Show People (1928)
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Show People Movie Review
Show People is a 1928 silent comedy film directed by King Vidor and starring Marion Davies and William Haines. It’s one of the best, most entertaining comedies from this period.
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“You’re gonna be a cinch“
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The film follows a girl who comes to Hollywood yearning to become a highly respected dramatic actress. She is at first disappointed that she’s being relegated to comedic roles, but eventually she truly does become a respected dramatic actress, but at the risk of becoming smug and alienating herself from her fans and especially her nice boyfriend.
Yes, this is pretty much ‘The Artist’ and especially ‘A Star Is Born’, but made before them so this is the original after which all of such films have stolen the concept. Thus, it is hugely underappreciated in my opinion as it’s not only incredibly influential obviously, but still holding up tremendously as such a great and dually timely and timeless movie.
The tone suffered a bit as the second half clearly needed more comedic elements as the first half set up a very light, hilarious comedy which then quickly turned to overly serious. But still, I loved seeing the depiction of 1920s Hollywood and the film is stock full of great cameos and celebrity appearances including Charlie Chaplin and John Gilbert.
Those cameos are all fantastic and the Marion Davies one is absolutely hilarious, but there is no denying the power of the two main stars here. William Haines is not talked about more today which is a shame as he clearly had a lot of talent, bravado and obvious good looks leading to the perfect leading, charismatic man of the silent era. Here, he is immensely charming.
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But this is undeniably a Marion Davies vehicle and a proof of how painfully underrated today she is. She is very likable, yet also unlikable when the plot demands it; she is pretty, but also obviously hugely talented; and most importantly, she is very funny. Her comic delivery is perfect and she stole the show particularly with her amusing gestures and facial expressions. She was perfect for the silent era comedies and simply a full package.
The two actors share great chemistry together and their scenes are easily some of the best in this movie. That scene where they split up is extremely tender and beautiful, but of course the ending is incredibly sweet and charming. It’s archetypal, but emotionally rewarding. The film surely has a giant heart.
But Show People can also be very funny when it wants to be. The pie thrown in the face scenes are quite funny, especially for its time, and I particularly found Davies’ expressions flawless and continually amusing. The dramatic elements also do work as the film offers a fantastic time capsule and a great showcase of how movie stars began and continued their careers during the 20s with the switch between genres being so well portrayed. And the authenticity is conveyed beautifully thanks to those many awesome cameos and the usage of the actors’ real names.
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Show People is very well edited. Some of the middle parts aren’t as interesting as the rest, but the movie is mostly incredibly entertaining, brisk and short, effective and constantly exuding charm from its actors, characters and situations. The intertitles are perfectly used, the direction from King Vidor is reliably great and the cinematography is so good. The score in the newer version I’ve seen is very elegant and strong.
Show People is a highly influential, underappreciated and still great comedy which is uneven in its tone, but incredibly charming throughout, very funny in some scenes and particularly effective at capturing the 1920s Hollywood scene thanks in large part to many awesome cameos from the biggest stars of the time. The movie is brisk and hugely entertaining while also benefitting from a charming presence from William Haines and a phenomenal performance from Marion Davies who’s such an underrated, very talented comedic actress. The two share great chemistry and the romance is lovely. Consequently, it’s one of the era’s most purely entertaining, endearing comedies.
