Recensioni degli utenti

I have a feeling that Marion Davies fans have voted in droves to artificially elevate her scores because many of her films are rated in the high 7s or 8s. I have enjoyed many of these films but I hesitate to place them that highly. A case in point is "Ever Since Eve", her last movie, coming in with an 8 which in my opinion is highly overrated as is the score for this film, a 7.8 as of this writing. Be that as it may, "Not So Dumb" is actually superior to "Ever Since Eve". Davies is absolutely delightful playing a ditsy socialite trying to advance her boyfriend's career. Her body language makes the film which otherwise has little contact with reality. She lives in a mansion with no apparent income, neither she nor her brother work and yet they enjoy a quite opulent lifestyle. This very fact undermines the film's central premise because if she were wealthy why then does she not set her boyfriend up herself? The other characters are merely ornaments although two are somewhat noted minor Hollywood personalities: Julia Faye, C.B. DeMille's longtime companion who appeared in all his films and Sally Starr, known as the "pocket Clara Bow" for her diminutive size.

This early talkie is a bit creaky—sound recording technology certainly wasn't perfected yet, for one thing. It's also very evident that it's a movie version of a stage play—there's no doubt it's "stagey," which bothers some people. So it takes some doing, but Marion Davies' wacky performance eventually overcomes these distractions.

Davies is both nutty and charming as Dulcy, a wealthy young socialite who is determined to help her fiancé put over a big business deal.

Elliott Nugent is fine as the fiancé who would much prefer that Dulcy mind her own business; his performance, like his character, is pretty much overshadowed by the much bigger and bolder Davies personality. Old character actor William Holden is very good as the blustery and flustered business magnate with whom Davies is trying to match up Nugent.

Davies' extremely expressive face places her much more in a class with fellow comedians than with other female movie stars of the day; while her screen presence is nothing at all like, for example, Joan Crawford's—it's not entirely unlike Stan Laurel's or Harold Lloyd's.

Her appeal lies in a kind of well-meaning goofiness that other characters may find irritating but is both hilarious and endearing to us viewers. A great example: the drawing room scene in which a house guest sings a song while Davies aggressively shushes everyone and then noisily unwraps a box of candy.

The comic plot is okay and there is some funny dialog. But the main attraction of the picture is certainly the star—this is lots of fun for fans of Marion Davies and her other comedies.

Sound quality is TERRIBLE for most of the film, but i guess that can be forgiven since talkies hadn't been around very long. Marion Davies stars as Dulcy Parker, who is hosting a get-together for the big shot "Forbes" coming into town for the big business deal. Keep an eye out for the always-fun Franklin Pangborn as "Leach", who gives the weirdest hand-shake we have ever seen, and Dulcy tells us he has some secret... Raymond Hackett is Dulcy's sarcastic, wise-cracking brother. Hackett had about ten speaking roles, and seven of those were in 1930 alone! One of the funniest roles here is the facial expressions on Perkins the butler - George Davis doesn't have a lot of lines, but his appearance as the guests come and go add a lot to the performance. Elliott Nugent is "Gordy", Dulcy's boyfriend, trying to close the deal. Lots of yackety yack, since this is based on a play. This was a remake of the silent 1923 version, and it would be remade again in 1940 with Ann Sothern and Billie Burke. There are some bad editing cuts here and there, but the conversations are mostly clever and fun, with some sight gags and one-liners by various characters. I think some of the comedy bits, including Pangborn's big scene in the living room, were probably very funny back in the day, but just seem to go on and on by today's standard. Directed by the amazing King Vidor, who had done it all in the early days of Hollywood. Original play written by Kaufman, who had also written "Man Who Came to Dinner" and "You Can't Take it with You", also made into films.

Not So Dumb (1930)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

The third film between director King Vidor and star Marion Davies isn't in the same league as SHOW PEOPLE or THE PATSY and really comes off as a major disappointment. Based on the play Dulcy, Davis plays that character, a blond moron who tries to help her boyfriend get his foot in the door of a big business by inviting his boss and his wife over for the weekend. Once there, Dulcy plays host to try and make herself appear smarter than she actually is. I've said this about a lot of films from this era but here it goes again. This is an early talkie that is so impressed by the fact that words can be heard that it never knows when to shut up. You can tell Davies and Vidor aren't too comfortable with the new format because it's hard to look at this film and see any of the director's trademarks. The film looks rather ugly and some of the editing will leave you scratching your head and wondering if only one take was done on certain scenes and they had to cut away from it quickly. Davies, God bless her, gives it her all but it seems Vidor just let her go off in any direction and the end result is a bit of a mess. Her character is a complete idiot and Davies gets this across just fine but after a while she starts to get very annoying because she's reduced to silly facial gestures and various facial "shock" moves. Franklin Pangborn steals the show as Leach and George Davis is also good as the rather strange butler. Fans of Davies will probably watch this no matter what but the only others that might be mildly interested are those interested in early talkies. I'm sure they've had to sit through some pretty rough films so this here is yet another. I've yet to see the original 1923 version or the remake in 1940.

In 1930 taking advantage of the fact that sound demanded that the movies now have lots of dialog what was better than a play where the title character keeps a constant stream of chatter. Not So Dumb was the first sound version of the George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly play Dulcy and had Lynne Fontanne as its star on Broadway. A silent version of the play was made in 1923 that starred Norma Talmadge.

Every reassessment of Marion Davies has always said that William Randolph Hearst's obsession with Davies had to do roles as the heroine in such costume drama as When Knighthood Was In Flower and Janice Meredith. Her real talent lay as comedienne and the role of Dulcy is a natural for Davies. Best line in the film was her ever so innocent put down of Franklin Pangborn about "it's the early worm that gets the bird". You got to wonder who actually thought up that gem, Kaufman or Connelly.

The play is set over a 24 hour period and it deals with a small party that Dulcy is hostess. It's to put over a business deal that her husband Elliott Nugent is trying to get William Holden to agree to. Nugent is repeating his role from the stage.

Dulcy was prototype of the dumb blond, a character Marie Wilson honed to perfection in several film and on radio and TV. In our modern era Jessica Simpson is the successor.

Watching this I also wonder why Burns&Allen never did a version of Dulcy for the screen. This was the perfect vehicle for them, Gracie was born to play the title role.

I'm surprised that this is never revived it seems. It would have been so right for Jessica Simpson.

Still adjusting to sound Davies really hones this one to perfection. Having not seen a later version with Ann Sothern I wonder how it compares?

"Not So Dumb" is a movie you'll probably love or hate...and I could easily see someone hating it. After all, it's the story of a ditsy and obnoxious woman who talks nonstop....and a little of this does go a long way.

The story starts with Mr. Forbes and his family arriving in California for a big business deal with Gordy. Gordy's fiancee, Dulcy (Marion Davies) insists that she host Forbes and his family for the weekend. However, it's obvious Forbes isn't interested and only goes because his wife and daughter want to go.

From the minute the guests arrive, Dulcy talks nonstop and tries way too hard to make sure Forbes has a great time. But she also NEVER listens to him nor his body language and instead thrusts various things on him...insisting he'll have a great time...which he obviously is NOT having. So what's to come of this big business deal after Dulcy annoys Forbes half to death?

Marion Davies works very hard to be flighty and annoying....but the problem is that she really IS quite annoying. This made the film hard going for me....I found a little of Dulcy goes a long way...and making her less abrasive might have made for a better film. Apparently, I am not alone in this sentiment, as the film lost money and the public mostly avoided it.

By the way, if you do watch, you might be shocked when Dulcy tosses out the N-word in the middle of the movie. It seemed to come from the middle of no where and no doubt will offend some!

There is absolutely no bias against early talkies, despite giving a low rating and negative review to 'Not so Dumb'. The title alone gave the feeling of not to expect much, so expectations were not exactly high. There is also no bias against Marion Davies, who was a natural in comedy, or against King Vidor, responsible for silent film greats 'The Big Parade' and 'The Crowd' (high recommendations if you haven't seen them already).

'Not So Dumb' just doesn't work and redeeming qualities are sadly few. There are far better Davies vehicles, more her early work than later, of which 'Not So Dumb' is very much a lesser one and doesn't show her in a good light. And it is for me definitely among Vidor's worst, not a patch on the best of his silents and he even did better later. Neither of them are well served and neither of them, after solid careers in silents, seemed comfortable here with the still in infancy talkie film medium.

What redeems 'Not So Dumb' a little is the supporting cast, all doing very well with what they're given. Amusing George Davis comes off best.

Did like the costumes and sets which were quite elegant.

A word that can't be used describing the rest of the production values sadly. Most of 'Not So Dumb' looks cheap, with very static camerawork that is very restricted and never opens up or feels cinematic and editing that lacks cohesion. Davies' comedic chops are not in sight in a very strident and over-compensated performance that has no subtlety whatsoever. Making her character incredibly irritating. Vidor's direction is very ill at ease and like he didn't know what he was doing.

Furthermore, the sound is very distorted which makes some of the dialogue hard to hear. Not that it was worth hearing anyway, with it being so stilted and unintentionally camp. The story would have been out of date and old-fashioned at the time and creaks badly now, it is slight and when there is a story discernible it is neither interesting or natural. The length is not long but the dullness of the pacing and lack of interest or connection with the story makes it feel longer than it actually is.

On the whole, pretty weak failure and to be for completest sake pretty much only. 3/10

In sunny California, madcap party hostess Marion Davies (as Dulcinea "Dulcy" Parker) tries to impress stuffy businessmen for fiancé jeweler Elliott Nugent (as Gordon "Gordy" Smith). Tailor-made for Ms. Davies from dependable material (a hit play and silent film adaptation as "Dulcy"), "Not So Dumb" doesn't live up to the new title. The soundtrack is primitive, with Davies' voice sounding the worst. MGM's production team, director King Vidor, plus a supporting cast led by cute Raymond Hackett (as Bill "Willie" Parker) and comedian Franklin Pangborn (as Vincent Leach) help a little. Davies scatterbrain character is evidenced by her mixing up sayings, like: "The early worm always gets the bird," and "I just knew there was a woodpile in the…" Not so funny.

**** Not So Dumb (2/2/30) King Vidor ~ Marion Davies, Elliott Nugent, Raymond Hackett, Franklin Pangborn

Stiffly-done farce in which Davies plays an obnoxious character, and the result is not only obnoxious but almost unbearable. Way before Lucy, this is the wacky dame who puts her foot in her mouth too many times and in endless variations. Kaufmann and Connelly's lines fall flat, and Vidor seems to be a little frightened of the microphone in this early talky. Some of the lesser characters are funny in a Rodney Dangerfield sort of way, and the "other William Holden" is good as a pompous businessman.

It's hard to see this now and not find Davies painfully annoying and borderline unwatchable. But you have to take into account the time it came out. It's a statically shot "farce" with thin characters and an attempt to have a dizzying plot but what you're left with is not much. It's based on a play and the lack of locations and flat staging shows that. Nothing much worth seeing anymore.

This, the first sound picture based on the Broadway hit "Dulcy", is possibly the worst Marion Davies movie I've seen. She monopolizes and mugs her way through every scene. There is even a very un-PC comment she makes toward the end of the scene in the billiard room. Her co-stars' acting is awkward and stilted. The only exception is Raymond Hackett as Davies' younger brother. I haven't seen any of his other work, but he seemed to have a natural presence before the camera. Then, of course, there is Franklin Pangborn's stereotypic characterization. The editing and continuity are awful. The director also wastes a chance to see a rare acting role from the writer Donald Ogden Stewart(Sr.).

This was an egregious misfire, considering the talent involved. I kept waiting for a belly laugh or even a chuckle, but I could barely force one throughout the picture. Marion Davies was a talented comedienne, but here her timing seemed off and she appeared ill at ease with the material. All I could think of was that this must have worked better onstage, as it was adapted from a play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, two of the biggest names on Broadway at the time. To top that, the Director was King Vidor, one of Hollywood's best. I thought the website rating was overly generous by half, which is what I rated it; half of it.

Marion Davies stars in her second talkie feature as the scatterbrained Dulcy, who's engaged to dull Gordon (Elliott Nugent) and hosting a weekend party with hopes of furthering his business venture with old fogy Forbes (William Holden, not not that one) who arrives with his wife and daughter. Dulcy's brother Willie (Raymond Hackett) is also on hand.

As a surprise she's hired a new butler (George Davis) newly on parole as well as two surprise guests: the eccentric Van Dyke (Donald Ogden Stewart) who has shares in movie studios and the equally eccentric writer Leach (Franklin Pangborn).

Forbes turns out to be a sour old thing and Dulcy can't stop chattering in an effort to liven up the weekend party of mismatched people. After failed attempts at parlor games and billiards, Dulcy ends up helping Pangborn elope with Forbes' flaky daughter (Sally Starr) with the help of his wife (Julia Faye).

Eventually the daughter's pearls go missing, the butler/parolee runs off, and a stranger comes to the door with information on one of the guests.

Based on a 1921 play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly that starred Lynn Fontanne, this was a starring film in 1923 for Constance Talmadge and again in 1940 for Ann Sothern.

Davies is fun and Pangborn is good as well. Everyone else is OK. Directed by King Vidor the film is awkwardly assembled with silent close-ups inserted into dialog scenes. This was a modest hit in 1930.