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The Matinee Idol

“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.”

1928 · 56 min
Directed by Frank Capra · USA · Classical Hollywood
RomanceComedy

Where to watch in the United States: Stream: fuboTV · Free: Fawesome, The Roku Channel, Tubi TV · Rent: Amazon Video · Buy: Amazon Video. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; availability changes.

Cast

Bessie Love Johnnie Walker Ernest Hilliard Lionel Belmore David Mir Joe Bordeaux

Credits

Written by: Robert Lord

Plot

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.

Sinekatalog’s take

An early Capra comedy about a vain stage star who hides among a shabby touring troupe and finds love there. It leans on backstage farce and mistaken identity, and its period humour shows its age. A curiosity for silent-comedy fans rather than a polished showpiece.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

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Ratings

IMDb: 6.9 / 10 (707 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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