''Not So Dumb'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

comedy film directed by

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor ( ; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

, starring Marion Davies, and produced by Cosmopolitan Productions for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, who released it on January 17, 1930. It is based on the stage play ''Dulcy'' by George S. Kaufman and

Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...

that starred

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

. The film resulted in a financial loss for the studio of $39,000.Nasaw, David. ''The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst'', Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. pg. 411. The play was previously adapted into a silent film in 1923 and would received another adaptation in 1940.

Plot

Dulcinea Parker goes to the train station to meet the Forbes: mother Eleanor, father Charles, and daughter Angela, whom she has invited to spend the weekend. We are also introduced to her new butler Perkins, who is an ex-convict on parole. Dulcinea, ever the "dumb blonde", has a habit of doing the wrong thing. She misquotes common expressions and butchers the King's English. She and her brother Bill, whom she calls Willie, who's in love with Angela, host the Forbes and several other guests for the weekend. Dulcinea is scheming to get Mr. Forbes to invest in her fiance' Gordon's costume jewelry business. She plays matchmaker to Angela by pairing her with the flamboyant "scenario writer" Vincent Leach, who enthusiastically tells his latest story for over two hours. Dulcinea's matchmaking efforts are fruitful, and Angela plans to elope with Vincent. Willie, still carrying a torch for Angela, offers to drive the clandestine couple to their wedding. Later, only Angela & Willie return, married. Dulcinea also entertains a golf enthusiast, Schuyler Van Dyke, who offers to fund Gordon's enterprise (and shamelessly flirts with Mrs. Forbes). Emboldened, Gordon tells off Mr. Forbes. All is well until a man named Patterson arrives; the brother of "Van Dyke", who apparently suffers from delusions of grandeur. Realizing that Gordon's funding is a fantasy, panic ensues. But, since Mr. Forbes recognizes Mr. Patterson as the ''real'' Schuyler Van Dyke's attorney, he doesn't believe Van Dyke's a fake. So, fortunately for all, Mr. Forbes outbids Van Dyke's investment, thus making Dulcinea an accidental hero and a not-so-dumb blonde.

Cast

* Marion Davies as Dulcinea Parker *

Elliott Nugent Elliott Nugent (September 20, 1896 – August 9, 1980) was an American actor, playwright, writer, and film director. Life and career Nugent was born in Dover, Ohio, the son of actor J.C. Nugent. He attended Ohio State University. He successf ...

as Gordon Smith * Raymond Hackett as Willie Parker * Franklin Pangborn as Vincent Leach *

Julia Faye Julia Faye Maloney (September 24, 1892 – April 6, 1966), known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ...

as Eleanor Forbes *

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

as Charles Roger Forbes * Donald Ogden Stewart as Skylar Van Dyke/Horace Patterson * Sally Starr as Angela Forbes * George Davis as Perkins * Ruby Lafayette as Grandma (uncredited)

References

"The Screen" by Mordaunt Hall. ''The New York Times'', February 8, 1930.

External links

* * * 1930 films 1930 comedy films American black-and-white films American comedy films 1930s English-language films American films based on plays Films directed by King Vidor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Wanda Tuchock 1930s American films English-language comedy films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub