Merton of the Movies

Merton of the Movies (1922), a comedy by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. [ Cort Theatre, 398 perf.] Merton Gill (Glenn Hunter) is so film struck that he has become the joke of the tiny Illinois town of Simsbury. When his preoccupation causes him to neglect his duties as clerk in Amos Gashwiler's general store and get fired, Gill immediately heads for Hollywood, where he is befriended by “Flips” Montague (Florence Nash), a bathing beauty in a famous slapstick series. She lands him a small part in a film, but Gill is disillusioned by the crassness and deception all about him; however, he plods on. He is finally cast in a slapstick comedy, which he plays with such serious intensity that he becomes a star and marries “Flips.” Based on Harry Leon Wilson's series in the Saturday Evening Post, the play was generally acknowledged to be the 1920s' best spoof of Hollywood.

Merton of the Movies is a 1919 book written by Harry Leon Wilson. In 1922, it was adapted into a Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. A 1924 movie version was directed by James Cruze and a 1947 movie version starred Red Skelton.

The plot centers around an aspiring movie actor named Merton. Merton is a terrible actor and when the movie executives see how funny that Merton's over-acting is, they cast him in a comedy, but tell him that he's acting in a drama.

External links

• The Internet Archive holds a June 20, 1949 radio adaptation of the film originally broadcast by Lux Radio Theater.
• 4 short radio episodes from the play Merton of the Movies at California Legacy Project.
• Unabridged audiobook at LibriVox

v • d • e George Kaufman Plays and musicals Some One in the House (1918) · Dulcy (1921-1922) · To the Ladies (1922) · The '49ers (1922) · Merton of the Movies (1922-1923) · Helen of Troy, New York (1923) · The Deep Tangled Wildwood (1923) · Beggar on Horseback (1924) · Be Yourself (1924) · Minick (1924-1925) · The Butter and Egg Man (1925-1926) · The Cocoanuts (1925-1926) · The Good Fellow (1926) · The Royal Family (1927-1928) · Animal Crackers (1928-1929) · June Moon (1929-1930) · The Channel Road (1929) · Once in a Lifetime (1930-1931) · The Band Wagon (1931-1932) · Of Thee I Sing (1931-1933) · Dinner at Eight (1932-1933) · Let 'Em Eat Cake (1933-1934) · The Dark Tower (1933-1934) · Merrily We Roll Along (1934-1935) · First Lady (1935-1936) · Stage Door (1936-1937) · You Can't Take It with You (1936) · I'd Rather Be Right (1938) · The Fabulous Invalid (1938) · The American Way (1939) · The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939-1941) · George Washington Slept Here (1940-1942) · The Land Is Bright (1941-1942) · The Late George Apley (1944-1945) · Seven Lively Arts (1945) · Hollywood Pinafore (1946-1947) · Bravo! (1948) · The Small Hours (1951) · Fancy Meeting You Again (1952) · The Solid Gold Cadillac (1953-1955) · Silk Stockings (1955-1956) Musicals based on his plays Sherry! (1967) · Merrily We Roll Along (1981) Films Someone Must Pay (1919) · Someone in the House (1920) · Dulcy (1923) · To the Ladies (1923) · Merton of the Movies (1924) · Welcome Home (1925) · Beggar on Horseback (1925) · The Butter and Egg Man (1928) · The Cocoanuts (1929) · Not So Dumb (1930) · Animal Crackers (1930) · The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) June Moon (1931) · The Expert (1932) · The Tenderfoot (1932) · Make Me a Star (1932) · Once in a Lifetime (1932) · Dinner at Eight (1933) · Beggar on Horseback (1925) · Roman Scandals (1933) · |The Man with Two Faces (1934) · You Can't Take It with You (1938)

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