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Show People is a 1928 American synchronized Sound film comedy film directed by King Vidor. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film processes. The film was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the day, including stars Charlie Chaplin (who appears twice), Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart and John Gilbert, and writer Elinor Glyn. Vidor also appears in a cameo as himself, as does Davies (to a decidedly unimpressed reaction by herself in character as Peggy Pepper).
The film is a lighthearted look at Hollywood at the end of the silent film era (it was released the year after breakthrough Sound film The Jazz Singer), and is considered Davies' best role. Show People features no audible dialog but was released with a Movietone soundtrack with a synchronized musical score and sound effects. The film was re-released in the 1980s, with a new orchestral score by Carl Davis.
In 2003, Show People was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is currently available on DVD on-demand as part of the Warner Archive collection. In February 2020, the film was shown at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a retrospective dedicated to King Vidor's career.
Soon enough, Peggy is signed to a contract by the prestigious "High Arts" studio, and leaves behind Billy and the comedy troupe. She arrives for a screen test at the High Arts Studio, where the director instructs her to pretend that her lover is dying. However, she is unable to cry on cue. The director then suggests for her to pretend you're in love with someone at the "crossroads of your lives." She successfully cries and the director and the crew break for lunch. Peggy's co-star André Telfair tries to comfort her, telling her she has graduated from "cheap comedy" and must develop a new star persona among the "elite" in Hollywood. Peggy agrees, and reinvents herself as "Patricia Pepoire", a descendant of Robert E. Lee.
Eventually, Peggy becomes a serious dramatic actress. Billy phones her at her mansion, inviting her for over dinner. She declines however as she's going on a date with André. While Peggy and André are shooting scenes for their film, Billy and the "Comet" comedy troupe arrive on location to film scenes for their picture. During a set-up for Peggy and André's next scene, Billy approaches Peggy. When she introduces André, Billy recognizes him as Andy, a former waiter who served him spaghetti. Offended, Peggy calls Billy a "cheap clown" and returns to shoot her scene.
While having a luncheon banquet, Peggy is summoned to the producer's office, where she is handed telegrams from theater bookers, all of whom deride her dramatic performances. Feeling she has lost popularity with audiences, the producer suggests Peggy return to her old screen persona but she declines.
Sometime later, Peggy is engaged to be married to André. On the day of her wedding, Billy pleads for her to not continue and remember the old days. Billy sprays another spritz of seltzer in her face, and when André walks in, Peggy accidentally throws a custard pie at him. Billy walks out, and Peggy, having been brought to her senses, decides to cancel the wedding.
While filming a World War I picture, and with King Vidor as director, Billy performs as a soldier. He is then stunned to believe Peggy is his co-star, and with the script written for him to kiss her, the two kiss passionately.
Uncredited cameos
The film has a remarkable number of cameo appearances from some of the top stars of the day, including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, Norma Talmadge, Leatrice Joy, Lew Cody, Eleanor Boardman, and others. Many agreed to appear out of friendship with Davies, Hearst, and director Vidor, and the positive publicity value of cooperating with Hearst and MGM also played a factor. Both Marion Davies and King Vidor also made cameo appearances as themselves.Lorusso, Edward (2017) The Silent Films of Marion Davies, CreateSpace, p. 159.
In one of the film's more famous sequences, the script originally called for Davies to get hit in the face with a pie after being tricked appearing in a slapstick comedy movie. William Randolph Hearst objected to this, fearing for Marion Davies' dignity, and as a compromise, the scene was changed (without Hearst's knowledge) to have Davies get hit in the face with spray from a seltzer bottle. "Show People" at TCM
Vidor had wanted James Murray for the role of Billy Boone, but he was unavailable. Davies jumped at the chance to cast close friend William Haines in the role and agreed to Haines's receiving billing above the title with her. This was the only silent film in which Davies shared star billing. Once again, the reviews raved about Davies' comedic touch, and the film was a huge hit at the box office.Lorusso, Edward (2017) The Silent Films of Marion Davies, CreateSpace, pp. 159-162.
The closing scene on the set of a war movie may be a nod to King Vidor's The Big Parade, a smash hit made in 1925, but more closely resembles the Davies film Marianne.
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