EVER SINCE EVE was Marion Davies’s last movie. I’ve only seen two of her films including this one and I look forward to catching up on some of her previous films like SHOW PEOPLE,POLLY OF THE CIRCUS,BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES,OPERATOR 13 and CAIN AND MABEL. ( I expect they have all been on TCM.)
Ever Since Eve has Marion as ‘Marge’,an efficient stenographer who is fed up with her bosses chasing her.
When she looks for another job,she finds a publishing company that doesn’t want pretty girls!
So Marge changes her appearance – black wig,glasses and padded plain clothes.

She’s assigned to author ‘Freddy’ (Robert Montgomery) and falls for him.
I guess Robert was on loan from MGM. The New York Times review of 1937 (by Frank Nugent) mentioned “Robert Montgomery’s perfunctory discharge of his contractual responsibility .”

I have to agree,but also blame the writers for giving him such a boring character.
Nugent also said it was the worst film of the year, even though he wrote the review in June!
I thought Marion Davies was charming and adept at comedy. She was ably supported by Patsy Kelly as her friend ,and Allen Jenkins as Patsy’s boyfriend.
Seems a pity this was Marion’s last movie.

 

PAGE MISS GLORY. 1935.

This was Marion Davies’s first film at Warner Brothers after William Randolph Hearst moved his Cosmopolitan Pictures unit from MGM.
It’s a fast paced comedy with Pat O’Brien and Frank McHugh as 2 con men who’ll do anything for a buck.
McHugh is a photographer who dreams up a composite picture of a beautiful woman in order to win a radio competition for ‘America’s Prettiest Girl’. They call her Dawn Glory.
Meanwhile Marion is ‘Loretta’,a wide-eyed small town girl who comes to New York and gets a job as a maid in a swanky hotel where O’Brien and McHugh are staying.

The fictious Miss Glory wins the competition and everyone wants to meet her,including a daffy pilot (Dick Powell) and an inquisitive reporter,Lyle Talbot.
Loretta is happy in her job and works alongside Patsy Kelly.
Of course it is Loretta who is transformed into Miss Glory and she falls for Dick Powell.

 

What’s fascinating in the film is that the star,Marion Davies,spends the first hour in her maid’s outfit and a cap covering her hair. Not many stars would do that!

Marion came over very naturally and again played well with Patsy Kelly.

It was also a surprise to see the lovely Mary Astor as Frank McHugh’s girlfriend. She was totally wasted and I cant think why she was cast.

I couldn’t find a picture of Marion as the maid, except for this on the set photo with Frank McHugh,Pat O’Brien and director,Mervyn Le Roy.

 

 

P.S. Just received this screen shot. Thanks,Bob.