Five and Ten

Ambitious John Rarick (Richard Bennet) is a shining example of the American Dream going from a "mom and pop" to mega chain store owner in the heady prosperous era of the Roaring Twenties. Moving from Kansas to New York he installs his once tight family into the lap of luxury and unintentionally off his radar screen. The attention starved wife (Irene Rich) begins to step out with other men while his son Avery (Kent Douglass) masking incestuous feelings begins to feel alienated and takes to self destruction. Sis Jenniffer ( Marion Davies) is upbeat but smitten with Berry (Leslie Howard) who is engaged to Muriel who seems to enjoy hurting Jen than being in love with Berry. It seems that success has brought with it its own set of problems.

There's an amoral attitude in Five and Ten that gives it a mature sophisticated feel. The wife has callers drop by the mansion, Jen shows little compunction about pursuing the spoken for Berry , Avery makes no bones about how he yearns for the days of when he was closer to mom and sis while pop meanwhile devotes his energies to profit margin. What could make for an absorbing depiction of a wealthy family in free fall ala Magnificent Ambersons (without the Welles touch of course) takes a back seat however to the the mawkishly stilted romance between Davies and Leslie Howard and the film suffers immeasurably as the two, especially Howard, chew scenery when they go to the clinches. Irene Rich and especially Kent Douglass contribute strong performances but it remains a Davies vehicle and with Howard as her driving partner they grind gears and mood most of the ride.

After moving to New York City from Kansas, five-and-ten cent store heiress Marion Davies (as Jennifer Rarick) enters high society in style. Attending a charity event with her $5,000 donation from daddy, Ms. Davies is smitten with attractive architect Leslie Howard (as Bertram "Berry" Rhodes). But he is engaged to Mary Duncan (as Muriel Preston). While Davies decides to pursue Mr. Howard to the alter - even if it isn't her own - the rest of her family is falling apart. Strictly business-minded father Richard Bennett (as John G. Rarick) neglects wife Irene Rich (as Jenny). She sees more of gigolo Theodore von Eltz (as Ramon). And, nobody notices brother Kent Douglass Montgomery (as Avery Rarick) may headed for an emotional break-down...

Davies produced "Five and Ten" with director Robert Z. Leonard and, given the MGM team, delivers quality product. A bigger box office star than acknowledged during the "silent" 1920s, Davies was still popular, but not enough to cover production costs. Howard had enough star-quality to carry a film on his own, even this early in his career, but he and Davies are upstaged by others in the cast. One wonders if the original Fannie Hurst story had more involving the "Rarick" family. The effects of wealth on the characters is more interesting than the "love story" between Davies and Howard. An even distribution of resources and story might have helped "Five and Ten" recover costs. Watch for Mr. Montgomery's troubled "Avery" to steal the film.

****** Five and Ten (6/13/31) Robert Z. Leonard ~ Marion Davies, Leslie Howard, Douglass Montgomery, Richard Bennett

The Rarick family is what you would call new money. John Rarick inherited a small five and ten from his wife (Irene Rich) when they married and he used his business sense to expand on a national level. Now, the family lives in New York where the family tries to adjust to new social conditions. Mrs. Rarick is lonely and takes up with a gigolo. Jennifer (Marion Davies) does her best to get her foot into society. Avery (Douglass Montgomery) worried about the state of his family and dreads inheriting his father's company. Jennifer falls in love with a notable playboy (Leslie Howard) who is engaged to a snobby rich girl. However, he can't help but be charmed by Jennifer's wit and does his best to seduce her.

This is a pre-code film, and an incredibly sexy one at that. Sparks fly in Howard and Davies' scenes together. When he trickles his fingers across her bare arm, you can just feel the goosebumps rising. When her big blue eyes look into his, the tension is so strong. The two actors are amazing together and make for fantastic viewing in lieu of the average storyline. Montgomery is just as impressive in his secondary role. His lines are obviously scripted, but he reads them with a naturalness that is uncommon in these early movies. Robert Z. Leonard's direction is refreshing because he does not revert to a static camera, which was prevalent in early talkies. A noteworthy film and a must-see for Howard or Davies fans, Five and Ten deserves a DVD release.

This is yet another Davies films with inexplicably high ratings. What I mean by this is that it appears as if a group of people have gone onto IMDb and deliberately over-inflated the scores on all of Marion Davies' films--giving 10s to EVERYTHING--even her worst films. No one is THAT good that they always deserve a 10--but here, 49% of those rating the film give it a 10. By comparison, "Gone With the Wind" and "Casablanca" have only 34 and 38% 10s!! Are these folks seriously trying to tell us that just about every film Marion Davies made are better than these classics?! So my advice with her films is to ignore the IMDb ratings and just see the films for yourself--some of her films were wonderful (such as "Show People"), some awful ("Cain and Mabel" comes to mind )and many were somewhere in between--just like it would be for most actresses.

John Rarick has created a hugely successful chain of five and ten cent stores--enabling his family to live in great luxury. However, this money does not make them happy. His wife runs around behind his back with other men, his son is slowly slipping into alcoholism and depression and, finally, his daughter (Davies) is trying too hard to fit in to society--and is laughed at by her new 'friends'. The main focus in this film is on the daughter--and her unhealthy relationship with a rich young architect (Leslie Howard).

Of all the characters in the film, Avery (Douglass Montgomery) is the most interesting. Unlike his sister, mother and father, he sees tragedy coming to his family. And, when he tries to tell his father, he can't even get this workaholic to listen to him. The film is a nice showcase for him and his story is quite touching--and, although it's a small role compared to Davies', he steals the show. Despite this, his career never really took off. Perhaps it was due to his good looks--he was amazingly pretty and not the conventional tough leading man type.

Overall, a very good film that is well worth your time. However, be aware that Davies' and Howard's portion of the film is probably the weakest. It isn't bad but its resolution seemed bizarre--and never would have occurred in a Post-Code film.

Solid film with terrific performances by Marion Davies as an heiress, Leslie Howard as the man she loves, and Douglass Montgomery (billed as Kent Douglass) as her tragic brother.

Davies plays the daughter of wealthy "five and ten" king (Richard Bennett) who crashes New York to build his empire. He's obsessed with his business and ignores his family and wife (Irene Rich). Montgomery is in the business against his will while Davies tries to crash New York society with little success. She falls for Howard but he's engaged to snooty Muriel (Mary Duncan).

Things start to fall apart as Rich gets involved with a gigolo, Montgomery starts to drink, and Davies gets humiliated at a weekend party and loses Howard.

This film is notable for three exceptional scenes. There's a long scene all in one take where Davies and Howard are falling in love and toying with silly drawings of pigs and cows. The two stars are exceptional as they are drawn to each other yet try to stay apart. This is one of the best scenes I ever saw Davies do. Montgomery is great in his initial drunk scene as he wanders around the stone mansion, talking and singing to servants. He's also excellent in his final scene with the family gathered around him. Best work he ever did.

Overall one of Davies' best films because the story is solid and the co-stars are all top notch. And of all her dramatic roles this is her best. Her voice is excellent here. She often has a stilted quality because of her stutter but there's not a trace of that here. Plus she's absolutely gorgeous.

Halliwell Hobbes is the butler, Henry Armetta the cab driver, and Theodore van Eltz the gigolo.

Loosely based on Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress, and her family. The building old Rarick is building is an obvious reference to the Woolworth Building, tallest building in the world 1913-1930.