April Folly

In her seventh movie, Marion Davies is an author who reads her latest novel to her publisher. In it, she is a woman who discovers a plot by J. Herbert Frank to steal a huge diamond. She takes the place of Madeline Marshall, who is carrying it to its new owner in South Africa. Along the way, she is succored by Conway Tearle, and tailed by Spencer Charters, a cigar-chomping, derby-wearing detective hired by Miss Marshall's father.

It's a delightful tale directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Miss Davies is photographed beautifully, and she gets to show some vivacity and a bit of business in her role. Mr. Charters' role seems to have largely ended up on the cutting room floor. Mr. Tearle is handsome and stalwart, typically so in a career in which he served as romantic interest for various starlets.

The copy I looked at was the DVD produced by Ed Lorusso, with a fine score by Ben Model. Although it was originally a five-reel movie, the Library of Congress preservation copy it was made from lacks the first reel; the contents of the first reel have been summarized by opening titles. The DVD contains a black-and-white version and tinted one; and the case cover has a lovely painting of Miss Davies from a lobby card.

It's a treat for fans of Miss Davies, and another nail in the coffin of the legend that she was a poor actress, her career sustained by the fortune of William Randolph Hearst.