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Cast: Joan Blondell, Stuart Erwin, Zasu Pitts, Ruth Donnelly, Ben Turpin
Genre: Drama Comedy Romance
Length: 86 minutes
A simple store clerk and big dreamer, Merton Gill, has big plans to become a cowboy movie actor. When he gets fired from his job for slacking, he heads to Hollywood to find fame and fortune. There he finds out he can't act and he can't get a job.
This is the first 'talkie' film based on the novel Merton of the Movies, which would latter become a play, then a silent film...and finally remade as Merton of the Movies (1947), which I just reviewed.
Make Me a Star is my type of movie! I found it much more engaging and emotional than the 1947 version with Red Skelton. At times Make Me a Star is heart breaking as we watch poor Merton digging through the garbage trying to find a meal. This was made during the Depression era with themes of a down and out guy struggling to survive, while trying to maintain his dream. This is something the average film goer could relate to in 1932.
Joan Blondell, who's a favorite of mine, really gets to shine and do what she does best...playing brassy but sweet roles. She has a heart of gold in this film and as always, comes off as genuine.
Many top Paramount stars of the day are seen in brief cameos as they walk around the fictional movie studio, such as: Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Tallulah Bankhead, Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, and Sylvia Sidney.
I loved this film, I doubt many here would but I sure did. It's sweet, it's heartbreaking, it's romantic and it provides an actually look at a Hollywood studio in the early 1930s.
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Make Me a Star (1932)
Director: William BeaudineCast: Joan Blondell, Stuart Erwin, Zasu Pitts, Ruth Donnelly, Ben Turpin
Genre: Drama Comedy Romance
Length: 86 minutes
A simple store clerk and big dreamer, Merton Gill, has big plans to become a cowboy movie actor. When he gets fired from his job for slacking, he heads to Hollywood to find fame and fortune. There he finds out he can't act and he can't get a job.
This is the first 'talkie' film based on the novel Merton of the Movies, which would latter become a play, then a silent film...and finally remade as Merton of the Movies (1947), which I just reviewed.
Make Me a Star is my type of movie! I found it much more engaging and emotional than the 1947 version with Red Skelton. At times Make Me a Star is heart breaking as we watch poor Merton digging through the garbage trying to find a meal. This was made during the Depression era with themes of a down and out guy struggling to survive, while trying to maintain his dream. This is something the average film goer could relate to in 1932.
Joan Blondell, who's a favorite of mine, really gets to shine and do what she does best...playing brassy but sweet roles. She has a heart of gold in this film and as always, comes off as genuine.
Many top Paramount stars of the day are seen in brief cameos as they walk around the fictional movie studio, such as: Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Tallulah Bankhead, Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, and Sylvia Sidney.
I loved this film, I doubt many here would but I sure did. It's sweet, it's heartbreaking, it's romantic and it provides an actually look at a Hollywood studio in the early 1930s.
+