Merton of the Movies

Merton of the Movies

RED SKELTON'S HOWLING HIT ABOUT HOLLYWOOD!

NR 1947 · 82 min · ★ 6.3 · Comedy, Romance

In 1915, Kansas theatre usher Merton Gill is a rabid silent-movie fan. When he brings Mammoth Studios free publicity by imitating star Lawrence Rupert's heroics, they bring him to Hollywood to generate another headline; he thinks he'll get a movie contract. Disillusioned, he haunts the casting offices, where he meets and is consoled by Phyllis Montague, bit player and stunt-woman. When Merton finally gets his "break," though, it's not quite what he envisioned.

Directed by Robert Alton · Written by George Wells

Your Rating

Cast

Red Skelton Merton Gill aka Clifford Armytage
Virginia O'Brien Phyllis Montague
Gloria Grahame Beulah Baxter
Leon Ames Lawrence Rupert
Alan Mowbray Frank Mulvaney
Charles D. Brown Jeff Baird
Hugo Haas Von Strutt - Director
Harry Hayden Mr. Gashwiler
Tom Trout Marty
Douglas Fowley Phil
Dick Wessel Chick
Morris Ankrum Goodfellow's Club Manager (uncredited)

Make it a double feature

3h 5m together

Merton of the Movies

Easter Parade

Both from Robert Alton.

More from Robert AltonSee all →

White Christmas

White Christmas · 1954

White Christmas

MovieComedyMusic

Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.

Easter Parade

Easter Parade · 1948

MovieRomanceMusic

On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protege Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.

The Country Girl

The Country Girl · 1954

The Country Girl

An actor on the skids is given one more chance to regain his stardom, as well as his self-respect, yet his alcoholism may prevent that from happening.

The Harvey Girls

The Harvey Girls · 1946

The Harvey Girls

MovieMusicWestern

On a train trip out west to become a mail-order bride, Susan Bradley meets a cheery crew of young women traveling out to open a "Harvey House" restaurant at a remote whistle-stop.

You'll Never Get Rich

You'll Never Get Rich · 1941

You'll Never Get Rich

MovieComedyMusic

A Broadway choreographer gets drafted and coincidentally ends up in the same army base as the boyfriend of his object of affection.

Two-Faced Woman

Two-Faced Woman · 1941

Two-Faced Woman

MovieComedyRomance

A woman pretends to be her own twin sister to win back her straying husband.

Call Me Madam

Call Me Madam · 1953

MovieComedyRomance

Washington hostess Sally Adams becomes a Truman-era US ambassador to a European grand duchy.

I Love Melvin

I Love Melvin · 1953

MovieComedyRomance

Melvin Hoover, a budding photographer for Look magazine, accidentally bumps into a young actress named Judy LeRoy in the park. They start to talk, and Melvin soon offers to do a photo spread of her. His boss, however, has no intention of using the photos. Melvin wants to marry Judy, but her father would rather she marry dull and dependable Harry Black. As a last resort, Melvin promises to get Judy's photo on the cover of the next issue of Look, a task easier said than done.

There's No Business Like Show Business

There's No Business Like Show Business · 1954

There's No Business Like Show Business

MovieMusicComedy

Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Youngest son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.

Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies · 1945

Ziegfeld Follies

MovieMusicComedy

The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.

Bathing Beauty

Bathing Beauty · 1944

MovieMusicComedy

After breaking up with her fiancé, a gym teacher returns to work at a women's college, but a legal loophole allows him to enroll as one of her students.

The Belle of New York

The Belle of New York · 1952

The Belle of New York

MovieMusicRomance

In squeaky-clean New York at the turn of the century, playboy Charlie Hill falls so much in love that he can walk on air. The object of his affections is beautiful Angela Bonfils, a mission house worker in the Bowery. He promises to reform his dissolute life, even trying to do an honest day's work.

Pagan Love Song

Pagan Love Song · 1950

Pagan Love Song

MovieDramaMusic

Island girl Mimi plans to leave Tahiti, but maybe she'll have a reason to stay when Mr. Endicott arrives.

The Girl Rush

The Girl Rush · 1955

MovieComedyMusic

When her compulsive-gambler father dies, leaving her with an inheritance that amounts to zip, single gal Kim Halliday jumps at a caller's claim that she's part-owner of a Las Vegas "hotel." But hilarity ensues when she flies to Sin City to see it. While a wealthy casino owner eyes her dilapidated property, she takes a chance and tries to sell it to an hotelier's wealthy son.

More Like This

Notting Hill

Notting Hill · 1999

MovieRomanceComedy

London bookstore owner William Thacker's quiet life turns upside down when a chance encounter with famous actress Anna Scott sparks an unlikely romance challenged by their vastly different worlds.

Ed Wood

Ed Wood · 1994

MovieComedyDrama

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood · 2019

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

MovieComedyDrama

Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…

To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be · 1983

To Be or Not to Be

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born · 1937

MovieDramaRomance

Esther Blodgett is just another starry-eyed farm kid trying to break into the movies. Waitressing at a Hollywood party, she catches the eye of her idol Norman Maine, is sent for a screen test, and before long attains stardom as newly minted Vicki Lester. She and Norman marry, though his career soon dwindles to nothing due to his chronic alcoholism.

Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise · 1945

Children of Paradise

MovieDramaRomance

In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.

10 Items or Less

10 Items or Less · 2006

10 Items or Less

MovieComedyDrama

An actor who is considering the role of a supermarket manager arrives at a grocery store on the outskirts of Los Angeles to do some field research. He subsequently becomes stranded, without a car or cell phone, and accepts a ride home with Scarlet, a cashier who is about to interview for a new job. The actor rediscovers the essence of his craft while helping Scarlet gain the confidence she needs to change her life.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Who Framed Roger Rabbit · 1988

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

MovieFantasyAnimation

Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder · 2008

A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. When budgets skyrocket and schedules fall far behind, the director tries to save the production by leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they inadvertently encounter real danger.

A Cock and Bull Story

A Cock and Bull Story · 2005

A Cock and Bull Story

MovieComedyHistory

Steve Coogan, an arrogant actor with low self-esteem and a complicated love life, is playing the eponymous role in an adaptation of "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" being filmed at a stately home. He constantly spars with actor Rob Brydon, who is playing Uncle Toby and believes his role to be of equal importance to Coogan's.

¡Three Amigos!

¡Three Amigos! · 1986

¡Three Amigos!

MovieComedyWestern

A trio of unemployed silent film actors are mistaken for real heroes by a small Mexican village in search of someone to stop a malevolent bandit.

Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation · 2003

Lost in Translation

MovieDramaComedy

Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.

Stuck on You

Stuck on You · 2003

In Martha's Vineyard, Mass., conjoined twins Walt and Bob Tenor make the best of their handicap by being the fastest grill cooks in town. While outgoing Walt hopes to one day become a famous actor, shy Bob prefers to stay out of the spotlight. When a fading Hollywood actress, Cher, decides to get her show "Honey and the Beaze" cancelled, she hires Walt -- and his brotherly appendage -- as her costars. But their addition surprisingly achieves the opposite.

Tootsie

Tootsie · 1982

MovieComedyRomance

When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego—Dorothy Michaels—in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.

Moon Over Parador

Moon Over Parador · 1988

Moon Over Parador

MovieComedyRomance

Underappreciated actor Jack Noah is on location in Parador at the time the dictator dies. The dictator's right-hand man makes Jack an offer he cannot refuse... to play the dictator. Jack's acting skills fool the masses but not close friends and employees of the dictator.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter