How to use a select list to show text on a page?

How to use a select list to show text on a page?

I have a list of films on my web page and am using a select box to allow the user to show the films by the actor they choose in the select box.  However I am having trouble using the value from the select box to display the br elements with actor name.  Please help am I doing the selector wrong?Ive got this to work by outputting an alert but not by showing films with the actor the user has selected.
  2. $(document).ready(function() {   
  3.     $("#actor").change(function() {    actor is the name of my select list when this has been changed
  4. $("#filmlist").hide();        it hides all films
  5. $("br:contains(#actor option:selected)").show();   Im trying to get this to only show the br                                                                                        elements with the actor the user has 
  6.     });                                                                                selected from the select list.
  7. });