Going Hollywood 1933 - Davis follows Crosby to Tinseltown

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IMDB rating: 8,3

Director: Raoul Walsh
Main Cast: Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart Erwin, Ned Sparks, Patsy Kelly

"Reportedly at the request of Marion Davies herself, Bing Crosby was borrowed from Paramount for the MGM Davies vehicle Going Hollywood.
When she discovers that the crooner she adores is 'Going Hollywood', a liberated school teacher dogs his steps all the way to the Studio sound stages.
Marion Davies tries her hardest to entertain in this tinsel town spoof, but neither the script (based on a story by the celebrated Frances Marion) nor the direction give her much leeway. Raoul Walsh seems a curious choice to direct this kind of film, but he must have had William Randolph Hearst's approval or he never would have been given the assignment. The trouble is that Marion has little chance to be anything other than sweet and pleasant - when finally given the opportunity to do a wicked spoof of co-star Fifi D'Orsay, she's terrific. Unfortunately, moments like that come all too rarely.
Leading man Bing Crosby comes off rather better, showing the casual charm that would make him a huge star. And he gets to sing some fine tunes by Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed, including the classic ‘Temptation' and the fun ‘We'll Make Hay While The Sun Shines.' Although his character is a bit of a cad, Bing never fails to deliver the goods to the audience. As was his wont, publisher William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies' 'very good friend', was present throughout the filming, making it difficult indeed for Bing Crosby to 'lose himself' in the kissing scenes.
Some of the best moments in Going Hollywood belong to Patsy Kelly, making her movie debut as Davies' wisecracking chum, and to the Radio Rogues, a comedy singing act specializing in impressions of contemporary radio celebrities." - www.allmovie.com

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The bachelor father 1931 - Great performance by Sir C. Aubrey Smith

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021633/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Main Cast: Marion Davies, Ralph Forbes, C. Aubrey Smith, Ray Milland

"A grumpy old baronet, happily unmarried, decides to send for his three grown-up illegitimate children and provide them a home at his manor. To his surprise, he finds himself bonding with his uninhibited American daughter. Can he find satisfaction in his new role as 'the bachelor father'?
This 1931 film, in which he gives a robust performance, marked the arrival at MGM of elderly Sir C. Aubrey Smith, very soon to be one of Hollywood's most valuable character actors. With his great hooked nose and beetling brows, Sir Aubrey looked every inch the part of the duke or general or statesman he would play so often. He would remain very much in demand in studios all over town, right up to his death in 1948.
The film's top-billed star is Marion Davies. Best remembered today as the mistress of media mogul William Randolph Hearst and the chatelaine of Hearst Castle, the most fabulous residence on the West Coast, she was actually a very talented and pretty comedienne. For a few years, Hearst attempted to make her the queen of MGM (with her own production company and a huge bungalow-dressing room) but the studio already had several other queens - Dressler, Garbo, Shearer, Crawford - and he eventually moved her to Warner Bros. Here Miss Davies gets a chance to joke and clown and her scenes with Sir Aubrey are entertaining. Her love interest is played by Ralph Forbes, a handsome young British actor who was just starting to find good films as the silent days ended. He had all the qualities for major stardom, but sadly it was not to be. Celebrity would come to Ray Milland, here making one of his first screen appearances."

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The Florodora girl 1930 - Davies shines in this nice period comedy

Marion Davies in The Florodora Girl (1930)

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020891/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 8,2

Director: Harry Beaumont
Main Cast: Marion Davies, Lawrence Gray, Ilka Chase, Vivien Oakland

"For nearly 20 years, no other actress in America was the recipient of so much effort to make her a big movie star than Marion Davies. As mistress of the powerful media mogul, William Randolph Hearst, Davies appeared in one lavish film production after another. Hearst's seemingly bottomless pockets spared no expense and Marion lived like a queen both on screen and off. (Their huge California mansion, now called Hearst Castle, crowned a coastal estate of unstinted extravagance, while the saltwater sequence for The Florodora girl was filmed in the waters in front of the enormous Santa Monica beach house Hearst built for her.)
Never one to put on airs, Davies won the hearts of her fans and the other Hollywood stars with her warm generosity and good spirits. On the screen Hearst preferred seeing her in heavy historical romances, but she much more enjoyed light comedy fare which better displayed her talents. Which is exactly what she does in The Florodora girl, getting to sing & dance a little, playing a member of the famed sextet, looking for love with the right boy but not willing to compromise her morals in the search. Davies had been a Ziegfeld Follies Girl before being carried off by Hearst; the film poses a few questions about love and success which must have given Marion something to ponder.
Lawrence Gray, an important MGM musical comedy star at the beginning of the Sound Era, does well in his role as the vivacious society boy who learns a few things about maturity while wooing Davies. He had partnered with Marion before, in Silent & Sound pictures, and they have a good on-screen chemistry.
MGM gave the film a nice feeling of the 1890's with its horseless carriages, puffed sleeve fashions and frequent songs. The early Technicolor with which the film closes is most pleasing to the eye."

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