diff --git a/actions/login.php b/actions/login.php
index c152c87707..3a93c466fa 100644
--- a/actions/login.php
+++ b/actions/login.php
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ class LoginAction extends Action {
 
 	function show_form($error=NULL) {
 		common_show_header(_t('Login'));
-		if (!is_null($error)) {
-			common_element('div', array('class' => 'error'), $msg);
+		if ($error) {
+			common_element('div', array('class' => 'error'), $error);
 		}
 		common_element_start('form', array('method' => 'POST',
 										   'id' => 'login',