Marion Davies stars in this remarkable comedy "Show People" released by MGM in 1928. Davies plays a hick from Savannah, Georgia, who arrives in Hollywood with her father (Dell Henderson). The jalopy they arrive in is a hoot - as is Davies outrageous southern costume. Davies lands a job in slapstick comedy, not what she wants, but it brings her success. She meets fellow slapstick star William Haines, who is immediately smitten with her. Well, Davies then gets a job at a more prestigious studio ("High Art Studios") and lands a job in stuffy period pieces. A handsome but fake actor (Andre Telefair) shows her the ropes of how to be the typical pretentious Hollywood star. Davies abandons her slapstick friend and father for the good life, but of course learns that is not who she really is. Marion Davies is wonderful throughout, as she - outrageously - runs the gamut of emotions required of a "serious" actress. William Haines is his usual wonderful comedic self, and there are cameos by Charles Chaplin, John Gilbert, and other famous stars of the day, including the director of the film, King Vidor. This is a silent film with a few "sound effects" as sound pictures were just coming into their own. A treasure of a film.

There are some wonderful things about this movie. Marion Davies could act, given the right property; she is wonderful in comedic roles. William Haines could act, and you can see why he was one of the screen's most popular leading men. (Until a potential scandal forced him from the business).The story is a bit trite, but handled so beautifully that you don't notice. King Vidor's direction is one of the principle reasons for this. The producer? The boy genius, Irving Thalberg.It's about movie making, and you get to see the process as it was done in 1928, the cameras, sets, directors directing and actors emoting. You get to see (briefly) some of the major stars of the day; even Charlie Chaplin does a turn as himself, seeking an autograph. You also catch glimpses of Eleanor Boardman, Elinor Glyn, Claire Windsor, King Vidor, and many others who are otherwise just names and old photographs.Please, even if you're not a fan of the silents, take the time to catch this film when you can. It's really a terrific trip back in time.

This is a Hollywoord film about a young woman who comes to Hollywood to become an actress. She sees Marion Davis and wants to become like her. She is, of course, played by Marion Davis. She is a genuine character who becomes a success on screen because of that genuine character. Then she begins to play an aristocrat in "real" life, at which point her genuine appeal is lost and she is nearly fired.Now, appreciate the layers: Marion Davis the actress plays someone who is not an actress who is successful be cause she is not playing, but then who plays a role in non-character life (and who we see sometimes as Marion Davis poking fun at herself) and becomes not an actress by acting.Along the way, many real actors are featured as themselves, and the director of this plays the director of the movie within.The amazing thing of course is that we readily understand these layers. Viewers nearly a hundred years ago did. Its called folded narrative.The title of course is a pun. Its about showing people in show business.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

"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.