Anyone who loves film should see this one! This is that great rarity- a silent movie loved by people who don't like silent movies. It's a comedy about Hollywood, the people who work in it, and its effect on their personal lives. Marion Davies and Billy Haines are two youngsters who crash into movies; she becomes a lah-de-dah dramatic star, he gets stuck in Keystone-style slapstick. Their personal lives nearly come apart as Davies tries to live up to her studio image, and as Haines tries to get her to maintain a sense of proportion about the Hollywood scene.

As Hollywood veterans, both actors knew the subject very well- they both had images terribly at odds with their personal lives. Their acting in the film ranges from the liveliest slapstick imaginable to a glowing, loving friendship that couldn't possibly be acting at all. The look at 1928 Hollywood is a delight; we're shown everything from Hollywood Boulevard to the inside of M-G-M itself. Three bits are not to be missed: Davies' lampoon of Gloria Swanson at her hoitiest and toitiest, director King Vidor's cameo as himself,and the famous shot of Davies having lunch in the M-G-M commissary. As the camera pans around the circular table, we get to see a million dollars worth of 1928 movie talent, from Douglas Fairbanks to Mae Murray, to Dane and Arthur. If you only watch one silent in your whole movie-going career, this should be it. You'll come away with a great sense of how much all the participants in this film adored their work, and Hollywood, and each other- their love for what they were doing is fresh and undimmed, three-quarters of a century later. If you haven't seen 'Show People', you just aren't serious about film!