Cain and Mabel

Marion Davies and Clark Gable work very well together. Along with an all-star cast, CAIN AND MABEL is fast moving wise-cracking fun! The musical numbers are outrageous in presentation, especially the "I'll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs" number, which required building the largest soundstage in Hollywood (Burbank actually), Stage #7 on the Warner lot. It's not GONE WITH THE WIND, but it doesn't try to be; it's just fun.

Marion Davies and Clark Gable star together in a second film (they had co-starred in POLLY OF THE CIRCUS) as a Broadway star and a prize fighter who get tricked into a phony publicity romance to increase their box office draw.

Lots of snappy lines here as the two stars go through their paces, accompanied by a solid supporting cast. Davies gets doused with a bucket of water. She gets even, dousing Gable with water in a hallway. They trade insults

Davies gets to star is two lavish production numbers. The "Coney Island" romp is fun with Davies singing and dancing with Sammy White. The "Thousand Love Songs" number is built on a huge stage (biggest ever, the roof was raised 35 ft to accommodate the massive sets) and includes a human pipe organ, a Venetian canal, and even a white wedding, with Davies as the centerpiece in all of them. Davies cracked a rib during a dance number. Too bad the dance double is badly done. Still a lot of fun all round.

Ruth Donnelly, William Collier, Allen Jenkins, Pert Kelton, Robert Paige (billed as David Carlyle), Hobart Cavanaugh, Marie Prevost, E.E. Clive, Walter Catlett, and Roscoe Karns co-star. Sammy White is terrific in the "Coney Island" number, following up a great turn in SHOW BOAT with Irene Dunne. Jane Wyman is one of the chorus girls.

Davies would make only one more film after CAIN AND MABEL.

This isn't a great movie. It's a passable comedy, with some clever dialogue.

The real interest is Marion Davies. She is remembered, inaccurately, as the inspiration and model for Susan Alexander in *Citizen Kane*, which was evidently not altogether the case. (Yes, Kane was certainly based on William Randolph Hurst, Davies' financial backer and lover, but Susan A. was evidently based on several women in her situation in the 1930s, including at least one actual would-be opera singer.) As a result, it is assumed that she had no talent.

As this movie shows, that wasn't the case. No, she was not a Judy Garland, or a Jean Harlow, or a Ginger Rogers, or a Jeannette MacDonald. But she sang and danced quite decently, and she did a good job with light comedy. (She was evidently in over her head when Hurst put her in historical dramas.) Gable is definitely the best thing in this picture, and does a great job creating the all-man prizefighter, but Davies holds her own.

As do several of the supporting comedians, especially Walter Catlett and Roscoe Karns.

As I said, not a great movie, but a pleasant comedy, and one that makes a case for Davies.

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I watched this again tonight. One thing that struck me about it this time was that, in the very large musical number in the second half of the movie, which just goes on and on and on - it's supposed to be part of the musical Mabel O'Dare is appearing in - Davies is given almost nothing to do. She just stands on top of the elaborate stage set in an elaborate costume and smiles. I kept thinking: if this were a musical with any other musical star, they would have had her doing a lot more dancing, and probably some singing.

This movie is a must see for anyone who is a screwball comedy fan. I found it to be very very funny. Why it is not on video, I don't know. It is something that can could be seen multiple times. It is packed full of one liners, glamour (Marion and Clark), humorous story line and a few rather interesting show numbers. I would rate it right up there with "Red Dust" and "Idiot's Delight".

I have to respectfully disagree with the reviewer regarding his take that Marion Davies showed no discernible talent for comedy! Doing comedy was the prime talent that she excelled in. Even if this movie was not particularly memorable, Davies does quite well, particularly in the number with Sammy White--if anything, she's at her whimsical best. Marion Davies has always been underrated in her films, often by those who have not seen enough of her performances. Among those usually seen on TCM are Going' HOLLYWOOD(1933) and PEG O'MY HEART (1932), both pretty decent showcases for her. Her best features are more elusive, those produced during the silent era. Of these, one of the more available is SHOW PEOPLE (1928), one of her most highly regarded films. Her natural flair for comedy is in full force, and should put to rest any doubts about her so-called lack of comedic skills.