A FILM TO REMEMBER: “SHOW PEOPLE” (1928)

Before I get into this, I want to make mention “A FILM TO REMEMBER” will be a series about films that have reached a milestone anniversary since their origin in being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. The articles will contain the film’s plot outline, director, cast, a compilation of trivialities, various photos, movie trailer, critical reception and more. So, let’s start:

We are here to mark the celebration of the 90th Anniversary of King Vidor’s “Show People”. Let’s take an inside look at the film:

PLOT OUTLINE:

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

STUDIO:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

DIRECTOR:

King Vidor

CAST:

• Marion Davies … Peggy Pepper
• William Haines … Billy Boone
• Dell Henderson … Colonel Pepper
• Paul Ralli … Andre Telfair
• Tenen Holtz … Casting Director
• Harry Gribbon … Jim, Comedy Director
• Sidney Bracey … Dramatic Director
• Polly Moran … The Maid
• Albert Conti … Producer

GENRE(S):

Comedy | Romance

TAGLINE:

N/A

The film is known for being a light satire of Hollywood, is an entertaining and frequently hilarious trip up the Hollywood hierarchy. Director King Vidor uses this sly comedy in wasting few opportunities to skewer his own kind in finding things to poke fun of at every step. Marion Davies anchors the film, whose performance doesn’t exactly show a great deal of range, but she effortlessly carries the film, lending enough of a character arc that the story never feels like a cobbled together series of skits. The feature is also bolstered by a number of terrific star cameos from the likes of Charlie Chaplin, John Gilbert, Douglas Fairbanks, Norma Talmadge, director Vidor himself and more. The film is inspired by a comic look at 1920s Hollywood and stardom with Davies’ character was based on the careers of silent divas Gloria Swanson and Mae Murray, it was a critical success and has since become a classic of its type.

Here’s what some of the critical receptions have been for the film over the years:

Leonard Maltin from TCM.com says: “This is Marion Davies’ best movie vehicle that confirms her comic talent, and offers a lively glimpse behind the scenes of moviemaking. Some amusing guest-star cameos include director Vidor, who plays himself in the closing scene.”

Dennis Schwartz from Ozus’ World Movie Reviews says: “What might have been hysterical back in the day, today seems passably cutesy comedy.”

Mordaunt Hall from New York Times says: “So clever is the comedy in ‘Show People,’ that it would not be at all surprising to hear that many in the audiences had sat through it twice.”

Steve Crum from Kansas City Kansan says: “An interesting Hearst-backed production starring Marion Davies and other big stars of the era.”

Fritzi Kramer from Movies Silently says: “In spite of the talented director and supporting cast, do not doubt for a minute that this is Marion’s movie from beginning to end. The camera loves her and she turns in one of the most side-splitting performances of any era. She’s not just a funny lady, she is a funny star!”

As you can tell by the critical reactions, the film overall is still placed in well regard for its genre and despite it may having lost some of it’s comedic luster over the course of time, it’s still nonetheless is considered Davies’ quintessential film of her career as it offers a tantalizing glimpse at the glamor and history of classic Hollywood, including no small number of actual locations. The business of making films is treated like an eternal lark here, and the free for all that becomes of it means an endless parade of costumed extras, plenty of opportunities for advancement and no small amount of personal indignity. But I’ll let you decide…

Unfortunately, there is no link to a movie trailer of King Vidor’s “Show People” but to help give a better look at the feature film, here’s a link to a preview clip of King Vidor’s “Show People”:

Here I have provided 12 interesting and intriguing trivia facts (I wanted to keep it limited) about “Show People”:

• The well known faces appearing in the banquet scene are, in the order they appear on screen: Dorothy Sebastian, Louella Parsons, Estelle Taylor, Claire Windsor, Aileen Pringle, Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, Leatrice Joy, Renée Adorée, Rod La Rocque, Mae Murray, John Gilbert, Norma Talmadge, Douglas Fairbanks, Marion Davies, and William S. Hart.
• 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 Turpinworked 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.
• James Murray, who had played the lead in “The Crowd” (1928), was King Vidor’s original choice for Marion Davies’ love interest. However, Murray’s alcoholism and depression made him unavailable, and William Haines was cast instead.
• This is the first time Marion Davies and William Haines starred in a film together. Haines and Davies were close friends, and he was a frequent guest at San Simeon. They remained friends until her death in 1961.
• The musicians who play “mood music” for Peggy Pepper during filming did the same thing in real life for Marion Davies.
• The final scene with Marion Davies and William Haines being directed by King Vidor is actually the set for “Marianne” (1929), which starred Davies and was directed Robert Z. Leonard. The film was shot as a silent and totally re-shot as Davies’ starring talkie debut.

• Although loosely based on the career of Gloria Swanson, Marion Davies is clearly impersonating Mae Murray as the snooty Patricia Pepoire.
• In one of the film’s most famous sequences, the script originally called for Marion Davies to get hit in the face with a pie after being tricked appearing in a slapstick comedy movie. William Randolph Hearst objected to this, fearing for Davies’ dignity, and as a compromise the scene was changed (without Hearst’s knowledge) to have Davies get hit in the face with spray from a seltzer bottle.
• William Randolph Hearst was adamant that Marion Davies not make this film, as he considered slapstick comedy to be beneath her talents and worried that it would damage her reputation. He even tried to have the film canceled days before it was to go into production.
• Constance Talmadge would have appeared in the banquet scene (along with sister Norma Talmadge), but she was in France at the time shooting her final silent film. She was among Marion Davies’ closest friends.
• Polly Moran (who plays The Maid), was a popular character actress at MGM. This is one of three films Moran made with Marion Davies and one of seven Moran made with William Haines.
• This is the only silent movie in which Marion Davies shared star billing above the title with her leading man, in this case William Haines.

To conclude, King Vidor’s “Show People” probably could be argued that Hollywood never self-promotes as vigorously as when it turns the camera upon itself, even if the intended effect is satire. The film doubled insistence that anyone can become a star and that movie stars have to work hard to be successful are undoubtedly self-serving, but these messages are tied to a familiar rise to fame narrative that functions here almost as well as it ever has with a keystone performance from Marion Davies and elusive direction by King Vidor in this vaudeville, tinseltown, silent classic lampoonery.

NOTE: The article contains sources from IMDb and Wikipedia.

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