Except that it's more gentle and lighthearted than wickedly satirical, Show People can be thought of as the The Player of the silent era. Much like Altman did with that film, director King Vidor packs in as many celebrity cameos as he could and also used footage of prominent Hollywood landmarks, to paint a portrait of the glamor of the city. The story begins breezily, with a blustery colonel from Georgia taking his daughter to Hollywood and granting the big movie studios the honor of casting her in movies.

Her career takes off, but not quite in the way she envisioned, and when she gets what she wants, that isn't how she envisioned it either. Marion Davies is excellent as the girl, particularly in one great moment when she makes fun of herself.