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Not So Dumb
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Wikipedia article
'Not So Dumb' is a 1930 pre-Code comedy motion picture starring Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor, and produced for Cosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
It is based on the stage play 'Dulcy' by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly that starred Lynn Fontanne. The film resulted in a financial loss for the studio of $39,000.Nasaw, David. 'The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst', Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. pg. 411.
This is a re-make of the 1923 film 'Dulcy'. See also the 1940 film of the same name ('Dulcy').
Plot summary
Dulcinea Parker (Marion Davies) goes to the train station to meet the Forbes: mother Eleanor (Julia Faye), father Charles (William Holden), and daughter Angela (Sally Starr), whom she has invited to spend the weekend. We are also introduced to her new butler Perkins (George Davis), who is an ex-convict on parole.
Dulcinea, ever the "dumb blonde", has a habit of doing the wrong thing. She misquotes common expressions and butchers the King's English. She and her brother Bill, whom she calls Willie (Raymond Hackett), who's in love with Angela, host the Forbes and several other guests for the weekend. Dulcinea is scheming to get Mr. Forbes to invest in her fiance' Gordon's (Elliott Nugent) costume jewelry business.
She plays matchmaker to Angela by pairing her with the flamboyant "scenario writer" Vincent Leach (Franklin Pangborn), who enthusiastically tells his latest story for over two hours. Dulcinea's matchmaking efforts are fruitful, and Angela plans to elope with Vincent. Willie, still carrying a torch for Angela, offers to drive the clandestine couple to their wedding. Later, only Angela & Willie return, married.
Dulcinea also entertains a golf enthusiast, Schuyler Van Dyke, who offers to fund Gordon's enterprise (and shamelessly flirts with Mrs. Forbes). Emboldened, Gordon tells off Mr. Forbes. All is well until a man named Patterson arrives; the brother of "Van Dyke", who apparently suffers from delusions of grandeur. Realizing that Gordon's funding is a fantasy, panic ensues. But, since Mr. Forbes recognizes Mr. Patterson as the 'real' Schuyler Van Dyke's attorney, he doesn't believe Van Dyke's a fake. So, fortunately for all, Mr. Forbes outbids Van Dyke's investment, thus making Dulcinea an accidental hero and a not-so-dumb blonde.
Cast
* Marion Davies as Dulcinea Parker
* Elliott Nugent as Gordon Smith
* Raymond Hackett as Willie Parker
* Franklin Pangborn as Vincent Leach
* Julia Faye as Eleanor Forbes
* William Holden as Charles Roger Forbes
* Donald Ogden Stewart as Skylar Van Dyke/Horace Patterson
* Sally Starr as Angela Forbes
* George Davis as Perkins
* Ruby Lafayette as Grandma (uncredited)
References
* [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9507EFDF133EE33ABC4053DFB466838B629EDE "The Screen" by Mordaunt Hall. 'The New York Times', February 8, 1930.]
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