Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Film / ExitSmiling

Go To

OR

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c6266a93_1cdd_40db_9650_233278770d6f.jpeg]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
How To Create A Works Page explicitly says "No bolding is used for work titles."


'''''Exit Smiling''''' is a 1926 comedy directed by Sam Taylor, starring Beatrice Lillie. Violet is a member of a theater troupe that criss-crosses the country performing a cheesy melodrama called "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts". Violet is the servant of the troupe, left to do scut work like washing and ironing, allowed to play the maid in the play as she does in real life, but dreaming of playing a bigger part. One day Jimmy Marsh (Jack Pickford, Mary's brother), who had to leave his podunk town of East Farnham suddenly under mysterious circumstances, boards the train carrying Violet's troupe. Violet falls in love with Jimmy--and when the troupe happens to stop in East Farnham to perform their play, Violet gets a chance to prove her love for Jimmy.

to:

'''''Exit Smiling''''' ''Exit Smiling'' is a 1926 comedy directed by Sam Taylor, starring Beatrice Lillie. Violet is a member of a theater troupe that criss-crosses the country performing a cheesy melodrama called "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts". Violet is the servant of the troupe, left to do scut work like washing and ironing, allowed to play the maid in the play as she does in real life, but dreaming of playing a bigger part. One day Jimmy Marsh (Jack Pickford, Mary's brother), who had to leave his podunk town of East Farnham suddenly under mysterious circumstances, boards the train carrying Violet's troupe. Violet falls in love with Jimmy--and when the troupe happens to stop in East Farnham to perform their play, Violet gets a chance to prove her love for Jimmy.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* EnforcedMethodActing: Violet holds an onion under Jimmy's face to get him to cry, when Jimmy is auditioning for a part in the troupe.

to:

* EnforcedMethodActing: InUniverse. Violet holds an onion under Jimmy's face to get him to cry, when Jimmy is auditioning for a part in the troupe.

Added: 180

Changed: 170

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* BadBadActing: Quite a bit from the members of the troupe, but Violet stands out when she horribly butchers the part of the villain in "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts".

to:

* BadBadActing: Quite a bit from the members of the troupe, but Violet stands out when she horribly butchers the part of the villain in "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts".


Added DiffLines:

* LargeHam: In-universe. Quite a bit from the members of the troupe, but Violet stands out when she horribly butchers the part of the villain in "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts".

Added: 50

Changed: 55

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* DramaticIrony: "I sure hope you get a chance to play that vampire part some day"

to:

* DramaticIrony: "I sure hope you get a chance to play that vampire part some day"day", says Jimmy to Violet as he leaves. She did, for him.


Added DiffLines:

* ObliviousToLove: Jimmy never does figure it out.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

'''''Exit Smiling''''' is a 1926 comedy directed by Sam Taylor, starring Beatrice Lillie. Violet is a member of a theater troupe that criss-crosses the country performing a cheesy melodrama called "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts". Violet is the servant of the troupe, left to do scut work like washing and ironing, allowed to play the maid in the play as she does in real life, but dreaming of playing a bigger part. One day Jimmy Marsh (Jack Pickford, Mary's brother), who had to leave his podunk town of East Farnham suddenly under mysterious circumstances, boards the train carrying Violet's troupe. Violet falls in love with Jimmy--and when the troupe happens to stop in East Farnham to perform their play, Violet gets a chance to prove her love for Jimmy.

Beatrice Lillie was a famous stage performer who made her feature film debut here. Reportedly she didn't care for movies, and only appeared in seven films over a period of fifty years. Sharp-eyed silent movie buffs will recognize Harry Myers, who played the Millionaire in ''Film/CityLights'', as Jesse Watson, the villain.

----
!!Tropes:

* BadBadActing: Quite a bit from the members of the troupe, but Violet stands out when she horribly butchers the part of the villain in "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts".
* {{Blackmail}}: Another evil-doer threatens Watson, telling him that if Watson doesn't pay him money owed, he will reveal Watson's frame job that implicated Jimmy in embezzlement. Violet sets out to interrupt their rendezvous, hoping to cause the blackmailer to expose Watson and clear Jimmy's name.
* CampGay: Cecil Lovelace, the effiminate, campy actor in the troupe. Franklin Pangborn, who made his film debut with this part, played Camp Gay characters like this for over a quarter-century.
* CrossCastRole: In-universe. Jimmy panics when the troupe pulls into East Farnham, where he is still wanted for embezzlement. Violet says she'll play the part forhim. The results are disastrous.
* {{Defictionalization}}: In-universe. The plot of "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts" involves the heroine pretending to be TheVamp in order to delay the villain an hour and (somehow) save her lover. When Violet intercepts the note from the blackmailer, she realizes that if she can stop Watson from meeting the blackmailer, the blackmailer will reveal his secret and clear Jimmy's name. She then resolves to act out "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts" in RealLife. It turns out Violet is really bad at being TheVamp, so she resorts to things like tackling the bad guy and ripping the cord out of his phone.
* DidNotGetTheGirl / DownerEnding / SuddenDownerEnding: Jimmy is cleared, thanks to Violet's intervention. He then tells Violet, who is desperately in love with him, that he is staying in East Farnham with the girl he had to leave behind when he skipped town. The movie ends with Violet alone on the train, weeping.
* DramaticIrony: "I sure hope you get a chance to play that vampire part some day"
* EnforcedMethodActing: Violet holds an onion under Jimmy's face to get him to cry, when Jimmy is auditioning for a part in the troupe.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: "I have you in my fiendish clutches", says the bad guy to the heroine in "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts".
* MeetCute: Violet the aspiring actress is acting out a dramatic scene on the train, drawing the attention of Jimmy, who thinks something is wrong with her.
* {{Melodrama}}: "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts" is a ridiculous over-the-top melodrama.
* ShowWithinAShow: "Flaming Women, Shattered Hearts"
* StealingFromTheTill: Watson stole $5000 from his bank. He framed Jimmy, which is why Jimmy suddenly left town.
* TimeSkip: The film opens with Violet the maid, frustrated with her menial job and wishing for a bigger part in the play. 10 years pass, and she is still frustrated with her menial job and wishing for a bigger part in the play.
* TheVamp: See {{Defictionalization}} above.

Top