Merton of the Movies |
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| Author:
| Wilson, Harry Leon |
| Introduction by:
| Lutz, Tom |
| Foreword by:
| Jouhari, Mitra |
| Series title: | LARB Classics Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-1-940660-60-8 |
| Publication Date: | Nov 2019 |
| Publisher: | Los Angeles Review of Books
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $16.00 |
Book Description:
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Merton of the Movies, which Gertrude Stein called "the best book about 20th century American youth," follows midwestern bumpkin Merton Gill's unlikely journey from a Kansas stockroom to the star-studded set of a silent film. Unfortunately, the actors he's idolized from afar lose their luster up close, which fuels his desire to become a dramatic leading man -- not some slapstick fool. By a stroke of luck, Merton lands a gig as an extra. His natural oafishness catches the eye...
More DescriptionMerton of the Movies, which Gertrude Stein called "the best book about 20th century American youth," follows midwestern bumpkin Merton Gill's unlikely journey from a Kansas stockroom to the star-studded set of a silent film. Unfortunately, the actors he's idolized from afar lose their luster up close, which fuels his desire to become a dramatic leading man -- not some slapstick fool. By a stroke of luck, Merton lands a gig as an extra. His natural oafishness catches the eye ofstuntwoman Flips Montague, and before long he's a comic star -- the only problem is, it's all a spoof, and he doesn't know it.First published in 1919 in the Saturday Evening Post, and adapted three times to film and once as a Broadway musical, Harry Leon Wilson's cartoonish tale has earned its place as an essential California classic. This freewheeling romp gets to the heart of any Angeleno's worst nightmare: what if I'm not in on the joke?