#Blondie of the Follies

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Blondie of the Follies (1932)

[gameraboy2]

Blondie of the Follies (1932)

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Grand Hotel (1932) / Blondie of the Follies (1932) dir. Edmund Goulding

[marypickfords]

Blondie of the Follies (Edmund Goulding, 1932)

[precodesoul]

Marion Davies and Robert Montgomery in Blondie of the Follies - 1932

— Set design by Cedric Gibbons

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[retropopcult]

1932

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[byneddiedingo]

Billie Dove and Marion Davies in Blondie of the Follies (Edmund Goulding, 1932)

Cast: Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove, Jimmy Durante, James Gleason, Zasu Pitts, Sidney Toler, Douglass Dumbrille, Sarah Padden, Louise Carter, Clyde Cook. Screenplay: Frances Marion, Anita Loos. Cinematography: George Barnes. Art direction: Cedric Gibbons. Film editing: George Hively. Music: William Axt. 

Marion Davies is always a delight to watch, but Blondie of the Follies is a mess. A sort of backstage, rags-to-riches, romantic comedy with music, it was tailor-made for Davies, who had once been a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl. In fact, it was where she caught the eye of William Randolph Hearst, But why Hearst would have okayed a story so reflective of his liaison with Davies is something of a mystery, especially since he meddled in the production to make sure it wasn't too close to real life. Not that he was a reluctant meddler: He set up his own production company with MGM for her and made sure that she was photographed and clothed in the most flattering ways possible. Davies is such an adroit comedian, the forerunner of such glamorous funny women as Carole Lombard and Lucille Ball, that she didn't need Hearst's help, especially his desire to see her in serious dramatic roles. There's some drama in Blondie of the Follies, but it's much less entertaining than Davies's clowning, as when she mimics Greta Garbo in a sendup of Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding, 1932) with Jimmy Durante as John Barrymore. The story isn't much: Blondie McClune (Davies) and Lottie Callahan (Billie Dove) are on-and-off friends and neighbors in a tenement before Lottie runs off to become a Follies girl. Visiting Lottie (now known as Lurline Cavanaugh), Blondie meets Larry Belmont (Robert Montgomery), who has set Lottie/Lurline up in a swank apartment. Blondie decides that the life of a chorus girl isn't so bad after all, and sure enough she follows in Lottie's footsteps, becoming a star and getting set up in her own swell digs by an oilman (Douglass Dumbrille). Moreover, Larry decides that Blondie is more his type than the pretentious Lurline, who is outraged when she finds out. Even though this is a pre-Code movie, there needs to be some indication that the filmmakers don't fully endorse all of this gold-digging and living-in-sin, so Blondie's dad (James Gleason) shows up to disapprove. Finally, he gives in and decides to let Blondie live how she wants to, but not without touching her conscience a bit. Blondie's ambivalence about her lifestyle and her attraction to Larry will be tested, forming what amounts to the plot. There's an interpolated party scene to let Durante do his comic shtick, which hasn't aged well, and a couple of rather clunky production numbers, but they only add to the generally unfocused character of the movie.  

[musicandoldmovies]

Billie Dove in Blondie of the Follies

[travsd]

Of Gelding, Gilding, and Edmund Goulding

Only recently did I conclude that I was a fan of director Edmund Goulding (1891-1959), having passed that crucial moment when I was realized that several movies I like had a key artist in common. I’ve done two dedicated posts on Goulding films: Blondie of the Follies (1932) and the original Nightmare Alley (1947). I’ve seen his best known and most revered movie Grand Hotel (1932) at least half a…

[gameraboy2]

Blondie of the Follies (1932)

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Propaganda

Marion Davies (Show People, the Patsy)— JUSTICE FOR MARION DAVIES. I am always so upset when I learn that some people STILL think she was some untalented pretty face who was only a success because of her relationship with Hearst. Please watch literally any of her movies, silent or sound, to see how untrue this is. She was successful in spite of Hearst's constant meddling. She really shines as a comedienne. Just watch her imitate other silent stars in The Patsy, or her screwball antics in Show People. I've watched so many silents just for her, but she was also really good in sound films, too, like Blondie of the Follies. She's absolutely adorable, and she deserves to be recognized for her talent, alone.

Rita Hayworth (Gilda, Cover Girl)—Absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous. She steals every movie she’s in; she was Fred Astaire’s favorite dance partner, as you can see in clips from their movies [link][link]. Born Margarita Carmen Cansino, Rita's story had its tragedies—her father was awful and had her performing in nightclubs way, way too young; the studio totally remade her look because they were afraid of her hispanic image, putting her through painful treatments and diets; she had a string of failed marriages. But beside all that, I think there's something about Rita that still glows through—an inner beauty that has nothing to do with the studio, or the men who pinned their dreams on her. Rita brings an incandescence to roles that's impossible to replicate, and was truly a great actress in that she could switch from herself—shy Margarita—into a bold and glamorous femme fatale so convincingly everyone fell in love with her as Gilda. She's my favorite movie star, and I think she was a beautiful human through and through—Rita, gorgeous and real and shining bright.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Marion Davies:

the queen of comedy

 If anyone is looking for a tragic infamous funny fav, this is your girl! She came from a catholic convent to become a showgirl! As many of these early Hollywood stars, she fell victim to falling in love with the wrong man. She had a long lasting affair with a older powerful married man, William Hearst. Their story was so iconic and scandalous that it is largely what inspired Citizen Kane. She gained her fame through him, which eventually gathered her the reputation of being social-climbing and taking advantage of more her looks than her talent. This made her controversial, which wasn't helped by her flirty fun personality and attitude towards other actors (including Charlie Chaplin). All of this hate meant that she was eventually ostracized by Hollywood and even blamed for Hearst's death. My poor girl was excitable, funny, charismatic, energetic, and extremely talented. I believe that at her heart and soul, she was truly a clown. She possesses an incredible gift for mimicry, a deceptively animate face, and an absence of on-screen ego that allows her to throw herself into anything, no matter how foolish or potentially embarrassing, with all of her considerable energy. And it's those ridiculous moments that are almost always her best in film, because to me, that's really who she was. She was silly and sweet and so so so so so funny! And she deserved better than the tragedy of the life she got.

Rita Hayworth:

Do you need any other propaganda? Here’s the video.

She was not called "the love goddess" for nothing: beautiful, glamorous, despite playing sexy and provocative roles her inherent shyness somehow also would shine through sometimes, creating this contradictory and incredibly attractive image

Often played "the bad girl" who tempted the male hero away from "the good girl"; but did have roles that broke her out of that mold. She was also the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit. THE pinup girlie.

HELP

She was soo beautiful when she was young and she MAINTAINED that beauty into her later years and I think that old lady glamour is hot. bombastic sex appeal

every line she delivers in gilda is so flirty and passionate or absolutely desolate and it's so good

I just have a lot of feelings about her

[marypickfords]

Blondie of the Follies (Edmund Goulding, 1932)

[precodesoul]

Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante as Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in Blondie of the Follies (dir. Edmund Goulding, 1932)

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