Educational Media Reviews Online

Captured on Film, the True Story of Marion Davies is an informative and engrossing portrait of one of America’s earliest film screwball comediennes, Marion Davies. This documentary incorporates excellent archival footage, spoken interviews with Ms. Davis, and excerpts with fans, historians, and others to provide a moving tribute to this much maligned actress. Captured on Film traces Ms. Davies’ rise from a Brooklyn-born Zigfeld Follies’ girl to her impressive stardom in both silent and talkie films. Unfortunately, her 35-year affair with media mogul William Randolph Hearst overshadowed serious acceptance of her work for many years.

Captured on Film artfully provides historical context to Ms. Davies career, against the backdrop of the emerging film industry, and the power moves of her devoted suitor, Hearst. Featured throughout this video are various examples of films in which Ms. Davies appeared, displaying the breadth of her abilities. Included in the documentary is an important discussion of Orson Welles’ 1941 classic, Citizen Kane, modeled on the life of Hearst and Davies. In this film, Davies, given the name Susan Alexander, is portrayed as a talentless drunk who left Hearst. Yet this documentary clarifies the exaggerated inaccuracies of this caricature and diligently brings the real Ms. Davies into sharp focus. While Ms. Davies did have a drinking problem, she was an independent, attractive and energetic character actress with signature comedic abilities. Her longtime affair with Mr. Hearst was the constant source of tabloid fodder, yet she rode the waves with consummate skill. She took other lovers, including Charlie Chaplin, but gave her heart to Mr. Hearst.

Captured on Film is both entertaining and scholarly, and applies this medium’s technical and artistic values to its best advantage. It will be of great interest to general adult audiences and film studies classes which include discussion on the film history and industry, biography, and women’s roles. It would be appropriate in undergraduate and graduate collections for film studies majors. Tagged on to the end of this documentary is Quality Street a 1927, 110- minute silent film, starring Marion Davies. This reviewer did not see it yet. This film will also be a great asset to feature film collections.

Note: A new 2002 feature, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, The Cat’s Meow, will explore an aspect of a legal case in which William Randolph Hearst may have really gotten away with murder. Two other recent films were made about Davies and Hearst: The Hearst and Davies Affair, with Robert Mitchum and Virginia Madsen (ABC Circle Films, 1985); and RKO 281, with Melanie Griffith (HBO, 1999), about the making of Citizen Kane.