The Florodora Girl

This is an interesting historical drama from the 1930's. It is set in 1890's about an unlucky Floradora girl named Daisy. In New York at the Floradora club, all of the chorus girls seem to be having the great fortune of snagging and marrying wealthy men, except the naive Daisy Dell played by Marion Davies. Her fellow dancers help her catch the eye of wealthy Jack Vibart (Lawrence Gray), using their "tricks"...think cramp in the water tricks.

The story goes beyond Daisy and Jack's initial romance as Jack looses his family's money, they break of their wedding...

The story is ok, but the real reason to watch this Marion Davies film is for the historical depictions...like the early automobile, beachside antics of the time...including a resuscitation, a football game in which wealthy attendees watch from their cars or carts, an amazing country picnic with a tree swing large enough for two and the Floradora performances themselves.

Maybe a must see for fans of either Marion Davies or the 1890's. I did enjoy that Jack's mother didn't have the typical disapproving role.

I've never seen a Marion Davies movie before. I had heard of her of course. Shacking up with that creep Hearst is skin crawling. She went for the money I guess.

But that aside, she was an excellent comedian actress. I was completely surprised when watching this film that Davies totally takes over your attention. Everyone in this film is a good actor but she lights up the screen in every scene she's in.

Her timing is flawless and her performance seems effortless. I had read that at social gatherings she was the life of the party and that Hearst couldn't take his eyes off of her. This movie kind of illustrates that.

I like to pick out the flaws of actors and movies because Hollywood is so self absorbed. But Davies was something else in this film.

A rich young man woos THE FLORODORA GIRL of his dreams -- but is he sincere?

For nearly 20 years, no other actress in America was the recipient of so much effort to make her a big movie star than Marion Davies. As mistress of the powerful media mogul, William Randolph Hearst, Davies appeared in one lavish film production after another. Hearst's seemingly bottomless pockets spared no expense and Marion lived like a queen both on screen and off. (Their huge California mansion, now called Hearst Castle, crowned a coastal estate of unstinted extravagance, while the saltwater sequence for FLORODORA GIRL was filmed in the waters in front of the enormous Santa Monica beach house Hearst built for her.)

Never one to put on airs, Davies won the hearts of her fans and the other Hollywood stars with her warm generosity and good spirits. On the screen Hearst preferred seeing her in heavy historical romances, but she much more enjoyed light comedy fare which better displayed her talents. Which is exactly what she does in FLORODORA GIRL, getting to sing & dance a little, playing a member of the famed sextet, looking for love with the right boy but not willing to compromise her morals in the search. Davies had been a Ziegfeld Follies Girl before being carried off by Hearst; the film poses a few questions about love and success which must have given Marion something to ponder.

Lawrence Gray, an important MGM musical comedy star at the beginning of the Sound Era, does well in his role as the vivacious society boy who learns a few things about maturity while wooing Davies. He had partnered with Marion before, in Silent & Sound pictures, and they have a good on-screen chemistry.

The supporting cast provide a few laughs: Walter Catlett, Louis John Bartels & Claud Allister as well-heeled stage door Johnnies; Ilka Chase & Vivian Oakland as aging, tough-as-nails Florodora Girls; Jed Prouty as Marion's alcoholic father; and George Chandler as her big-toothed cigar store boyfriend. That's Anita Louise who shows up very briefly as one of Gray's younger sisters.

MGM gave the film a nice feeling of the 1890's with its horseless carriages, puffed sleeve fashions and frequent songs. The early Technicolor with which the film closes is most pleasing to the eye.

The late 1890's are lovingly reconstructed, with wonderful costumes and nice sets. Very good script. Marion Davies as a chorus girl who doesn't want to be a rich man's toy has lots of chances to show her stuff. There is only one Floradora dance routine and it is quite calm. The final scenes are in two color Technicolor.

"Floradora Girl" is an early sound picture that starred Marion Davies and a little known Lawrence Gray. Both had been leads in silent films and had some success transitioning to sound. But his career faded fast as many new male actors were getting established in sound pictures. Davies' career also faded fast, but that was mostly because of her personal life. She wasn't a great actress, but a good one in several films. It depended on the material she got, and a few years into sound pictures, she wasn't getting the scripts that many new and up-and-coming actresses were getting.

The plot for this film isn't exceptional, but Davies is okay as Daisy. The cast is sizable, but except for a couple supporting actors, there are few familiar faces in this cast. What lifts this film some, is its very good portrayal of some period things of history. The setting is supposed to be in the 1890s. Of special interest to sports fans are scenes of a football game that show players with minimum equipment, and a couple of very unusual plays, including, the wedge.

There is some humor - the funniest scene being efforts by a crowd of people to resuscitate Daisy (Davies) after she faked drowning to be rescued by Jack (Gray). Except for the scenes of turn of the 20th century things of interest, there isn't a lot to recommend this film as above average run-of-the-mill.