SHOW PEOPLE convinced me that Marion Davies was better suited to silent films than the talkies--because she gives a very fetching performance as the Georgian girl whose father, Col. Pepper, takes her to Hollywood where he intends to put her into pictures.
Along the way, she's romanced by WILLIAM HAINES, a comic actor who does a great job as the clownish guy who gets her into doing slapstick comedies--and then suffers when she is taken over by the High Art studio for "great dramatic roles." Funniest bit in the film has her trying to cry on cue to please a very demanding director--who tries everything he can think of (even onions) to get her to shed a tear for the camera. His hapless assistant has tears streaming down his face when "Hearts and Flowers" is played on the set, but not Davies. It's hilarious.
It's also a fun way of viewing old Hollywood, before sound came in to stay. We get a sight-seeing tour of various parts of Los Angeles and the studios, technicians, crew, cameramen, script girls, and various glimpses of how films were being shot.
Naturally, the ending comes in somewhat predictable fashion when the Count she's about to marry is revealed as a fake--and she winds up with her true love, the comedian.
Haines shows what a talented man he truly was with a personality made for the cameras and as a vehicle for Davies, this is one of her best.
Final verdict: She should have stayed in silents. As you can see, I'm not a big fan of her "talkies."
Along the way, she's romanced by WILLIAM HAINES, a comic actor who does a great job as the clownish guy who gets her into doing slapstick comedies--and then suffers when she is taken over by the High Art studio for "great dramatic roles." Funniest bit in the film has her trying to cry on cue to please a very demanding director--who tries everything he can think of (even onions) to get her to shed a tear for the camera. His hapless assistant has tears streaming down his face when "Hearts and Flowers" is played on the set, but not Davies. It's hilarious.
It's also a fun way of viewing old Hollywood, before sound came in to stay. We get a sight-seeing tour of various parts of Los Angeles and the studios, technicians, crew, cameramen, script girls, and various glimpses of how films were being shot.
Naturally, the ending comes in somewhat predictable fashion when the Count she's about to marry is revealed as a fake--and she winds up with her true love, the comedian.
Haines shows what a talented man he truly was with a personality made for the cameras and as a vehicle for Davies, this is one of her best.
Final verdict: She should have stayed in silents. As you can see, I'm not a big fan of her "talkies."