Marion Davies said farewell to the screen on a relatively high note with a nice
screwball comedy Ever Since Eve. It was done over at Warner Brothers where
William Randolph Hearst moved her private trailer to from MGM a few years
earlier. But as a co-star the brothers Warner got Robert Montgomery over from
MGM where he had done Blondie Of The Follies with Davies.
Montgomery plays a writer who can't buckle down to work because he's chasing women. But his publisher has a remedy for that, they only hire plain janes as secretaries and stenographers. They truly believe in the wisdom from How To Succeed In Business that a secretary is not a toy. So Davies who Montgomery had previously met dowdies herself up and goes to work for him.
The usual comedy of errors follows. The only one who knows what Davies is doing is flat mate Patsy Kelly. One of the best scenes in the film is when Kelly's boyfriend Allen Jenkins is looking to fix up his boss Barton MacLane with Davies and she comes in her dowdy persona. He can't wait to get out of there and Kelly keeps Jenkins in the dark the rest of the film. Poor Jenkins is ready to check himself into Happydale Acres.
I never think of Barton MacLane in comedy, but nice to see he has this to his credit as well as The Rounders and I Dream Of Jeannie.
Montgomery and Davies worked well together. Marion probably could have done more films. But she quit at the top and made it stick.
This one is a really good 30s screwball comedy. I only wish Davies had done more like this.
Montgomery plays a writer who can't buckle down to work because he's chasing women. But his publisher has a remedy for that, they only hire plain janes as secretaries and stenographers. They truly believe in the wisdom from How To Succeed In Business that a secretary is not a toy. So Davies who Montgomery had previously met dowdies herself up and goes to work for him.
The usual comedy of errors follows. The only one who knows what Davies is doing is flat mate Patsy Kelly. One of the best scenes in the film is when Kelly's boyfriend Allen Jenkins is looking to fix up his boss Barton MacLane with Davies and she comes in her dowdy persona. He can't wait to get out of there and Kelly keeps Jenkins in the dark the rest of the film. Poor Jenkins is ready to check himself into Happydale Acres.
I never think of Barton MacLane in comedy, but nice to see he has this to his credit as well as The Rounders and I Dream Of Jeannie.
Montgomery and Davies worked well together. Marion probably could have done more films. But she quit at the top and made it stick.
This one is a really good 30s screwball comedy. I only wish Davies had done more like this.