Not So Dumb

76 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Not So Dumb is a 1930 pre-Code comedy motion picture starring Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor, and produced for Cosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

It is based on the stage play Dulcy by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly that starred Lynn Fontanne. The film resulted in a financial loss for the studio of $39,000.^[1]

This is a re-make of the 1923 film Dulcy. See also the 1940 film of the same name (Dulcy).

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 as Gordon Smith
• Raymond Hackett as Willie Parker
• Franklin Pangborn as Vincent Leach
• Julia Faye as Eleanor Forbes
• William Holden 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

• Not So Dumb at IMDb
• Not So Dumb at the TCM Movie Database
• Not So Dumb at AllMovie
• Not So Dumb at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films