Ever since its debut in the Saturday Evening Post in 1919, Merton of the Movies has delighted book and film lovers alike and is considered one of the first real Hollywood novels. It follows the story of Merton Gill, a small-town Midwestern man immersed in Hollywood dreams. Filled with lighthearted film parodies, glimpses into a bygone Hollywood era, and a likable main character, it is easy to understand why Merton of the Movies inspired an often revived Broadway play, several films (including one starring Red Skelton), and a brand new radio play. It was included in Lawrence Clark Powell’s famous list of thirty California classics.
Merton of the Movies
An indictment of Hollywood and the fans who create it
Reviews
“Merton is the work of a craftsman in loving control of his material and its form. Behind the false fronts, the fun and games, and the hyperbole, there is an indictment of Hollywood and the fans who create it that has never been bettered.”
—Lawrence Clark Powell, in California Classics: The Creative Literature of the Golden State
