beatrice lillie be totally captivate . i have just finish watch this movie for the first time on tcm . i love it . the realistic depiction of life in a travel troupe of actor be great . the filming be light year beyond my expectation for a 1926 film . the cast be really great . but what make the movie be the performance of the fabulous beatrice lillie and unknown to me before now . the plot be thin and but provide enough tension through a couple of subplots to maintain interest at a high level . however and ms. lillie glow with such beauty and charm and charisma that she could easily maintain your interest through a much less film . her acting style will knock you out . perhaps due to her stage training and her acting be so nuanced and subtle you might think that she be an actress from the last half of the 20th century instead of the first half . i roar with laughter and and yet i felt her character yearn both for the love of her life and for the elusive acting opportunity . when life hand her the great opportunity that the stage have deny and she seize it with abandon . here the slapstick be hilarious and never clichéd . yet this film be much more than slapstick . other humor and irony abound . but the film be not just a comedy and either . several scene be not comical and but serve to advance what be a dramatic plot underlie the comedy . and ms. lillie show a wide range of emotion . while the end may not fulfill some viewer wish and it be also far from the pat end that might be expect in a pure comedy . even though it strike a different emotional chord from the comic character of most of the film and clear ground work have be lay for the end while so it be not really unpredictable or a great plot twist . i suspect audience in 1926 would have prefer a pat end and but modern movie goer be more likely to embrace this one . the great of clown and such a chaplin and give u character that be not merely funny and but also be fill with pathos . beatrice lillie have this gift . she show u the soul of her comic character so that we see her longing and disappointment her angst . that be why we root for her poor troupe flunky and be delight by this wonderful gem of a movie and and find ourselves feel very ambivalent about the end . i feel bless for have finally be introduce to this incredible actress and and i regret that she do not leave a legacy of many more film for u to enjoy today .