The Matinee Idol
6.9
“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.”
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.
Your rating
Your review
Cast
9 people
Bessie Love
Ginger Bolivar
Known for
The Lost World
The Broadway Melody
Johnnie Walker
Don Wilson - aka Harry Mann
Also in
So This Is Love
Captain Fly-by-Night
Ernest Hilliard
Arnold Wingate
Also in
The Soul of a Monster
The Silent Hero
Lionel Belmore
Jasper Bolivar
Known for
Frankenstein
The Vampire Bat
David Mir
Eric Barrymaine
Also in
La Bohème
Bringing Up Father
Joe Bordeaux
Auditoning Actor (uncredited)
Known for
Coney Island
The Butcher Boy
Sidney Bracey
Don's Valet (uncredited)
Known for
The Cameraman
Show People
Sidney D'Albrook
J. Madison Wilberforce (uncredited)
Known for
The King of Kings
Mary Gordon
Woman in Audience (uncredited)
Known for
Bride of Frankenstein
Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
Frank Capra Director · Robert Lord Story Ernest Pagano Story
United States release March 14, 1928 · Produced in United States · Languages English, No dialogue
Production
Columbia Pictures
Production · Studio
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · No dialogue
Release dates
United States · March 14, 1928
Theatrical
More from Frank Capra
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked The Matinee Idol
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.