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Merton of the Movies
Put-upon small-town store clerk Merton Gill puts his pennies aside for the day when he can afford to travel to Hollywood, become a big star in motion pictures, and marry his dream girl, a daredevil actress in adventure serials. But the reality of the movie world is much less glamorous than the fan magazines make it out to be. The naive Merton nearly starves before a sympathetic young character actress steps in to steer his nascent film career in the right direction.
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335 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1922
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154 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 2, 2020
"True, in those nether regions of the mind so lately discovered and now being so expertly probed by Science, in the mind's dark basement, so to say, a certain unlovely fronted dragon of reality would issue from the gloom where it seemed to have been lurking and force itself upon his notice" (146-147).
"It was surely funny the way your mind would keep doing things you didn't want it to do" (147).
"He was of two minds about the girl now. Beneath an unreasonable but very genuine resentment that she should have doubled for Beulah Baxter--as if she had basely cheated him of his most cherished ideal--there ran an undercurrent of reluctant but very profound admiration for her prowess. She had done some thrilling things and seemed to make nothing of it. Through this admiration there ran also a thread of hostility because he, himself, would undoubtedly be afraid to attempt her lightest exploit. Not even the trifling feat he had just witnessed for he had never learned to swim" (171).
"Probably he, like Baird, was trying to do something distinctive and worth while" (209).
"I think it is very pathetic, his wanting to do the better things; it's fine of him" (239).
"He forebore to warn Baird of this, however, fearing to discourage a manager who was honestly striving for the serious in photodrama" (243).
"'Listen, boy--' she turned a sober face to him. 'the straight lots are fairly decent, but get this: a comedy lot is the toughest place this side of the bad one. Any comedy lot'" (255).
"As this dialogue progressed, Merton had felt more and more like a child in the presence of grave and knowing elders. They had seemed to forget him, to forget that the amazing contract just signed bore his name. He thought the Montague girl was taking a great deal upon herself. Her face, he noted, when she had stated terms to Baird, was the face she wore when risking a small bet at poker on a high hand. She seemed old, indeed. But he knew how he was going to make her feel younger. In his pocket was a gift of rare beauty, even if you couldn't run railway trains by it. And pretty things made a child of her" (277).
"But see what he does: he takes the good old reliable, sure-fire stuff and makes fun of it. I admit it's funny to start with, but what'll happen to us if the picture public ever finds that out? What'll we do then for drama--after they've learned to laugh at the old stuff?" (299).
"'I suppose you're right--something like that. And of course the real pathos is there. It has to be. There never was a great comedian without it, and this one is great. I admit that, and I admit all you say about our audience. I suppose we can't ever sell to 20 million people a day pictures that make any demand on the human intelligence. But couldn't we sell something better to one million--or a few thousand?'
The Governor dropped his cigarette end into the dregs of his coffee. 'We might,' he said, 'if we were endowed. As it is, to make pictures we must make money. To make money we must sell to the mob. And the mob reaches full mental bloom at the age of 15. It won't buy pictures the average child can't get.'
'Of course the art is in its infancy,' remarked Henshaw, discarding his own cigarette.
'Ours is the Peter Pan of the arts,' announced the Governor, as he rose.
'The Peter Pan of the arts--'
'Yes. I trust you recall the outstanding biological freakishness of Peter.'
'Oh!' replied Henshaw" (301).
"unspoken drama" (312).
"It was surely funny the way your mind would keep doing things you didn't want it to do" (147).
"He was of two minds about the girl now. Beneath an unreasonable but very genuine resentment that she should have doubled for Beulah Baxter--as if she had basely cheated him of his most cherished ideal--there ran an undercurrent of reluctant but very profound admiration for her prowess. She had done some thrilling things and seemed to make nothing of it. Through this admiration there ran also a thread of hostility because he, himself, would undoubtedly be afraid to attempt her lightest exploit. Not even the trifling feat he had just witnessed for he had never learned to swim" (171).
"Probably he, like Baird, was trying to do something distinctive and worth while" (209).
"I think it is very pathetic, his wanting to do the better things; it's fine of him" (239).
"He forebore to warn Baird of this, however, fearing to discourage a manager who was honestly striving for the serious in photodrama" (243).
"'Listen, boy--' she turned a sober face to him. 'the straight lots are fairly decent, but get this: a comedy lot is the toughest place this side of the bad one. Any comedy lot'" (255).
"As this dialogue progressed, Merton had felt more and more like a child in the presence of grave and knowing elders. They had seemed to forget him, to forget that the amazing contract just signed bore his name. He thought the Montague girl was taking a great deal upon herself. Her face, he noted, when she had stated terms to Baird, was the face she wore when risking a small bet at poker on a high hand. She seemed old, indeed. But he knew how he was going to make her feel younger. In his pocket was a gift of rare beauty, even if you couldn't run railway trains by it. And pretty things made a child of her" (277).
"But see what he does: he takes the good old reliable, sure-fire stuff and makes fun of it. I admit it's funny to start with, but what'll happen to us if the picture public ever finds that out? What'll we do then for drama--after they've learned to laugh at the old stuff?" (299).
"'I suppose you're right--something like that. And of course the real pathos is there. It has to be. There never was a great comedian without it, and this one is great. I admit that, and I admit all you say about our audience. I suppose we can't ever sell to 20 million people a day pictures that make any demand on the human intelligence. But couldn't we sell something better to one million--or a few thousand?'
The Governor dropped his cigarette end into the dregs of his coffee. 'We might,' he said, 'if we were endowed. As it is, to make pictures we must make money. To make money we must sell to the mob. And the mob reaches full mental bloom at the age of 15. It won't buy pictures the average child can't get.'
'Of course the art is in its infancy,' remarked Henshaw, discarding his own cigarette.
'Ours is the Peter Pan of the arts,' announced the Governor, as he rose.
'The Peter Pan of the arts--'
'Yes. I trust you recall the outstanding biological freakishness of Peter.'
'Oh!' replied Henshaw" (301).
"unspoken drama" (312).
April 24, 2020
I found this is be a sometimes amusing farce, other times a realistic depiction of the hard life of a Hollywood extra, and at still other times a touching light dramatic story. It's all told in compelling fashion, and one gets the feeling that the author had first hand knowledge of his subject.
November 12, 2020
Astoundingly funny and in no way hindered by its age. Wilson’s deadpan writing is Very Much My Shit™ and clearly the inspiration for many a humorist to succeed him. It’s also the reason, in my opinion, why every past and future attempt at a screen adaptation can’t help but flop. So much is lost.
September 23, 2011
Do not judge this book by the pretty bad Red Skelton movie. Wilson was one of P.J Wodehouse's favorite authors and they have a somewhat similar style or tone in writing.
February 3, 2012
Deliriously funny. I can see why Gertrude Stein lost her shit over this book.
February 18, 2013
Fun, satirical look at movie-making of the silent era. As well as the desire for fame. I enjoy Wilson's deadpan writing.
May 30, 2017
Simsbury, Illinois might just be a wide spot in the road, but twice a week, the Bijou Palace shows movies made in far-off Hollywood. Perhaps the most fanatical attendee of these showings is young Merton Gill, assistant shopkeeper at Gashwiler’s Emporium (general store.) Merton has studied these film stories carefully, subscribes to several photoplay magazines, and has taken a correspondence course in acting. (With a specialization in face journeys.) While ordinary folks only idly think of going to Hollywood to be in movies, Merton (aka Clifford Armytage) is going to actually do it!
This comedic novel is by the author of Ruggles of Red Gap and was originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1919. It was rapidly turned into a hit play, then released as a book in 1922. There have been three movie versions, the 1947 one starring Red Skelton.
Merton arrives in California at the height of the silent era, woefully unprepared for the realities of the movie business. He only wants to work for one studio, the ones that put out a Perils of Pauline style adventure serial starring his favorite actress, Beulah Baxter. An idealist, he hasn’t noticed how sanitized the magazine articles about the stars of Hollywood are. (One of the running gags is the stock phrases used in every interview.) For quite some time, he doesn’t even make it past the casting office’s waiting room.
While cooling his heels day after day, Merton becomes acquainted with (quite against his will) “Flips” Montague, a sassy, irreverent young woman who’s been in show business all her life. She’s not exactly film-heroine pretty, and far too familiar in her manner. Merton can’t quite fathom why she insists on acting as though they were warm acquaintances.
I should mention here that Merton has no sense of humor; he recognizes that such a thing as comedy exists, but doesn’t grok it. Slapstick, insults, wordplay, none of them seem funny to him, and he goes through life entirely seriously.
Finally, just as his monetary situation was looking grim, Merton gets a chance to be an extra in a cabaret scene. He’s supposed to be suffering from ennui due to the Blight of Broadway. As it happens, Merton is very uncomfortable in the scene, especially as he’s being forced to smoke cigarettes even though he detests the habit. This makes him look perfect for that scene, and Miss Montague takes notice.
After that, there’s a long dry spell until a day’s extra work gives Merton just enough money to choose between paying rent and eating. He chooses eating, then ingeniously uses the studio’s backlot resources to have shelter for the next week. Down to his last nickel, Merton is stunned to run into Flips again at her part-time job as stunt double for Beulah Baxter. (Ms. Baxter had claimed to do all her own stunts.) He’s even more stunned to learn that Beulah is married…for the third time.
Flips (who prefers not to use her given name of Sarah Nevada Montague) treats Merton to breakfast and learns his life story…and realizes she’s found a gold mine. She stakes Merton a couple of weeks rent, then contacts a director friend of hers. She and Mr. Baird agree on a plan. Merton will star in a movie, being told he’s playing a straight role, and not being allowed on the set for any scenes not involving his character.
Baird fibs to Merton that he wants to move up from comedy to serious films, and our hero buys it. Clifford Armytage is on the rise at last! Before the first film is released, Baird has Merton in a second movie with the same conditions. Merton does have some suspicions…if this is a serious movie, why is the notorious funnyman with the crossed eyes involved? But he puts them aside, after all he’s still a rookie and the director surely knows what he’s doing.
Shooting wrapped up, Baird signs Merton to a three-year exclusive contract (carefully looked over by Miss Montague.) Merton realizes he’s fallen in love with Flips, and she likes him a whole bunch too…but the first movie with Clifford Armytage as straight man in a slapstick comedy is about to hit theaters. Will this make Merton a star, or break his heart?
Good stuff: There are many genuinely funny bits, and it’s fascinating to have a window into the Hollywood of the silent era. There are things that are very much the same: Merton overhears as a worthy film idea is watered down and butchered to match what the moneymen think the audience wants, until the final product is unrecognizable. There’s also bewailing the intelligent movies that don’t get made because there’s no money in them.
Not so good: Period racism, sexism and ethnic prejudice. One of the standout lines here is “He knows all about money, even if he doesn’t keep Yom Kippur.” Flips is kind of an early version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope some folks are tired of. And there’s animal abuse by a film crew, true to the period.
Recommended to movie fans, especially those interested in the silent era.
This comedic novel is by the author of Ruggles of Red Gap and was originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1919. It was rapidly turned into a hit play, then released as a book in 1922. There have been three movie versions, the 1947 one starring Red Skelton.
Merton arrives in California at the height of the silent era, woefully unprepared for the realities of the movie business. He only wants to work for one studio, the ones that put out a Perils of Pauline style adventure serial starring his favorite actress, Beulah Baxter. An idealist, he hasn’t noticed how sanitized the magazine articles about the stars of Hollywood are. (One of the running gags is the stock phrases used in every interview.) For quite some time, he doesn’t even make it past the casting office’s waiting room.
While cooling his heels day after day, Merton becomes acquainted with (quite against his will) “Flips” Montague, a sassy, irreverent young woman who’s been in show business all her life. She’s not exactly film-heroine pretty, and far too familiar in her manner. Merton can’t quite fathom why she insists on acting as though they were warm acquaintances.
I should mention here that Merton has no sense of humor; he recognizes that such a thing as comedy exists, but doesn’t grok it. Slapstick, insults, wordplay, none of them seem funny to him, and he goes through life entirely seriously.
Finally, just as his monetary situation was looking grim, Merton gets a chance to be an extra in a cabaret scene. He’s supposed to be suffering from ennui due to the Blight of Broadway. As it happens, Merton is very uncomfortable in the scene, especially as he’s being forced to smoke cigarettes even though he detests the habit. This makes him look perfect for that scene, and Miss Montague takes notice.
After that, there’s a long dry spell until a day’s extra work gives Merton just enough money to choose between paying rent and eating. He chooses eating, then ingeniously uses the studio’s backlot resources to have shelter for the next week. Down to his last nickel, Merton is stunned to run into Flips again at her part-time job as stunt double for Beulah Baxter. (Ms. Baxter had claimed to do all her own stunts.) He’s even more stunned to learn that Beulah is married…for the third time.
Flips (who prefers not to use her given name of Sarah Nevada Montague) treats Merton to breakfast and learns his life story…and realizes she’s found a gold mine. She stakes Merton a couple of weeks rent, then contacts a director friend of hers. She and Mr. Baird agree on a plan. Merton will star in a movie, being told he’s playing a straight role, and not being allowed on the set for any scenes not involving his character.
Baird fibs to Merton that he wants to move up from comedy to serious films, and our hero buys it. Clifford Armytage is on the rise at last! Before the first film is released, Baird has Merton in a second movie with the same conditions. Merton does have some suspicions…if this is a serious movie, why is the notorious funnyman with the crossed eyes involved? But he puts them aside, after all he’s still a rookie and the director surely knows what he’s doing.
Shooting wrapped up, Baird signs Merton to a three-year exclusive contract (carefully looked over by Miss Montague.) Merton realizes he’s fallen in love with Flips, and she likes him a whole bunch too…but the first movie with Clifford Armytage as straight man in a slapstick comedy is about to hit theaters. Will this make Merton a star, or break his heart?
Good stuff: There are many genuinely funny bits, and it’s fascinating to have a window into the Hollywood of the silent era. There are things that are very much the same: Merton overhears as a worthy film idea is watered down and butchered to match what the moneymen think the audience wants, until the final product is unrecognizable. There’s also bewailing the intelligent movies that don’t get made because there’s no money in them.
Not so good: Period racism, sexism and ethnic prejudice. One of the standout lines here is “He knows all about money, even if he doesn’t keep Yom Kippur.” Flips is kind of an early version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope some folks are tired of. And there’s animal abuse by a film crew, true to the period.
Recommended to movie fans, especially those interested in the silent era.
December 20, 2024
3.7, rounded up.
An enjoyable read set in the silent film era, and also written back then, so it is in some ways an authentic portrayal of the time it is set, witnessed first-hand by the author.
Merton Gill is from small town Illinois and he is smitten by the movie industry. He is convinced that acting is his vocation, and after completing a two week correspondence course on acting, is now ready for the trip to Hollywood and stardom. He is a bit of a film snob as well, and has nothing but disdain for the lowbrow slapstick comedies that play at his hometown and please its audience.
He is ready for acting in serious drama, and only one studio, Holden Studios, will be good enough for him.
He finally arrives there with his savings, and learns that immediate stardom is not on the cards, no matter how much he may want it to be. He gets a few bit parts as an extra, but after that times are lean and his money has run out. He finds himself sleeping illegally on the studio backlot, and it comes to a point where starvation is near. Where to from here?
Well, he is lucky to meet a Miss Montague, who will eventually get him into bigger roles and even the "big time". But Merton is a gullible small town hick, easily duped. His attempts at serious acting are so bad, as witnessed on some early film takes, that it has lost its dramatic value and is treated as comedy instead. Unknown to him, Miss Montague and a director plan to star Merton in slapstick comedy, just the sort of film he had decried and would never willingly appear in.
The goal being let Merton think he is appearing as a serious actor but is instead going to be in a lowbrow comedy made for cheap laughs. It will be easy to deceive him.
This is basically it. The book is amusing, and covers the process of movie making in great detail, some will think excessively so. The author sends up the phoniness of the movie industry, the big stars not doing their own stunts - which disappointed gullible Merton.
The sugar-coated, phony magazine profiles of the actors are amusingly portrayed, the stars, of course, are nothing in real life like their profiles suggest. And the directors and writers creating the corny, cliched plots for their forthcoming movies. All well satirized by the author.
The reader will want to read to the end and find what Merton will do when he finds he has been duped by the Hollywood crowd. At least I did. Will he eventually play along with things or throw it all away and go back to what's-its-name in Illinois?
This must be one of the very first fiction books to have been written about the movie industry. If not THE first. Serialized, then published in book form in 1922. It might be a bit longer than it needs to be, but it's still an enjoyable read and worth your time. As far as I know, it has always remained in print.
An enjoyable read set in the silent film era, and also written back then, so it is in some ways an authentic portrayal of the time it is set, witnessed first-hand by the author.
Merton Gill is from small town Illinois and he is smitten by the movie industry. He is convinced that acting is his vocation, and after completing a two week correspondence course on acting, is now ready for the trip to Hollywood and stardom. He is a bit of a film snob as well, and has nothing but disdain for the lowbrow slapstick comedies that play at his hometown and please its audience.
He is ready for acting in serious drama, and only one studio, Holden Studios, will be good enough for him.
He finally arrives there with his savings, and learns that immediate stardom is not on the cards, no matter how much he may want it to be. He gets a few bit parts as an extra, but after that times are lean and his money has run out. He finds himself sleeping illegally on the studio backlot, and it comes to a point where starvation is near. Where to from here?
Well, he is lucky to meet a Miss Montague, who will eventually get him into bigger roles and even the "big time". But Merton is a gullible small town hick, easily duped. His attempts at serious acting are so bad, as witnessed on some early film takes, that it has lost its dramatic value and is treated as comedy instead. Unknown to him, Miss Montague and a director plan to star Merton in slapstick comedy, just the sort of film he had decried and would never willingly appear in.
The goal being let Merton think he is appearing as a serious actor but is instead going to be in a lowbrow comedy made for cheap laughs. It will be easy to deceive him.
This is basically it. The book is amusing, and covers the process of movie making in great detail, some will think excessively so. The author sends up the phoniness of the movie industry, the big stars not doing their own stunts - which disappointed gullible Merton.
The sugar-coated, phony magazine profiles of the actors are amusingly portrayed, the stars, of course, are nothing in real life like their profiles suggest. And the directors and writers creating the corny, cliched plots for their forthcoming movies. All well satirized by the author.
The reader will want to read to the end and find what Merton will do when he finds he has been duped by the Hollywood crowd. At least I did. Will he eventually play along with things or throw it all away and go back to what's-its-name in Illinois?
This must be one of the very first fiction books to have been written about the movie industry. If not THE first. Serialized, then published in book form in 1922. It might be a bit longer than it needs to be, but it's still an enjoyable read and worth your time. As far as I know, it has always remained in print.
January 31, 2025
Satire in Hollywood.
🖊 What a funny, funny book! The plot carried me right to the glorious end. This was good satire in a town that is rotten to its core. I enjoyed it.
📕Published – 1922.
જ⁀🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenburg.
જ⁀🟣 Kindle.
⬛️ 1922 stage play version written by George S Kaufman and Marc Connelly.
🎥1924 movie, Merton of the Movies. Considered a lost film.
🎥1927 movie, Polly of the Movies.
🎥1932 movie, Make Me a Star, a remake of the 1924 movie.
🎥1947 movie, Merton of the Movies. Starring Red Skelton.
🎥1923 movie, Mary of the Movies.
༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻ ༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻
My rating breakdown:
Plot: ★★★★★
Content: ★★★★★
Grammar: ★★★★★
Writing style: ★★★★★
Ease of reading: ★★★★★
My recommendation: ★★★★★
My total rating for this work: ★★★★★ (5.0)
🖊 What a funny, funny book! The plot carried me right to the glorious end. This was good satire in a town that is rotten to its core. I enjoyed it.
📕Published – 1922.
જ⁀🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenburg.
જ⁀🟣 Kindle.
⬛️ 1922 stage play version written by George S Kaufman and Marc Connelly.
🎥1924 movie, Merton of the Movies. Considered a lost film.
🎥1927 movie, Polly of the Movies.
🎥1932 movie, Make Me a Star, a remake of the 1924 movie.
🎥1947 movie, Merton of the Movies. Starring Red Skelton.
🎥1923 movie, Mary of the Movies.
༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻ ༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻
My rating breakdown:
Plot: ★★★★★
Content: ★★★★★
Grammar: ★★★★★
Writing style: ★★★★★
Ease of reading: ★★★★★
My recommendation: ★★★★★
My total rating for this work: ★★★★★ (5.0)
November 10, 2018
Very old, but still hilarious.
August 27, 2019
Urgently required: a literary editor!
Nice idea, good writing, would be excellent in 40-60 pages. Instead, it drags on for 335 pages. A good editor would have cut 85%-90% of the babble.
Nice idea, good writing, would be excellent in 40-60 pages. Instead, it drags on for 335 pages. A good editor would have cut 85%-90% of the babble.
April 15, 2021
a california classic! p sure it was the first comedy to be written about hollywood. so good! he has to sleep on the studio lot between jobs and like ?? the dream kinda
May 29, 2021
The first Hollywood novel...? Pretty darn funny and a lens into the backlots and "painted shadows"of the early studios.
February 16, 2015
Absolutely priceless. Merton (or the Feckless Gubb, as his girlfriend calls him) is a 1919 version of Dustin's Dojo. This book is a charming satire, adventure, and time capsule all rolled into one and I was giggling all the way through.
May 26, 2008
I found this book in Big Sur. For any movie buff of the silent era, this is a great look at what breaking into the movies back then was like. I enjoyed the dialogue and the characters a lot.
Want to read
July 30, 2014Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3472/3...
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews