Dulcy

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?

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.

"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

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.