Harry Leon Wilson

Merton of the Movies Harry Leon Wilson

Merton Gill is no ordinary man -- being hardly Merton Gill at all, but rather the romantic and popular idol of the silver screen -- Clifford Armytage! -- starring in his great role as the prairie-ranging, villain-busting hero Buck Benson.

Or, rather, whoever he is -- Merton, Clifford, or Buck -- he is an ordinary man, walking down through the heart of tiny Simsbury, past the drugstore and hostel, and then waiting in line at the post office for his mail, consisting of three magazines: Photo Land, Silver Screenings, and Camera.

He dreams, and unlike his fellow townsfolk he sees no reason to dream small . . . although there is one other like him, here: Tessie Kearns, the lone soul in Simsbury who understands him. However far away Hollywood might be, she, too, dreams of finding her way there, as a scenario writer.

A hit by novelist and playwright Harry Leon Wilson (1867-1939), Merton of the Movies captivated its American audience when it appeared the printed page -- and again when it hit the silver screen, in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production featuring Red Skelton and Virginia O'Brien.