La reine des girls

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.