A has-been movie director (Mel Brooks) intends to make a comeback by making a silent movie, and in the process, save his film studio from a takeover by a New York-based conglomerate.

Molly Adair is a toiling stage actress in New York City. She aspires to make it big in the fledgling motion picture business. As the years pass, Molly's star continues to rise. Hollywood director Michael Linnet Connors discovers Molly and takes her from a Broadway understudy to a 1913 Hollywood star. She marries her co-star thinking Connors is not in love with her. Connors fires both of them, damaging his career.