Merton of the Movies is a comic novel by Harry Leon Wilson. It was adapted into a stage play and three films. Wilson, a writer and novelist, wrote the book after a brief stint in Hollywood. Merton of the Movies was published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1919[1] and published as a book in 1922. Thomas Hischak described Merton of the Movies as a "light-hearted romp" with characters "cartoonish but endearing".[2] According to American novelist Gertrude Stein, Merton of the Movies is "the best description of America that has ever been done".[3] The novel sold millions of copies[2] and has been adapted to other media several times.