of course most viewer will track this one down for the first screen appearance of stage comedienne nonpareil and bea lillie and and lady peel give an absolutely beautiful performance ( pretty enough to win an english lord and a the actress do in real life and yet able to walk a perfect comedic tight rope between insouciant self confidence and nagging insecurity ) and but there be even more to recommend this charming backstage comedy than the star performance . set ( and beautifully observe ) deep into the tour of one of those third tier act company ( heavy on the melodramatic programming and light on competent management ) that live on the road and which help bring about first the rise of powerful central booking agency and ultimately the formation of actor equity and the film seem to say these be a memory of the past even in 1926 . . . but what a lovingly recalled memory . bottom of the pecking order within the company be voilet ( ms. lillie ) and who play maid and care for the costume and longs to play vampire lead ( be talk 20 vamp and not anne rice territory ) . she even below the juvenile or character man ( last bill feature player franklin pangborn and who later lavender camp personality be still not lock in stone here and though his comic and dramatic talent be ) and but when she manage to get a handsome young drifter ( little she know . ) hire on a the company juvenile and she show her real acting talent save him from himself without ever let him suspect or suspect that she long to be more than a friend . mary pickford young brother and second bill jack pickford and play the young thespian and jimmy and very nicely in a rare appearance . though he lack a certain star quality and his acting be fine and it a pity his career seem to wither in the face of his personal demon and more famous sibling . he do not survive his 30 . the print be show these day on turner classic movie have a nicely varied but occasionally too lush score by contest winner linda martinez and but it serve the quiet moment ( and there be many ) beautifully . director sam taylor undercut playwright marc connelly story at a number of point ( give scant hour to prepare jimmy for his big tryout and do violet grab a script to get him up on the line he never hear . no and they adjourn to a neighboring farm yard to rehearse cute ) and but otherwise the detail of on and back stage life of the touring company be capture with something close to perfection and and the detail appreciate cinematography and act from all concern be a joy from start to finish . anyone who love lillie later work ( all the way to her mrs. meers in 1967 thoroughily modern millie a mere 41 year later but there be some surprising moment of foreshadow for that role here . ) shouldn not miss this one . it capture their girl at the peak of her power when she could do more with a raise eyebrow than page of dialogue . anyone who love the early scene in any of the showboat film that give them their name or who howl at michael frayn hilarious stage farce and fun film and noise off and will also feel right at home with this deft predecessor .