Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Spuzzlightyear It;s odd that a movie made in 1928, about movie making, a comedy, and with tons of cameos of stars and directors of the day could have slipped by my radar for so long and not know ANYTHING about it. Yet, this silent little nugget did just that, and what a total pleasure it was to see it. Marion Davies plays a young starlet wanting to get into the movies, and William Haines plays the low-rent-comedy actor she falls in love with. But when fame beacons, she follows it, and soon becomes to big for her britches. It's a truly wonderful and engaging story. I also really really loved the lovely cameos that the stars of the day put in, Chaplin! Fairbanks! Heck, even Marion Davies makes a cameo in her own movie (which is totally hilarious). Simply a must see if you love the movies. I'm still amazed I'd never heard of it until now.

dglink King Vidor's amusing and affectionate look at Hollywood, "Show People," features the under-appreciated Marion Davies and was arguably the finest film of William Haines's career. Peggy Pepper (Davies) arrives in Hollywood determined to become a serious dramatic actress in artistic films. However, she happens on slapstick star Billy Boone (Haines) and gets her start with a seltzer bottle and custard pie in low-grade comedies. Audiences who loved and were first introduced to silent film through last year's Oscar winner, "The Artist," will likely enjoy "Show People," a genuine classic from the late 1920's, when silent cinema reached its peak.Both stars offer naturalistic performances, and viewers expecting the "grand style" of emoting associated with silent movies will be disappointed. Vidor has restrained Haines, who could be campy and flamboyant at times. Although Haines perfectly captures Billy Boone's light-hearted side and his slapstick is worthy of Keystone, Haines also displays feeling and depth during his dramatic scenes. Davies is good throughout, although she is most effective when clowning; her series of emotions displayed at the studio's employment office is priceless. A bevy of silent stars appear in cameos, which will delight those familiar with the era; however, even those who recognize Douglas Fairbanks, John Gilbert, and William S. Hart may wonder, "Who was Elinor Glyn?" King Vidor also appears as himself, and Marion Davies offers her own inside joke.Consistent with films produced at MGM in the final years before sound, "Show People" has excellent direction, beautiful photography, and fine performances. This classic gem offers opportunities to discover the talents of Marion Davies and William Haines, whose films have sadly faded from public memory, and the skillful direction of King Vidor, whose other silent classics "The Crowd" and "The Big Parade" need to be restored and reissued on DVD. Perhaps the success of "The Artist" will stimulate new interest in silent film and more demand for these great films.

Larry41OnEbay-2 SHOW PEOPLE, premiered November 11th of 1928, it was a Cosmopolitan Production, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. I saw the "Restored Long Version" at the Library of Congress and per Dick May at Warners: "We have found some shots in various elements that were not in the existing MGM negative or the original negative. These have now been put back where they belong. Nothing important but it gets closer to the original." SHOW PEOPLE was directed by King Vidor and written by Agnes Christine Johnston and Laurence Stallings with titles by Ralph Spence, and it's based on a story by Wanda Tuchock and the play POLLY PREFFERED by Guy Bolton.SHOW PEOPLE is a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and includes notable cameo appearances by many of the great film stars of the day, including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, and John Gilbert. Director Vidor also appears in a cameo as himself. The film is a comedic satire of the early days of movie making in Hollywood loosely based on the career of Gloria Swanson, who began her career in comedy, switched to costume dramas and married a titled foreigner just before this film was written. Many consider it Davies' best role.Marion Davies was a Broadway dancer in the 1916 edition of Ziegfeld Follies, when William Randolph Hearst discovered her and became so enchanted that for eight weeks he never missed a performance, reserving two seats per show (one seat for his hat). Soon after, Davies appeared in only Hearst-produced movies, a professional association which spilled over into her private life; she became Hearst's mistress.On the IMDb they list over 25 of her 48 films averaging an 8 out of 10 stars or higher. Davies retired from the screen in 1937 and continued as the popular hostess of San Simeon, Hearst's gigantic estate on the California coast until Hearst died in 1951. Davies was much loved by her friends and by Hollywood in general; alas, most people today "know" Davies only through the character of "Susan Alexander" in Orson Welles' thinly disguised chronicle of William Randolph Hearst's life, CITIZEN KANE. In 1962 a year after she died, CITIZEN KANE was rediscovered and declared a masterpiece. It is also a work of fiction.Film buffs are heart-broken that poor Marion's reputation suffered from that movies portrayal of the "opera singer" without talent. In truth, Marion was very successful in films, especially comedies.Co-star William Haines was born January 1st of 1900 in Stanton, VA. Entering films in 1922, Haines rose to stardom at MGM as the star of several breezy comedy-dramas, in which he usually played a smart-aleck braggart who was forced to eat humble pie sometime before the fadeout. One of Haines' most popular films was TELL IT TO THE MARINES with Lon Chaney. His favorite leading ladies included Joan Crawford and Marion Davies. Haines' popularity diminished in the early 1930s, due to the emergence of younger cocksure types like James Cagney. He later became a famous interior decorator to the stars and books on him and his celebrity home décor designs are still popular & expensive! Director King Vidor made his reputation on pictures such as the antiwar drama THE BIG PARADE and later THE CROWD (my favorite silent drama) that displayed a remarkably sophisticated social conscience as well as an innovative directorial technique that placed it at the pinnacle of silent-era cinema. Of his talkies there is the boxing drama, THE CHAMP, starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper. Ironically, the most widely seen and known film today that Vidor worked on was the OVER THE RAINBOW song and early sepia-toned scenes in: THE WIZARD OF OZ. Later he directed the adventure film NORTHWEST PASSAGE starring Spencer Tracy.Vidor had a cute anecdote about pitching his SHOW PEOPLE story to Louis B. Mayer, MGM wonder-kid Irving Thalberg and Hearst when he started talking about the necessity for a pie-throwing scene (which Hearst was against anything that might embarrass or humiliate Davies) when Vidor noticed a newspaper sticking out of Hearst pocket, the headline read, "Hearst Wants Coolidge To Serve Second Term." Hearst would be on the set most days conducting his newspaper empire at a desk behind the camera with two secretaries manning the phones… and when they wanted to shoot a slap-stick scene they wanted to get rid of Hearst so Davies arranged to have an editor call him away so they could film the scene. She even asked Buster Keaton to show her how to back thru a door as if saying goodbye to friends as if it were funny… he told her DON'T ANTICIPATE! You'll know the scene I'm speaking about when you see it.Among the locations used in the film are MGM's back-lot and the old Mack Sennett "Keystone" studios, where such comedy greats as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton & Harold Lloyd all worked early in their careers.In the movie, after the premiere of her first film she will be approached outside the theater by a fan wanting an autograph. She does not recognize him and you may not either as Charlie Chaplin is not in costume or wearing his little black mustache. It's an inside joke as they were best friends and there were even rumors that they were lovers as explored in the 2001 film by Peter Bogdanovich, THE CAT'S MEOW starring Kirsten Dunst as Davies.A little later when she's invited to HIGH ART studio she sees a fancy car pull up and a movie star gets out… it's Marion Davies playing herself! The musicians who play "mood music" for Peggy Pepper during filming did the same thing in real life for actress Marion Davies.The well known faces back then appearing in the banquet scene include: Renée Adorée, Rod La Rocque, Mae Murray, John Gilbert, Norma Talmadge, Douglas Fairbanks, Marion Davies, and William S. Hart. All superstars 80 years ago!

inericks I finally purchased and added to my collection a copy of "Show People". I cannot comment any more than what previous viewers have stated and to the characters, plot and overall quality of this film without repeating their own words. Seeing the cameo, out-of-character appearances of so many M-G-M silent stars is worth the viewing in and of itself. I really like the scene where Marion Davies plays herself and is encountered by herself playing the main character of the movie, Patricia Pepoire. Make sure you read her lips as there is no title card indicating what she is saying when she sees Marion Davies but it is something to the effect of "I don't think I like her!" Pop the corn, pop in the tape and get ready to go back more than three quarters of a century in movie making history. Enjoy!