If there ever was a naive, aww-shucks, intrinsically good character it was Merton Gill (Stuart Erwin). He was from the small town of Simsbury, USA and his only desire was to go to Hollywood and be an actor. He didn't want to be any ol' actor, he wanted to be a serious Western actor. His favorite actor was Buck Benson (George Templeton) and he patterned himself after him. He spent so much time studying his craft and neglecting his store duties that his adopted father kicked him out.
Merton headed west to Hollywood where he would get a rude awakening. No, you can't just walk on a set, say "I'm an actor," and get a job. No one is impressed by your love or knowledge of films. No one cares about you one way or the other.
It really was a cautionary tale to small town folks around the country who desire to find fortune and fame in Tinseltown.
At the Majestic Studios casting office an actress named Mary 'Flips' Montague (Joan Blondell) felt sorry for Merton after seeing him turned away day after day. She pulled some strings to get him an extra gig on a movie and he totally blew it. He took a simple gig and mucked it up as badly as you possibly can.
Merton was all but finished in Hollywood before he even started. One day he was picking through discarded food when Flips found him and helped him again. This time she went to Jeff Baird (Sam Hardy), a maker of comedy films. She convinced Jeff that Merton would be perfect in a comedy role because he is so sincerely goofy looking. He was so small town and out of his element without even knowing it that he was a joke. Flips only requested that Jeff make Merton believe that he was doing a serious film because Merton had no interest in being a heel (which was funny in itself because he was a nobody, yet he was setting conditions for his services).
Jeff went along with Flips' plan and they made the movie without letting on to Merton one bit about the true nature of the movie they were shooting. Eventually the two of them began to feel bad. Here they were pulling the wool over the eyes of the nicest most sincere guy on the planet. It was like killing baby seals.
The absolute funniest part of the movie was when they had the preview. I was laughing right along with the audience. They dubbed over Merton's real voice and added some slapstick which made the movie within the movie a riot.
I like Joan Blondell in just about everything she does, but this was Stuart Erwin's show. He was too perfect for the role of Merton Gill aka Whoops Ryder. He flawlessly pulled off the shy, naive, honest out-of-towner. I kept waiting for him to have his moment of clarity--the moment he wisens up and becomes a little more street savvy, but it never came. He was a simple do-gooder until the very end who was going to either make you laugh or make you cry.
Free on Odnoklassniki.
Merton headed west to Hollywood where he would get a rude awakening. No, you can't just walk on a set, say "I'm an actor," and get a job. No one is impressed by your love or knowledge of films. No one cares about you one way or the other.
It really was a cautionary tale to small town folks around the country who desire to find fortune and fame in Tinseltown.
At the Majestic Studios casting office an actress named Mary 'Flips' Montague (Joan Blondell) felt sorry for Merton after seeing him turned away day after day. She pulled some strings to get him an extra gig on a movie and he totally blew it. He took a simple gig and mucked it up as badly as you possibly can.
Merton was all but finished in Hollywood before he even started. One day he was picking through discarded food when Flips found him and helped him again. This time she went to Jeff Baird (Sam Hardy), a maker of comedy films. She convinced Jeff that Merton would be perfect in a comedy role because he is so sincerely goofy looking. He was so small town and out of his element without even knowing it that he was a joke. Flips only requested that Jeff make Merton believe that he was doing a serious film because Merton had no interest in being a heel (which was funny in itself because he was a nobody, yet he was setting conditions for his services).
Jeff went along with Flips' plan and they made the movie without letting on to Merton one bit about the true nature of the movie they were shooting. Eventually the two of them began to feel bad. Here they were pulling the wool over the eyes of the nicest most sincere guy on the planet. It was like killing baby seals.
The absolute funniest part of the movie was when they had the preview. I was laughing right along with the audience. They dubbed over Merton's real voice and added some slapstick which made the movie within the movie a riot.
I like Joan Blondell in just about everything she does, but this was Stuart Erwin's show. He was too perfect for the role of Merton Gill aka Whoops Ryder. He flawlessly pulled off the shy, naive, honest out-of-towner. I kept waiting for him to have his moment of clarity--the moment he wisens up and becomes a little more street savvy, but it never came. He was a simple do-gooder until the very end who was going to either make you laugh or make you cry.
Free on Odnoklassniki.