Marion Davies films restored and showing at the Billy Wilder Theater - UCLA Film & Televison (1 Viewer)

[Capt D McMars]

February 12, 2023 - 7:00 pm
Billy Wilder Theater

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Beverly of Graustark​

U.S., 1926

After conspirators attack, Marion Davies must pretend to be her brother until he recovers enough from an assassination plot to assume his place on the throne of a fictional European kingdom. Intrigue political and romance follow with a bobbed Davies deliriously swapping gender roles throughout as both prince and princess in this thoroughly charming comedy. This newly restored version by the Library of Congress includes the final sequence originally shot in two-color Technicolor.

DCP, b&w, silent, 70 min. Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Screenwriter: Frank R. Adams, Frances Marion. With: Marion Davies, Onslow Stevens, J. Farrell MacDonald.

The Cardboard Lover​

U.S., 1928

After her turn in Show People, The Daily News anointed Marion Davies “filmdom’s most hilarious comedienne” so MGM raced her into another comedy which would prove to be one of her most enduringly popular. As a ready-for-mischief American abroad, Davies falls hard for a European tennis champion who, in turn, recruits her in a scheme to make his wandering fiancée jealous. Davis again proves her comic chops with a special emphasis on her gift for physical comedy.

35mm, b&w, silent, 77 min. Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Screenwriter: F. Hughes Herbert, Carey Wilson, Lucille Newmark. With: Marion Davies, Jetta Goudal, Nils Asther.

Print courtesy of the Library of Congress.

 

[Capt D McMars]

Also later this month at the same theater -
February 26, 2023 - 7:00 pm
Billy Wilder Theater

Lights of Old Broadway​

U.S., 1925
Marion Davies exuded a universal charm whether playing an aristocrat or a waif. In Lights of Old Broadway she plays both as twins separated at birth, one brought up in high society, the other in the tenements. Fate, of course, brings them together against the backdrop of electrical lighting coming to New York City. This new restoration from the Library of Congress features a stunning finale shot in two-color Technicolor along with hand-tinting. The film’s success helped Davies negotiate a better contract with MGM the following year, including producer credit on all her subsequent films.
35mm, b&w, silent, 70 min. Director: Monta Bell. Screenwriter: Carey Wilson, Joseph W. Farhnham. With: Marion Davies, Conrad Nagel, Frank Currier.
Print courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The Patsy​

U.S., 1928
As he told William Randolph Hearst, King Vidor’s plan for his first time directing Marion Davies was simple: “Why don’t we forget the play that’s written and let Marion do as she does?” And boy does she! The Patsy shines as a showcase for Davies emerging comic persona as she stirs up romantic chaos as a younger, put upon daughter who hatches a plan to win away her older, pampered sister’s beau. It’s Cinderella meets Dale Carnegie as she endeavors to “cultivate a personality” culminating in the film’s most famous sequence in which Davies whips through her repertoire of celebrity impressions including Mae Murray, Lillian Gish and Pola Negri.
35mm, b&w, silent, 70 min. Director: King Vidor. Screenwriter: Agnes Christine Johnston, Ralph Spence. With: Marion Davies, Orville Caldwell, Marie Dressler.

Part of:
Marion Davies: Captain of Her Soul