Garota Esperta

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.

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?

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.

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.

"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!