''Merton of the Movies'' is a comic novel by

Harry Leon Wilson Harry Leon Wilson (May 1, 1867 – June 28, 1939) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' and '' Merton of the Movies''. Another of his works, ''Bunker Bean'', helped popularize the term "flapper". ...

. 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 and published as a book in 1922. Thomas Hischak described ''Merton of the Movies'' as a "light-hearted romp" with characters "cartoonish but endearing". According to American novelist

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

, ''Merton of the Movies'' is "the best description of America that has ever been done". The novel sold millions of copies and has been adapted to other media several times.

Premise and plot

Small-town bumpkin Merton Gill fantasizes about joining the glamorous world of silent films, and takes a

correspondence school Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

course in acting. He travels to Hollywood, where he is disillusioned by the foibles of his screen idols. He is befriended by comedienne and stuntwoman Flips Montague, who helps him land a bit part, which he bungles so badly with his comically inept acting that the studio is inspired to use him for comedy. Gill becomes a comedy star, delivering lines that he thinks are serious straight drama.

Adaptions

*'' Merton of the Movies'', a 1922 Broadway play by George S. Kaufmann and Marc Connelly *'' Merton of the Movies'', a 1924 film, now lost *'' Make Me a Star'', a 1932 film *''Merton of the Movies'', a November 17, 1941 ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' one-hour

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

, starring Mickey Rooney and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

*'' Merton of the Movies'', a 1947 film starring Red Skelton *''Merton of the Movies'', a June 20, 1949 ''Lux Radio Theatre'' one-hour

, starring Mickey Rooney and

Arlene Dahl Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925 – November 29, 2021) was an American actress active in films from the late 1940s. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema era. She was also an author and entrepreneur. Sh ...

*''Merton of the Movies'', a 1977 musical by

Gary William Friedman Gary William Friedman is an American musical theatre, symphonic, film and television composer. His career began in the 1960s in New York City as a saxophonist in an improvisational ensemble and as a composer for experimental theater. Friedman's ...

(composer),

Robert Lorick Robert Lorick (died January 2016) was a lyricist, actor, and writer, best known as a Broadway lyricist and for his work portraying Jack Flanders, the lead character in a series of ZBS Foundation audio adventures produced from 1972 until Lorick's ...

(lyrics), and

Mel Shapiro Mel Shapiro is an American theatre director and writer, college professor, and author. Trained at Carnegie-Mellon University, Shapiro began his professional directing career at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and then as resident director at Arena Stage i ...

and

Sam Bobrick Sam Bobrick (July 24, 1932 – October 11, 2019) was an American author, playwright, television writer, and lyricist. Early life Bobrick was born to a Jewish family in Chicago on July 24, 1932. His father was a storekeeper and his mother worke ...

(book), which never made Broadway but was produced in 1985 at Carnegie Mellon University. *''Merton of the Movies'', a 2011 musical by Donald Brenner and

Doug Katsaros Doug Katsaros is an American keyboardist, arranger, composer, and conductor. Biography In 1978 he played on Paul Stanley's debut album, followed by working on albums by Richie Havens, Michael Bolton, Arc Angel, Bon Jovi and his band Balance ...

which has not been produced but has been stage read

References

External links

*{{librivox book , title=Merton of the Movies, author=Wilson American comedy novels 1922 American novels American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into plays Hollywood novels

Premise and plot

Adaptions

References

Further reading

External links