CinemaOSMovie · 1928 · 0h 56m · NR

The Matinee Idol

Here's a real comedy of the theater, which takes you behind the scenes of a thrilling melodrama and shows you how they acted in the old ten-twenty-thirties. You'll learn how to make love and say nice things to your sweetheart.

66%(19)IMDbRomanceComedy

The famous matinee idol and blackface comedian, Don Wilson, heads out of town to escape adulation. There, calling himself Harry Mann, he accidentally joins a traveling acting troupe, and falls in love with Ginger Bolivar, who runs the troupe and stars in their Civil War melodrama. Don's producer sees the play, and thinks it's a comic masterpiece, and just what Don's Broadway show needs. But when Ginger finds out she's been played for a fool, will she forgive Don? Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. in 1997.

Directed byFrank Capra

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
0h 56m
Language
EN
Released
March 14, 1928
Studios
Columbia Pictures

Featuring

Cast & crew

9 credited
Starring
Bessie Love

Bessie Love

Ginger Bolivar

Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker

Don Wilson - aka Harry Mann

Ernest Hilliard

Ernest Hilliard

Arnold Wingate

Lionel Belmore

Lionel Belmore

Jasper Bolivar

David Mir

Eric Barrymaine

Joe Bordeaux

Auditoning Actor (uncredited)

Sidney Bracey

Sidney Bracey

Don's Valet (uncredited)

Sidney D'Albrook

Sidney D'Albrook

J. Madison Wilberforce (uncredited)

Mary Gordon

Mary Gordon

Woman in Audience (uncredited)

Creative team
Directed by
Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Written by
Robert Lord
Ernest Pagano
Produced by
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Frank Capra
Frank Capra

Keep watching

More like this

A Grand Day Out7.5

A Grand Day Out

1990 · Film

The Wrong Trousers7.8

The Wrong Trousers

1993 · Film

A Close Shave7.6

A Close Shave

1996 · Film

M*A*S*H6.9

M*A*S*H

1970 · Film

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans7.8

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

1927 · Film

He Comes Up Smiling5.5

He Comes Up Smiling

1918 · Film

The Misfits7.0

The Misfits

1961 · Film

Miracle on 34th Street7.4

Miracle on 34th Street

1947 · Film

The Sound of Music7.7

The Sound of Music

1965 · Film

Bambi Meets Godzilla6.5

Bambi Meets Godzilla

1969 · Film

Leave Her to Heaven7.5

Leave Her to Heaven

1945 · Film

Spider Baby6.8

Spider Baby

1967 · Film

Wings7.2

Wings

1927 · Film

The Circus7.9

The Circus

1928 · Film

The Crimson Kimono6.6

The Crimson Kimono

1959 · Film

Harlem on the Prairie7.5

Harlem on the Prairie

1937 · Film

Guard Dog6.3

Guard Dog

2004 · Film

Three Daughters7.6

Three Daughters

1961 · Film

The Mark of Zorro7.2

The Mark of Zorro

1920 · Film

Adam6.3

Adam

1992 · Film

Picked for you

Recommended movies

Let's Make Love6.4

Let's Make Love

1960 · Film

Christmas with You5.9

Christmas with You

2022 · Film

What's Love Got to Do with It?6.1

What's Love Got to Do with It?

2023 · Film

Relative Values6.1

Relative Values

2000 · Film

The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure6.1

The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure

2010 · Film

Love Is in the Air6.2

Love Is in the Air

2023 · Film

Road to Singapore6.4

Road to Singapore

1940 · Film

This Little Love of Mine6.1

This Little Love of Mine

2021 · Film

How to Marry a Millionaire6.8

How to Marry a Millionaire

1953 · Film

Easy Virtue6.5

Easy Virtue

2008 · Film

Desk Set7.0

Desk Set

1957 · Film

Good Advice5.9

Good Advice

2001 · Film

Silk Stockings6.9

Silk Stockings

1957 · Film

Whisky Galore5.9

Whisky Galore

2016 · Film

What a Way to Go!7.1

What a Way to Go!

1964 · Film

The Cheap Detective6.4

The Cheap Detective

1978 · Film

Girl on a Bicycle5.9

Girl on a Bicycle

2013 · Film

It's Always Fair Weather7.0

It's Always Fair Weather

1955 · Film

I Love You Again7.2

I Love You Again

1940 · Film

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer6.9

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

1947 · Film