| Show People | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lobby card | |
| Directed by | King Vidor |
| Written by | Agnes Christine Johnston (treatment) Laurence Stallings (treatment) Wanda Tuchock (continuity) Ralph Spence (titles) |
| Produced by | Marion Davies King Vidor Irving Thalberg (uncredited) |
| Starring | Marion Davies William Haines |
| Cinematography | John Arnold |
| Edited by | Hugh Wynn |
| Music by | William Axt (uncredited) |
Production company | Cosmopolitan Productions (uncredited) |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Sound film (Synchronized) English intertitles |
| Budget | $431,000[1] |
Show People is a 1928 American synchronized sound 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 process. 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 talking picture 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.[2]
- ^ Slide, Anthony. Silent Topics: Essays on Undocumented Areas of Silent Film. Scarecrow Press. p 26
- ^ "Berlinale 2020: Retrospective "King Vidor"". Berlinale. Retrieved February 28, 2020.