This early talkie is a bit creaky—sound recording technology certainly wasn't perfected yet, for one thing. It's also very evident that it's a movie version of a stage play—there's no doubt it's "stagey," which bothers some people. So it takes some doing, but Marion Davies' wacky performance eventually overcomes these distractions.
Davies is both nutty and charming as Dulcy, a wealthy young socialite who is determined to help her fiancé put over a big business deal.
Elliott Nugent is fine as the fiancé who would much prefer that Dulcy mind her own business; his performance, like his character, is pretty much overshadowed by the much bigger and bolder Davies personality. Old character actor William Holden is very good as the blustery and flustered business magnate with whom Davies is trying to match up Nugent.
Davies' extremely expressive face places her much more in a class with fellow comedians than with other female movie stars of the day; while her screen presence is nothing at all like, for example, Joan Crawford's—it's not entirely unlike Stan Laurel's or Harold Lloyd's.
Her appeal lies in a kind of well-meaning goofiness that other characters may find irritating but is both hilarious and endearing to us viewers. A great example: the drawing room scene in which a house guest sings a song while Davies aggressively shushes everyone and then noisily unwraps a box of candy.
The comic plot is okay and there is some funny dialog. But the main attraction of the picture is certainly the star—this is lots of fun for fans of Marion Davies and her other comedies.
