Billie Dove

Marion Davies and Billie Dove, both veterans of the real-life Ziegfeld Follies, star in the entertaining comedy-drama Blondie of the Follies. Having both grown up in the New York tenement district, Blondie (Davies) and Lurleen (Dove) hope to escape their shabby surroundings in favor of the show-business world. But while Lurleen takes "the easiest path," sleeping her way to the top and living in luxury as the kept woman of playboy Robert Montgomery, Blondie does her best to hold on to her virtue while climbing the rungs of fame and fortune. The rivalry between the two girls reaches a fever pitch when Lurleen inadvertently causes Blondie to suffer a debilitating injury during a particularly treacherous Follies production number. Sticking fast to her principles, Blondie ultimately wins Montgomery, whereupon she and Lurleen renew their rocky friendship. The film's highlight is a delightful party scene in which Marion Davies and Jimmy Durante perform a devastating send-up of Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in Grand Hotel. Blondie of the Follies might have even been better had it been shorter; at 90 minutes, however, it veers towards repetition and predictability in the final reels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Conway Tearle stars as Jack Norton, a diamond smuggler operating in South America who is strong-armed into participating in a blackmail scheme. Norton is to obtain several compromising photos of Margaret Townsend (Billie Dove), the wife of American consulate Charles Townsend (Sidney Blackmer). The plan collapses when the "hero" falls in love with Margaret. As one of several "comeback" attempts for silent-film beauty Billie Dove, The Lady Who Dared was a flop. As another argument in favor of a stronger Motion Picture Production Code, it was unfortunately a success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Other Men's Wives, a play by Walter Hackett, was the source for this early-talkie comedy-melodrama. The scene is a sinister French Inn, where a woman is murdered and a valuable necklace is stolen. Among the predatory types searching for the missing gems is philandering noblewoman Angela Worthington (Leila Hyams), who trades identities with a pretty maidservant (Billie Dove) to gain access to the dead woman's boudoir. Taking advantage of her new aristocratic status, the long-suffering maid gives Angela the scathing treatment she deserves -- but there are unforeseen consequences to this masquerade for both women. Almost as much a surprise as the casting of Leila Hyams as a villainess is the good-guy portrayal by veteran screen heavy Sidney Blackmer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romance, two old flames meet and find that their rekindled romance is as white hot as it ever was. Unfortunately, the woman has married an terribly jealous, narcissistic man. To protect her, the old love, affects cowardice, but eventually, after her husband is accidentally killed, the two again become lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on Zoë Akins's 1923 novel Déclassée and the 1925 film of the same title, Her Private Life stars Billie Dove as Lady Helen Haden, a married Englishwoman blackmailed after having a fling with American gambler Ned Thayer (Walter Pidgeon). When Sir Bruce Haden (Montagu Love) divorces her, Lady Helen travels to New York, where she is forced to pawn her jewels in order to survive. Although she still loves Thayer, she marries his wealthy boss, Rudolph Solomon (Holmes Herbert). The latter nobly steps aside, however, when he discovers that his own sister (Thelma Todd) actually committed a crime for which Thayer had taken the blame. Her Private Life, which featured the talking-picture debuts of both Dove and Walter Pidgeon, was also released in a silent version. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This early talkie, set in French Indochina, centers around the conflict between a French magistrate's wife and his lecherous boss who requires that all wives sleep with him before he will promote their husbands. This wife refuses. Instead she marches into his office and demands an explanation. Her hasty actions do not help matters and she is just about to let him have his sleazy way with her when a native, who was hiding in the closet, is found. The men scuffle and the boss is killed. Unfortunately, it is her husband who is assigned the case. He does not know his wife witnessed the whole thing. It doesn't take him long to start drawing conclusions; suddenly he suspects his wife was unfaithful, but eventually she convinces him otherwise and justice is done. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Heart of a Follies Girl was based on a story by Adela Rogers St. John, but one would never know it. The cliché-ridden story begins as clerk Derek Calhoun (Larry Kent) falls in love with Ziegfeld Follies dancer Teddy O'Day (Billie Dove). Unable to support the luxury-loving girl on his salary, Derek resorts to forgery to purchase an engagement ring. He is found out and sent to jail, but Teddy loyally awaits his return. Relying upon nearly 200 subtitles, Heart of a Follies Girl looks like it was designed as a talkie but ultimately filmed as a silent. Critics had a field day lambasting the film's corny dialogue and plot situations, which were old-fashioned even in 1928. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The impossibly beautiful Billie Dove coasts through the melodramatic convolutions of Adoration. Billie and Antonio Moreno play husband-and-wife Russian aristocrats who are separated during the Revolution. Upon meeting again, Moreno becomes convinced that Billie has been unfaithful. He walks out and takes to drink, while his wife, ever hopeful that she can patch things up, becomes a professional model to raise money. The caddish Nicholas Soussanin, who accused Billie of adultery in the first place, is at long last exposed as a liar, thereby assuring a happy ending for the displaced couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "stolen bride" of the title is Sari (Billie Dove), a Hungarian countess. During WWI, Sari falls in love with Franz Pless (Lloyd Hughes), an American-educated soldier in the Hapsburg army. Unable to marry Sari because of the differences in their "stations in life," Franz is forced to kidnap the countess, who doesn't seem all that put out over being an abduction victim. Of interest only as the first American film of European producer-director Alexander Korda, The Stolen Bride lacks the spark and vivacity of Korda's later efforts. Still, he got along just fine with Billie Dove, and went on to direct three more of the actress' vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billie Dove stars as Marcia Kane, whose head is turned by the charming but sinister Grand Duke Sergei (Montague Love). Handsome and virtuous Wally McKenzie (Ben Lyon) is in love with Marcia, but how can he possibly compete with a "title"? Tricked into a marriage with the Grand Duke, Marcia soon finds that life with a nobleman is not all it's cracked up to be, especially since her husband is a cad and a bounder. Eventually, Wally comes to the rescue, cinching a happy ending for our muddle-headed heroine. Lavishly produced, The Tender Hour could have spent a little of its budget on a believable script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Billie Dove stars as "Egypt" Hagen, a libertine flapper who unexpectedly falls in love with the staid Reverend Lodge (Raymond Bloomer). He proposes marriage, but she sadly turns him down, worrying that her checkered past will ruin his own reputation. On the rebound, she marries millionaire Ray Sturgis (Huntley Gordon), whom she does not truly love despite his innate decency. When Sturgis is killed in a shipwreck (the film's highlight), Egypt despairs, feeling the whole tragedy is her fault. She finds spiritual solace in the arms of Rev. Lodge, finally agreeing to marry him no matter what the consequences. Sensation Seekers was the penultimate silent-film effort by Lois Weber, one of the few women directors in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the musical comedy of the same name, Kid Boots was the first of two silent vehicles for irrepressible Ziegfeld Follies star Eddie "Banjo Eyes" Cantor. Old "Banjo Eyes" stars as a tailor's assistant named Kid Boots, who tries to save his pal Tom Sterling (Lawrence Gray) from the clutches of gold-digger Polly Pendleton (Billie Dove). Since Tom is a pro golfer, this requires Kid Boots to hire himself out as a caddy, leading to a series of slapstick complications. With the help of Tom's true-blue sweetheart Jane Martin (Clara Bow), our hero incapacitates Tom's golf-tournament rival George (Malcolm Waite) and exposes Polly for the predator that she is. Legend has it that Eddie Cantor had a brief affair with Clara Bow while working on Kid Boots, but this has been refuted by most of Bow's biographers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide