Not So Dumb (1930)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
The third film between director King Vidor and star Marion Davies isn't in the same league as SHOW PEOPLE or THE PATSY and really comes off as a major disappointment. Based on the play Dulcy, Davis plays that character, a blond moron who tries to help her boyfriend get his foot in the door of a big business by inviting his boss and his wife over for the weekend. Once there, Dulcy plays host to try and make herself appear smarter than she actually is. I've said this about a lot of films from this era but here it goes again. This is an early talkie that is so impressed by the fact that words can be heard that it never knows when to shut up. You can tell Davies and Vidor aren't too comfortable with the new format because it's hard to look at this film and see any of the director's trademarks. The film looks rather ugly and some of the editing will leave you scratching your head and wondering if only one take was done on certain scenes and they had to cut away from it quickly. Davies, God bless her, gives it her all but it seems Vidor just let her go off in any direction and the end result is a bit of a mess. Her character is a complete idiot and Davies gets this across just fine but after a while she starts to get very annoying because she's reduced to silly facial gestures and various facial "shock" moves. Franklin Pangborn steals the show as Leach and George Davis is also good as the rather strange butler. Fans of Davies will probably watch this no matter what but the only others that might be mildly interested are those interested in early talkies. I'm sure they've had to sit through some pretty rough films so this here is yet another. I've yet to see the original 1923 version or the remake in 1940.
