Blondie of the Follies (1932)

Blondie of the Follies: Directed by Edmund Goulding. With Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove, Jimmy Durante. Two young women find their friendship strained when one wins a role in a Broadway show, and the other’s boyfriend begins to fall for her.

“A few quick thoughts on u0026quot;Blondie of the Folliesu0026quot;: 1)Any movie with the title, u0026quot;Follies,u0026quot; should be a musical. Despite a few brief song-dance numbers, this one isnu0026#39;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 u0026quot;confessionalu0026quot; scene with Davies that is heart-rending. 4) Itu0026#39;s amazing to see Sidney Toler as a lazy young layabout; a lottau0026#39; 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 oneu0026#39;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 heu0026#39;s only in the film for a few minutes — but itu0026#39;s worth it for his u0026quot;Grand Hotelu0026quot; spoof with Davies as Garbo. 8)Did u0026quot;Folliesu0026quot; chorines really have maids, chauffeurs and penthouse apartments? 9) Finally, itu0026#39;s a pretty enjoyable movie, typically pre-code, provided you werenu0026#39;t expecting a musical.”