Blondie of the Follies

The title leads you to expect a breezy showbiz romp, but it actually segues unpredictably back & forth throughout between comedy and drama. The production is lavishly mounted - if in places disjointed - and Marion Davies is backed by a top supporting cast, while throughout proving herself entirely worthy of having such an elaborate edifice constructed around her. Once again we see Marion in drag, Marion the mimic (parodying Garbo in director Edmund Goulding's previous film 'Grand Hotel') and also Marion nimbly nipping about on crutches.

One wonders what those in the know would have then made of Marion's creepy sugar daddy in the film, played by Douglass Dumbrille, forever shrugging his shoulders and remarking "I like blondes", as he unctuously makes his move on her.

One of Marion Davies' best performances in this snappy comedy/drama. Davies plays Blondie, a good girl who becomes a success in the follies despite her best friend's effort. Billie Dove (a big silent star in her best talkie role) is excellent as the friend. Robert Montgomery, Zasu Pitts, Sidney Toler, Douglas Dumbrille, and Jimmy Durante co-star. But this is Davies's film from beginning to end. She is totally wonderful, funny, touching, and gorgeous. Again and again I state that Marion Davies was major talent, a great star, and one of Hollywood's great beauties. She's also one of the finest comic actresses EVER! Watch this film and you'll see that Davies was an A-list star, one who deserves to be rediscovered. Blondie of the Follies may be a minor film, but it's well done, entertaining, and boasts terrific performances by Marion Davies and Billie Dove.

What a treat to see! BlONDIE OF THE FOLLIES is a very entertaining film with terrific performances by Marion Davies and Bille Dove. A great script by Anita Loos and Frances Marion and beautiful Art Deco sets by Cedric Gibbons make this fine film a must see. It is in Turner Classic Movies library, though it hardly ever gets shown. Be on the look out for it though, because it is a real treat. Fast, snappy and skillfully directed by one of the most underrated directors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Edmund Goulding, responsible for such classics as GRAND HOTEL and DARK VICTORY. If you want to read more about BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES pick up the new Edmund Goulding biography. It's really very good.

I have to confess some great surprise that William Randolph Hearst had Marion Davies appear in a film so close to the truth of her own life. Because before she was a film star Marion Davies did appear in the Ziegfeld Follies. Not a star to be sure, but was noticed enough by more than William Randolph Hearst.

Blondie McClune comes from the same background as Davies did from the lower middle class Irish and I wouldn't be surprised if Davies had a father in real life like James Gleason. He's a strict dad who takes a dim view of his daughter's new life and the fast crowd she's hanging around with.

Which includes playboy Robert Montgomery and millionaire Douglass Dumbrille whose character is eerily close to Hearst. A friend who was already in the Follies when Marion arrives is Billie Dawn, but that doesn't last long as the women start quarreling about everything including the men they both seem to zero in on.

Dawn and Davies have some scenes with a real vicious bite to them. You can see the anger just build and build in Dawn throughout the film, her's is a performance to watch. Another to watch is Sidney Toler who plays Marion's loafing brother-in-law. Purportedly Davies had a family of dependents who all struck a gold mine when William Randolph Hearst took an interest in her.

Back in the day Ziegfeld's Follies dancers were the tabloid fodder of the day. Their romantic exploits and the rich men they collected around them were big news. That is also shown here.

Blondie Of The Follies also is a great opportunity to see Marion Davies as a dancer. She moves pretty good on the stage, at least as good as Ruby Keeler and Marion could have and should have done more films to show that part of her talent off.

Blondie Of The Follies is a nice backstage story with a good cast with Marion Davies getting to strut her dancing stuff.

Marion Davies was a very, very unusual actress. Many folks haven't taken her seriously because it has been common knowledge that her lover, William Randolph Hearst, basically bought her a film career. Whether or not she would have become a star without him is a great unknown. However, at least the sorts of movies she made would have been very, very different had he not personally bought her way into Hollywood. In comedies, Marion was great--and her film "Show People" is among the greatest silent comedies ever. However, in the 1930s, Hearst insisted in financing her in dramas--the sort of film where Marion simply was out of her element. While "Blondie of the Follies" isn't a terrible film, the weakest element is probably Marion--because it was not the sort of light comedy at which she excelled. And, in the film's serious moments, she really wasn't up to the task.

The film is, believe it or not, sort of like a cleaned up version of "Showgirls"! It begins with Lurleen (Billie Dove) leaving her working class neighborhood to become a burlesque star--a rather shocking sort of career back in the day. However, he friend Blondie (Davies) remains her friend and idolizes Lurleen. Now this is a weak point in the plot, as throughout the film, Lurleen is a nasty piece of work--and you wonder almost from the beginning how much Blondie will take from Lurleen until she realizes her friend is a jerk. This nasty side of Lurleen rears its ugly head when a rich 'friend'* of Lurleen, Larry (Robert Montgomery), becomes infatuated with Blondie. Lurleen makes it clear that Larry is off limits and like a good friend, Blondie avoids him throughout the film. This is THE major theme of the film. And, when Blondie herself becomes a big burlesque star, she is torn because although beloved and successful, she still is without her Larry. There is plenty more--and you should see the film, since it is enjoyable and pleasant.

The general plot isn't bad and through much of the film, Marion actually carries it off well. However, and this is a serious problem, towards the end, her acting is rather bad. She is SUPPOSED to be a woman who is behaving like she is happy when she is dying inside--but she comes off poorly because of her delivery of her lines. She rushes through the scenes and seemed out of her element. To put it bluntly, she just isn't convincing. These serious moments simply didn't work. Perhaps the director should have re-shot the scenes or given her better direction. Or, perhaps Hearst's meddling is responsible and the director actually didn't have control of the production (a common problem in her later films). All I know is that I cringed in the scenes following Blondie's big accident late in the film.

Regardless of its shortcomings, the film is entertaining and worth seeing. It's just sad that she didn't make more comedies--they were exceptional.

*The morality of "Blondie of the Follies" was very much what you'd find in many Pre-Code films. While it's never explicitly stated, it seems pretty obvious that Lurleen was a paid mistress or high-priced prostitute. So, when Blondie's family is upset with her choosing the stage, this might be a lot of the reason for their reaction.