Blondie of the Follies

Blondie of the Follies (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Marion Davies plays slum girl Blondie McClune who finally gets out of her dump thanks in large part to he friend Lottie (Billie Dove) who has made it big on Broadway. The two have a falling out when Larry (Robert Montgomery) falls for Blondie but she has more problems as her high life slowly starts to crumble down. I was really shocked at how good this film was because, to be honest, this story isn't all that original and it's one we had seen countless time in the brief time that talkies had come into play. What really makes this film worth watching are the downright marvelous performances and various pre-code elements. The pre-code elements are pretty straight-forward in their sexual innuendo and the film doesn't shy away from Dove's rather large breasts and she's constantly dressed in skimpy little outfits that allows her to jiggle around if you catch what I mean. Even Davies has a brief scene where she's wet and you can see through her top. Even without these elements the film still works because both women are terrific in their roles. Apparently the story here is very close to that of Davies real life and perhaps that's why she dug into the character so much. She's not playing that Davies persona here but instead she really delivers a full character on all levels. Dove is brilliant as well because her sexuality really jumps off the screen and she makes her character very memorable. It was sad to read she retired from Hollywood after this movie apparently because Hearst cut most of her scenes here fearing she'd take the movie away from Davies. Montgomery makes for a great leading mad her and James Gleason is also very good as the concerned father. Even Zasu Pitts is very good here as the sister. She handles the drama quite well and this is coming from someone who really doesn't care for his comedy side. Then we have the fourth-billed Jimmy Durante who shows up for what's basically a cameo but it turns out to be one of the highlights of the film. He shows up and does a little skit on why men shouldn't take women to see GRAND HOTEL because of John Barrymore's great looks. This sly bit of publicity for MGM is a nice little tough as Durante plays Barrymore with Davies doing an impersonation of Greta Garbo. Again, the story itself isn't all that original but that's the only problem with this gem that should be a lot better known than it actually is.

A few quick thoughts on "Blondie of the Follies": 1)Any movie with the title, "Follies," should be a musical. Despite a few brief song-dance numbers, this one isn't.2) Marion Davies was a much better actress than anyone (including Orson Welles) gave her credit for. 3)So, too, was Jimmy Gleason. He has a "confessional" scene with Davies that is heart-rending. 4) It's amazing to see Sidney Toler as a lazy young layabout; a lotta' people thought he played only Charlie Chan 5)No surprise, given that the screenplay was written by Anita Loos, to discover that the plot centers on the depression-era challenge of protecting one's virtue vs. the temptations of the wicked stage (as well as the speakeasies just across the street.) 6)Several comments claim that Billie Dove quit the movies because Randolph Hearst had cut her role in this film. But she has plenty of screen time. Taking a close look at Miss Dove, whose voluptuousness shifts from scene to scene, one suspects that she was tired of endless dieting. 7) Jimmy Durante gets co-star billing although he's only in the film for a few minutes -- but it's worth it for his "Grand Hotel" spoof with Davies as Garbo. 8)Did "Follies" chorines really have maids, chauffeurs and penthouse apartments? 9) Finally, it's a pretty enjoyable movie, typically pre-code, provided you weren't expecting a musical.

The hardscrabble tenement streets shriek of Warner Brothers (though the movie moves from them soon enough), and the slanginess and very pre-Code suggestiveness of pretty young things kept in lavish Deco apartments is rather hard-boiled for the Ars Gratia Artis studio, too. And it's a strange brew, halfway between enjoyable, rude comedy and sentimental soap opera, with the likable Davies and the hard-staring Dove slugging it out for the affections of Robert Montgomery in his leading-man-opposite-MGM-leading-lady days. He's a drunk and a playboy, but also, we are led to believe, a decent and sacrificing guy. The friendship between Davies and Dove is convincing and touching (though it takes some unconvincingly abrupt turns), and Anita Loos could write girl-talk dialog with the best of them. There are also a couple of father-daughter scenes between Davies and the always wonderful James Gleason that will just break your heart. But the movie does keep skirting credibility (could the exquisite Davies and Zasu Pitts really spring from the same gene pool?), and Davies' Act Three laugh-clown-laugh, smile-through-tears demeanor is close to self-parody. Most jarring of all is dragging in Jimmy Durante for five minutes of hideously unfunny special material, including a strained sendup of "Grand Hotel" (also directed by Edmund Goulding) that serves mainly to remind one of Davies' limitations. A fun flick all in all, but when it came to hard-boiled dames and backstage melo, MGM wasn't really at the forefront.

Pleasant precode golddigger comedy with both Marion Davies and Billie Dove becoming kept women as well as Follies dancers to get a taste of the good life.

Includes Marion Davies's parody of Greta Garbo with Jimmy Durante.

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.