The Matinee Idol

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.

Top Billed Cast

Bessie Love

Ginger Bolivar

Johnnie Walker

Don Wilson - aka Harry Mann

Ernest Hilliard

Arnold Wingate

Lionel Belmore

Jasper Bolivar

David Mir

Eric Barrymaine