Marianne

In the title role of Marianne was Marion Davies in her sound debut at MGM. In this she plays a French waif who is engaged to a French soldier blinded in combat played by George Baxter. That is until the sight of doughboy Lawrence Gray gets her French mojo going.

It's not a great film by any means, but it does display the comedic talents that Davies he had. She's positively a pixie in this film flitting back and forth between Baxter and Gray.

Benny Rubin and Cliff Edwards get to do a comedic bit or two, but this film without a big male screen name opposite Davies allows the film to really be her show. As this film is pre-Code there are some truly risque lines and situations in it. There is also a French language version shot simultaneously with some cast alterations.

Marianne is not a great film, but a must for a Marion Davies fans.

Marianne (1929)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Three American GI's (Lawrence Gray, Benny Rubin, Cliff Edwards) at the end of WW1 fall in love with a French woman (Marion Davies) but she wants none of it and has to fight all of them off even though her heart might change. Apparently this film was originally made as a silent but the studio went back and re-filmed the entire thing. I'm sure they scrapped an entire movie because of Davies' famous lover but it would be interesting comparing both versions. This one here has a lot of music sequences so it would be interesting seeing what they did in the silent version. Considering this is an early sound film you have to expect some of the rather poor sound quality but Davies performance will have her fans wanting to check this out. There's really not too much story here and certainly not enough to carry a 112-minute film. The movie runs a tad bit too long because it's quite predictable so getting to the ending takes quite a while especially when you know who she's going to fall in love with. The music sequences are all rather strange because they pop out of anywhere and the film doesn't try to hide the fact that many of those doing the singing really aren't that talented in the field. The rather bland singing makes for an interesting experiment and in some ways it makes the film seem almost surreal but at the same time the bad singing works against the "musical" aspect of the film. Davies gets to belt out a couple lines but they're hidden within some comedy. Either way, she turns in a fine comic performance even though her French accent isn't the greatest. The think accent is also hard to understand at times due to the sound quality but it's only a minor problem. The three male leads are all fine in a strange sort of way and they're certainly over the top in a campy but entertaining way.

I have been interested in Marion Davies ever since my first visit to "The Ranch", Wm Randolph Hearst's estate in San Simeon, now a California state park.

Charlie Chaplin considered Marion to be one of the best female comedians (the IMDb spell checker can't find the female equivalent) - the tragedy as I have heard is that Hearst kept pushing her to do dramatic roles. This was one such movie - and I understand her first "talkie" (besides one of the world's first) - there are some scenes of her in a comedy role but I have to say the movie was so boring to me I hit fast forward (it is not in the theaters anymore ;-) ) - just to get to the end.

Of the Marion Davies movies I have seen, so far "Show People" is my favorite - in it you can tell she has a self-deprecating sense of humor about herself and "show people" (particularly if they have met success)

Anyway I think my giving this a "5" was generous - it seem to just wander and wander without a destination until the end.

French farm girl MARIANNE has constant difficulties with the American soldiers stationed in her barn after the Armistice.

This film was the starring talkie debut for Marion Davies, one of the most charming and talented actresses of her day. As the mistress of William Randolph Hearst, one of America's most powerful men, Davies probably could have had her pick of roles. In some respects, MARIANNE is an odd choice. There is virtually no action, most of the scenes take place in a kitchen and a barn, and Davies speaks her entire dialogue, often in French, with a very thick accent. But she is so lively and full of joie de vivre, so infectiously good-natured even when angry, even mimicking Chevalier & Bernhardt, and impersonating a young male officer, that she becomes the main reason for watching the film today. It is indeed unfortunate that Marion Davies' gifts have become obscured and her films nearly forgotten.

Lawrence Gray, who had shown much skill as a comic actor during Silent days and had worked with Davies then, here plays the American doughboy who falls for Marion. The funny business is handled by two of MGM's newest acquisitions, Yiddish dialect comedian Benny Rubin and ukulele-playing Cliff Edwards. Marion's noble French boyfriend is enacted by George Baxter.

As with many other early sound films, the movie suffers with too much talk. However, the recurring musical sequences are mostly quite welcome. The opening scene, with its idyllic look at Marion's village, shows the quality of art direction for which MGM was famous.

And pity the poor pig Anatole!

I first learned of Marion Davies when I saw the HBO movie "RKO 281", about William Randolph Hearst's attempts to stop "Citizen Kane" from getting released (Melanie Griffith played Davies). I've finally seen her in her first talkie. Robert Z. Leonard's "Marianne" is nothing special on its own, depicting a US platoon coming to a small town in France during World War I. A lot of the humor derives from the troops' arousal at the sight of the title character, played by Davies. Since this got made before the Hays Code, there's one line that I'm sure couldn't have gotten included just a few years later (you'll know it when you hear it).

I understand that Davies was usually a comedienne. I haven't seen most of her work, so I can't judge how much this movie uses her talent. Sometimes I get the feeling that she mainly got put onscreen for her looks (she WAS a real babe).

All in all, the movie's nothing spectacular. I guess that it wasn't intended to be laugh-out-loud funny like the Marx Brothers. Worth seeing, if only once.