''Mary of the Movies'' is a 1923 American silent semi-autobiographical

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film based on the career of

Marion Mack Joey Marion McCreery Lewyn (April 8, 1902–May 1, 1989), known professionally as Marion Mack, was an American film actress and screenwriter. Mack is best known for co-starring with Buster Keaton in the 1926 silent comedy film, '' The General ...

. It was written by Mack and her husband Louis Lewyn, and stars Mack and

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

. Hale and director John McDermott play fictionalized versions of themselves in the film, which was also directed by McDermott. It was produced by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

and distributed by Film Booking Offices. A partial print of the film exists in

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (Operating name for The New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua Me Ngā Taonga Kōrero.) is an archive that was launched on 31 July 2014, following the completion of a three-year process ...

Production

It was shot at the

Sunset Gower Studios Sunset Gower Studios is a television and movie studio at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, California. Established in 1912, it continues today as Hollywood's largest independent studio and an active facility for telev ...

Plot

Mary (Mack), a country girl, moves to Hollywood to become a star, and earn money to pay for her brother's operation. She meets many famous stars, but has difficulty getting work. Finally, she gets a break when her resemblance to a star leads to her being cast in a film.

Cast

;Principals ;Celebrity cameos

Reception

The film received good reviews, and did well at the box office. It was deemed better than a similar film released the same year, '' Hollywood''.

References

External links

* * *{{AFI film, 10675 1923 comedy films 1923 films American black-and-white films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films Columbia Pictures films 1920s English-language films Film Booking Offices of America films Films set in Los Angeles Films about filmmaking Films directed by John McDermott 1920s American films