Blondie of the Follies / Peg O' My Heart

In-person: Lara Gabrielle, author, Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies.

Admission is free. No advance reservations. Free tickets must be obtained on a first come, first served basis at the box office, where seating will be assigned.

Blondie of the Follies

U.S., 1932

Produced by Marion Davies with a script by Frances Marion and Anita Loos, Blondie of the Follies follows two women who work their way up from the tenements to Park Avenue and the toll it takes on their friendship. Blondie (Davies) follows Lottie (Billie Dove) onto the stage where they both find success until a Manhattan socialite (Robert Montgomery) comes between them. The romantic complications are de rigueur with the real focus of this sharp-witted drama on the complex dynamic between Davies and Dove as friends seemingly forced into competition.

35mm, b&w, 91 min. Director: Edmund Goulding. Screenwriter: Frances Marion, Anita Loos, Ralph Spence. With: Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove.

Peg O' My Heart

U.S., 1933

Marion Davies plays the daughter of an Irish fisherman who’s swept away from home to the heart of English aristocracy when her maternal grandfather leaves her his estate—provided she can become a lady. Screenwriter France Marion adapted the hit Broadway play of the same specifically to suit Davies’ maturing personality. While Davies sweeps through every scene with plenty of bounce—rounded out by a charming brogue—this would be Davies last juvenile role.

35mm, b&w, 87 min. Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Screenwriter: Frank R. Adams, Frances Marion. With: Marion Davies, Onslow Stevens, J. Farrell MacDonald.

Print courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Part of: Marion Davies: Captain of Her Soul