Page Miss Glory (1935)

One of Hollywood's persistent myths is that Marion Davies was a dismal actress who received starring roles only because her longtime lover was Charles Randolph Hearst. Page Miss Glory disproves that notion. She was an adroit comedienne -- and here, she breathes life into a screwball plot that would have been pretty lame without her. She's a naive newcomer to New York working as a chambermaid at a hotel where con artists Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh haven't paid the tab for a month. How they turn her into the mythical temptress, Dawn Glory, and her romance with flier Dick Powell -- who's just as delightfully dopey as she is -- take up most of the film. You can probably chalk up the negative comments about Miss Davies to Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" in which Dorothy Commingore played Kane's mistress, a Davies-like actress known for her wooden performances. But catch "Page Miss Glory" -- or any one of several other movies she made before she quit the screen to look after Hearst -- and you'll discover just how much fun she was.

In no way can I be persuaded to think that MARION DAVIES was a brilliant comedienne. She delivers her lines in flat fashion, making everyone aware that she is acting--as if that in itself is supposed to be funny. Truth is, she was better in silents where we were not subjected to her strident speaking voice and the affected mannerisms on display in her later films.I go with the N.Y. Times reviewer who said: "Some of it is funny, some of it isn't, and a lot of it is speed and noise." For sheer speed and noise you can have PAT O'BRIEN, spouting all his dialog like a machine gun spitting out lines faster than the speed of sound. You can have ALLEN JENKINS being his lovable but dumb self, saddled with some of the film's sillier moments but at least drawing a chuckle. Or you can sympathize with MARY ASTOR who is supposed to be daffy about FRANK McHUGH--and that too is good for a laugh. And then we have poor DICK POWELL, trying to make something out of a thankless supporting role as Marion's true love.It's all done in the furious fashion typical of these screwball comedies from the '30s--only this one hasn't got enough wit in the script to please any discriminating viewer.For Davies fans only. Before it's over, you get the feeling you've seen it all before.

Considering the talent invested in this movie, and the fast paced, well developed story, this should have been a near classic. The story of two glib con men, who first invent a contest winner by photographic trickery, then find a maid who fits the description, is done well enough that you can buy the premise. Here are two problems: Pat O'Brien, who plays one of the con men, does what he always does in this type of role - talks with a machine gun like speed, making it all but impossible to understand him. Secondly, Marion Davies, the maid who is talked into portraying "Miss Dawn Glory", the contest winner, simply can't act. Granted, she was extremely attractive, bright, and possessed a presence all but impossible to ignore. But I have never seen any evidence that she had much talent for acting. The rest of the cast were close to being perfect for their roles, most notably Patsy Kelly and Dick Powell.

After William Randolph Hearst took his Cosmopolitan Pictures off the MGM lot and onto Warner Brothers, Marion Davies for her first film was given the title role in Page Miss Glory. The film is based on a Broadway play that ran only 63 performances during the 1934-1935 season.Press Agents Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh concoct a phony beauty by taking facial features from several known movie stars to create the perfect American beauty. When asked to produce her, our intrepid duo is stuck, but when hotel chambermaid Marion Davies comes in to make up the room, it seems like a prayer has been answered.O'Brien and McHugh are playing roles that they've both done dozens of times alone and together at Warner Brothers in the Thirties. I think Pat O'Brien pulled more cinematic cons than any other player on record. Davies has some very funny moments and I know she wished she could have done more films like this one.Dick Powell plays a Charles Lindbergh like aviator with a nice tenor voice who sings the song Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote for the film Page Miss Glory. It's done during a dream sequence when Davies still thinking like a chambermaid, imagines herself being swept up romantically by Powell.Page Miss Glory is one of Marion Davies better sound features and still worth seeing today.