was during Jasper's pain that I decided that this was the film for me. I think the whiplash works, but I'm just ever so slightly put off by it at the same time, and the ending wrap up feels a bit thin, though I do buy it overall.

It really is kind of amazing to see Capra forming so distinctly and executing so well so early. He feels like he's in complete command of the physical production from the subtle and effective direction of actors to the clear use of visual language (even a couple of jokes through intertitles), and his scripts are creeping up in quality at the same time. I shudder to think of how sound is going to send everything backwards, and it's just right around the corner.

Broadway "black-face" star Johnnie Walker (as Don Wilson) leaves the hustle-bustle of the "Great White Way" for a vacation in the country. On a lark, he decides to join a local acting troupe (calling himself "Harry Mann"), and have some fun with the players - especially beautiful Bessie Love (as Ginger Bolivar). Ms. Love is the repertory company's leading lady, and daughter of producer/director Colonel Lionel Belmore (as Jasper Bolivar). Love also handles human resources, and hires Walker to perform with the group.

Walker's first part is in a Civil War drama, which plays so badly the audience erupts in hoots of laughter. Although they looked to be fully capable of bombing on their own, Love blames Walker for the flop, and fires him. But, Walker's erstwhile producer, Ernest Hilliard (as Arnold Wingate), thought the play was a hilarious comedy, and wants to hire the players for a Broadway show - with Walker, of course. Love, still believing in her dramatic hit potential, hires Walker back. And so, the stage is set for romance and deception…

That this long lost Frank Capra-directed film was found, and restored, is a cause for celebration - but, don't expect anything remotely approaching "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). It's about as good as a television sitcom (and, many used this plot). The "black-face" routine (which would have helped this film remain unseen during the time it was lost) is of the inoffensive Al Jolson sort. Admittedly, this is an arguable point - but, you can see the difference in this film - it's caricature (compare Walker's with David Mir's portrayal).

Walker (fresh from Capra's "So This Is Love?") and Love (on her way to "The Broadway Melody") are a charming couple. Capra directs with a flair exceeding what was expected at the time. The restoration of "The Matinée Idol" was extraordinary, and the movie looks great. Reportedly, some of the film deterioration was so bad, the restorers used original production stills to digitally restore background detail. The results are amazing, and bode well for the future of film preservation. Hopefully, there will be many more discoveries.

***** The Matinée Idol (3/14/28) Frank Capra ~ Johnnie Walker, Bessie Love, Lionel Belmore, Ernest Hilliard

"The Matinée Idol" is a silent drama/comedy/romance set with an intriguing backstage setting. The film stars the wonderful Bessie Love as the daughter and leading lady in a family of troupers. A very likable Johnnie Walker co-stars as a successful actor taken with Miss Love. Consequently he takes up with the small town thespians, throwing himself into their sincere, yet corny theatrics.

When the troupe bring their melodrama to the big town and face scorn from the critics and sophisticated audiences, romance is there to ease the sting of rejection. "The Matinée Idol" is a delight, filled with director Frank Capra's insights and affection for all types of people.