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.
*** (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.