BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES (1932)

I have not been a big fan of Marion Davies, perhaps partly because I haven't seen much of her. I didn't care for this Davies vehicle, but I must admit that Davies was good, the best thing in the film. She had spark and life (unlike in GOING HOLLYWOOD or PAGE MISS GLORY, the only other Davies sound films I've seen) and she sometimes looked and acted like Joan Crawford (with a hint of Bette Davis once or twice). The silly plot involves a dragged-out romantic triangle between two old friends (Davies and Billie Dove) and a rich playboy (Robert Montgomery). Davies and Dove grew up together in the tenements; Dove strikes out on her own and gets a lucrative job in the Follies, thanks to some "sugar daddy" contacts. Soon, Dove is happy as a featured chorus performer, being kept in fine style by Montgomery, and she renews her friendship with Davies, who herself winds up in the Follies and attracted to Montgomery. This leads to bad feelings all around (including a couple of rather fun "catfights") and a bizarre tragic on-stage accident which leaves one person crippled and the other two anxious to do the right thing.

Apparently both Davies and Dove were Ziegfeld Follies girls early in their careers, but the movie, despite having a theatrical setting, doesn't give anyone the chance to show off much in the way of singing or dancing talents. I do like the way that the Follies numbers are shown mostly from backstage or on-stage rather than from the audience, but don't watch expecting any Busby Berkeley flights of fancy. Montgomery is less irritating than usual in his role as obnoxious cad, but I was never convinced that he was in love with anyone--which might be the point, though the romantic angle is played so obliquely that I'm not sure. The best performance after Davies comes from James Gleason, as Davies' father, who looked incredibly young and got to show more range than his later parts usually called for. Zasu Pitts, as Davies' sister, was far less "ditzy" than usual; Sidney Toler (Charlie Chan) is fine in a small role as Pitts' husband and Sarah Padden nicely underplays the pathos-filled role of Davies' mother. One fun bit towards the end has Davies and Jimmy Durante (playing himself) doing a parody of Garbo and Barrymore in GRAND HOTEL (both films were directed by Edmund Goulding), but it's not fun enough to save the film. [TCM]