| ~Show People~ 1928 |
| ~360-8: Marion Davies & Dell Henderson~ |
| ~Cast~ Marion Davies ... Peggy Pepper / Herself William Haines ... Billy Boone Dell Henderson ... General Marmaduke Oldfish Pepper Paul Ralli ... Andre Telefair Tenen Holtz ... Casting director Harry Gribbon ... Jim - Comedy Director Sidney Bracey ... Dramatic director Polly Moran ... Peggy's maid Albert Conti ... Producer Renée Adorée ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) George K. Arthur ... Himself - at Banquet (uncredited) Eleanor Boardman ... Herself - clip from 'Bardelys the Magnificent' Charles Chaplin ... Himself - Autograph Seeker (uncredited) Lew Cody ... Himself - at High Art Studios (uncredited) Ray Cooke ... Director's Assistant (uncredited) Karl Dane ... Himself - at Banquet (uncredited) Douglas Fairbanks ... Himself - at Banquet (uncredited) Bess Flowers ... Undetermined Bit Role (uncredited) John Gilbert ... Himself (uncredited) (also archive footage) Elinor Glyn ... Herself - at High Art Studios (uncredited) Pat Harmon ... Studio Gateman (uncredited) William S. Hart ... Himself - at Banquet (uncredited) Leatrice Joy ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Rod La Rocque ... Himself - at Banquet (uncredited) Lillian Lawrence ... Comedy Player at Farewell Banquet (uncredited) Mae Murray ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Louella Parsons ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Kalla Pasha ... Comic chef (uncredited) Aileen Pringle ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Bert Roach ... Heavyset man in casting agency (uncredited) Dorothy Sebastian ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Rolfe Sedan ... Portrait Photographer (uncredited) Norma Talmadge ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Estelle Taylor ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) Dorothy Vernon ... Comedy Player at Farewell Banquet (uncredited) King Vidor ... Himself (uncredited) Coy Watson ... Messenger Boy (uncredited) Claire Windsor ... Herself - at Banquet (uncredited) |
| ~John Gilbert & Marion Davies~ |
| ~Plot Synopsis~ |
After driving his ostentatiously dressed daughter Peggy in a battered model T from Georgia to
Hollywood, Colonel Marmaduke Oldfish Pepper announces at a film studio gate that he will let the
president of the company put her in the movies. At the casting office, where father and daughter
tramp past a waiting crowd to speak to the clerk, Peggy, who is asked for her photographs, offers her
baby and childhood portraits and then demonstrates her acting skills by making facial expressions she
uses to portray various moods. Amused, the clerk signs her up, but, while waiting for her to be cast,
the Peppers’ money dwindles down to forty cents. At the studio's commissary, after the colonel
charms a server into giving him extra crackers, a slapstick comedy artist, Billy Boone, sits down with
them at the table. Despite Peggy's pretenses that she is looking over several offers, Billy realizes their
desperate situation and offers to get her a job at Comet Studios where he works. On the way to her
first assignment, Peggy wanders through several films in progress and disrupts the scenes before
finding Billy and his colleagues. Believing that she has been cast in a dramatic role, she is wearing her
prettiest party dress and does not realize she is filming a slapstick comedy, until she is thoroughly
spritzed with seltzer water as the camera rolls. Although the cast and crew are impressed by her
natural, surprised reaction, the horrified Peggy flees the set. Billy consoles her and convinces her to
“take it on the chin.” Later, during the film’s preview at a movie house, Peggy becomes a hit with the
audience. She still longs to play dramatic roles, which she considers “real art," but Billy explains that
their kind of movie is better, because they keep the audience laughing and happy. Afterward Billy and
Peggy go to a restaurant, where a casting director, impressed that Peggy’s “real personality” came
across onscreen, invites them to High Arts Studio. There, when Peggy and Billy discover that the
studio is only interested in hiring only her, Peggy tells Billy she will not sign with the studio unless
they are both hired, but Billy says he can “take it on the chin.” Back at Comet Studios, where Peggy
returns briefly to say goodbye to her friends, she tells Billy they will still see each other, but he predicts
it will not be the same, adding philosophically that they are at a “crossroads” where their two paths
lead in different directions, and encourages her to seek her dream. Later, at High Arts Studio, Peggy
undergoes a screen test. While the camera rolls she is told to pretend that her lover is dying, but
despite the valiant efforts of the crew, who play sad music and cut up onions, she cannot call forth
tears. Only when the director suggests that Peggy pretend to be in love with someone and at the
“crossroads of life,” is she able to cry freely. After the crew packs up and leaves, Peggy is still crying
when André Telfair, her self-centered leading man, tries to comfort her. After pointing out that she
has graduated from "cheap comedy," he suggests that she must now acquire a new personality, a
superior manner and new friends, and offers to introduce her to “the elite of Hollywood.”
Confidentially, he tells her that he is really Andre d’Bergerac, le Comte d’Avignon. Taking his
suggestion to heart, Peggy changes her name to Patricia Pepoire and develops affected mannerisms,
which she believes evoke refinement. During an interview, when a reporter asks Peggy to talk about
her life, André, interrupting before she tells the truth, claims that she is a descendant of Robert E. Lee
and "has chosen film as her medium of self-expression." Over time, while Peggy becomes spoiled and
self-centered living in a mansion and served by a maid, Billy's life remains the same, except that when
he invites her to dinner, he is refused, as she is now dating André. One day Billy discovers that he and
his Comet Studio friends are shooting on location near the site where Peggy and André are filming.
Billy, who is still in love with Peggy, approaches her, but she is too ashamed to let her colleagues see
them together. When she introduces André, Billy recognizes him as Andy, a former waiter who served
him spaghetti at an inexpensive restaurant. Offended, Peggy calls Billy a "cheap clown" and returns to
shoot her scene, as Billy sadly watches. Later, while having lunch at the stars’ table in the studio
commissary, Peggy is ordered to the producer's office. Showing her the many telegrams from theater
owners across the country who are complaining about her new image and canceling their bookings, he
demands that she again become the “real Peggy Pepper.” Afterward, the sympathetic André says that
no one understands a “great artist” and soon the newspapers announce their upcoming marriage,
which will be held at her mansion. On her wedding day, the uninvited Billy sneaks into her house and
meets with her in the dining room, which is set for a feast. Billy pleads for her to reconsider, and
accuses her of ruining her career and marrying for a phony title. To help her remember the good old
days, he impulsively spritzes her with seltzer water. Angrily, she throws food at him, and when he
prepares to throw the wedding cake, she ducks, and consequently, when André enters the room, he is
hit in the face with the cake. When Peggy cries, the sorrowful Billy admits he is a clumsy fool and does
not hear her calling for him as he leaves. Alone with André, Peggy claims that they are both fakes and
that Billy was the only real person, and cancels the wedding. Peggy's next picture is set in a European
village during World War I. At her suggestion, the director, King Vidor, hires a new leading man, who
is unaware that Peggy is his leading lady. When the camera starts rolling, Billy, who plays a soldier
reuniting with his sweetheart, is at first stunned to discover that the sweetheart is played by Peggy,
who advises him to "take it on the chin." Remembering that the script calls for him to kiss the girl, the
overjoyed Billy kisses Peggy passionately, and they are still kissing when the crew picks up their
equipment and leaves for the day.
Plot Synopsis from afi.com
Hollywood, Colonel Marmaduke Oldfish Pepper announces at a film studio gate that he will let the
president of the company put her in the movies. At the casting office, where father and daughter
tramp past a waiting crowd to speak to the clerk, Peggy, who is asked for her photographs, offers her
baby and childhood portraits and then demonstrates her acting skills by making facial expressions she
uses to portray various moods. Amused, the clerk signs her up, but, while waiting for her to be cast,
the Peppers’ money dwindles down to forty cents. At the studio's commissary, after the colonel
charms a server into giving him extra crackers, a slapstick comedy artist, Billy Boone, sits down with
them at the table. Despite Peggy's pretenses that she is looking over several offers, Billy realizes their
desperate situation and offers to get her a job at Comet Studios where he works. On the way to her
first assignment, Peggy wanders through several films in progress and disrupts the scenes before
finding Billy and his colleagues. Believing that she has been cast in a dramatic role, she is wearing her
prettiest party dress and does not realize she is filming a slapstick comedy, until she is thoroughly
spritzed with seltzer water as the camera rolls. Although the cast and crew are impressed by her
natural, surprised reaction, the horrified Peggy flees the set. Billy consoles her and convinces her to
“take it on the chin.” Later, during the film’s preview at a movie house, Peggy becomes a hit with the
audience. She still longs to play dramatic roles, which she considers “real art," but Billy explains that
their kind of movie is better, because they keep the audience laughing and happy. Afterward Billy and
Peggy go to a restaurant, where a casting director, impressed that Peggy’s “real personality” came
across onscreen, invites them to High Arts Studio. There, when Peggy and Billy discover that the
studio is only interested in hiring only her, Peggy tells Billy she will not sign with the studio unless
they are both hired, but Billy says he can “take it on the chin.” Back at Comet Studios, where Peggy
returns briefly to say goodbye to her friends, she tells Billy they will still see each other, but he predicts
it will not be the same, adding philosophically that they are at a “crossroads” where their two paths
lead in different directions, and encourages her to seek her dream. Later, at High Arts Studio, Peggy
undergoes a screen test. While the camera rolls she is told to pretend that her lover is dying, but
despite the valiant efforts of the crew, who play sad music and cut up onions, she cannot call forth
tears. Only when the director suggests that Peggy pretend to be in love with someone and at the
“crossroads of life,” is she able to cry freely. After the crew packs up and leaves, Peggy is still crying
when André Telfair, her self-centered leading man, tries to comfort her. After pointing out that she
has graduated from "cheap comedy," he suggests that she must now acquire a new personality, a
superior manner and new friends, and offers to introduce her to “the elite of Hollywood.”
Confidentially, he tells her that he is really Andre d’Bergerac, le Comte d’Avignon. Taking his
suggestion to heart, Peggy changes her name to Patricia Pepoire and develops affected mannerisms,
which she believes evoke refinement. During an interview, when a reporter asks Peggy to talk about
her life, André, interrupting before she tells the truth, claims that she is a descendant of Robert E. Lee
and "has chosen film as her medium of self-expression." Over time, while Peggy becomes spoiled and
self-centered living in a mansion and served by a maid, Billy's life remains the same, except that when
he invites her to dinner, he is refused, as she is now dating André. One day Billy discovers that he and
his Comet Studio friends are shooting on location near the site where Peggy and André are filming.
Billy, who is still in love with Peggy, approaches her, but she is too ashamed to let her colleagues see
them together. When she introduces André, Billy recognizes him as Andy, a former waiter who served
him spaghetti at an inexpensive restaurant. Offended, Peggy calls Billy a "cheap clown" and returns to
shoot her scene, as Billy sadly watches. Later, while having lunch at the stars’ table in the studio
commissary, Peggy is ordered to the producer's office. Showing her the many telegrams from theater
owners across the country who are complaining about her new image and canceling their bookings, he
demands that she again become the “real Peggy Pepper.” Afterward, the sympathetic André says that
no one understands a “great artist” and soon the newspapers announce their upcoming marriage,
which will be held at her mansion. On her wedding day, the uninvited Billy sneaks into her house and
meets with her in the dining room, which is set for a feast. Billy pleads for her to reconsider, and
accuses her of ruining her career and marrying for a phony title. To help her remember the good old
days, he impulsively spritzes her with seltzer water. Angrily, she throws food at him, and when he
prepares to throw the wedding cake, she ducks, and consequently, when André enters the room, he is
hit in the face with the cake. When Peggy cries, the sorrowful Billy admits he is a clumsy fool and does
not hear her calling for him as he leaves. Alone with André, Peggy claims that they are both fakes and
that Billy was the only real person, and cancels the wedding. Peggy's next picture is set in a European
village during World War I. At her suggestion, the director, King Vidor, hires a new leading man, who
is unaware that Peggy is his leading lady. When the camera starts rolling, Billy, who plays a soldier
reuniting with his sweetheart, is at first stunned to discover that the sweetheart is played by Peggy,
who advises him to "take it on the chin." Remembering that the script calls for him to kiss the girl, the
overjoyed Billy kisses Peggy passionately, and they are still kissing when the crew picks up their
equipment and leaves for the day.
Plot Synopsis from afi.com
| Directed by: King Vidor Written by: Agnes Christine Johnston - writer Ralph Spence - titles Laurence Stallings - writer Wanda Tuchock - story |
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| ~Remaining Credits~ Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Cosmopolitan Productions Distribution Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Produced by: Marion Davies, King Vidor & Irving Thalberg Cinematography by: John Arnold Film Editing by: Hugh Wynn Set Decoration by: Cedric Gibbons Costume Design by: Henrietta Frazer Assistant Director: Will Sheldon Assistant Camera: Gordon Avil Length: 9 Reels Runtime: 78 Minutes Released: November 28, 1928 Premiere: New York November 10, 1928 |
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