Marion Davies — Blue Book of the Screen (1923) 🇺🇸
Marion Davies, the twenty-three-year old star of Cosmopolitan Productions, was born in Brooklyn, the daughter of Judge and Mrs. Bernard Douras.
She attended the grammar schools there and then entered a convent in New York City, where she specialized in dramatic arts, French, literature and music. She was an apt pupil and several times completed in one year the regular studies of two.
She left school when very young, being drawn to the stage. Living at home with her parents she did not have the struggles nor hardships which many girls undergo. She made her first appearance in the Chin Chin chorus on Broadway. She was then sought by several producers and was casting Oh, Boy!
Miss Davies is slight and lithe with blonde, curly hair. She has the dreamy Celtic blue eyes of her ancestors and a perfect complexion. She has probably posed for more famous artists than any other star of the screen. Harrison Fisher, Penrhyn Stanlaws, Howard Chandler Christy, Frank Leyendecker and Carl Link being only a few who have transferred her beauty to canvas.
After her appearance in Oh, Boy! Miss Davies was chosen for the Ziegfeld Follies and from there she went into pictures. In the order of their appearance her chief photoplays, all of them Cosmopolitan productions, have been “Runaway Romany,” “Cecelia of the Pink Roses,” “The Belle of New York,” “The Cinema Murder,” “April Folly,” “The Restless Sex,” “Buried Treasure,” “Enchantment,” “The Bride’s Play.” “Beauty’s Worth,” “The Young Diana,” When Knighthood Was in Flower, “Adam and Eva” and Little Old New York. Her latest big production is “Yolanda.”
Miss Davies’ introduction to pictures came about when she was in Florida on a vacation waiting for the reopening of the Follies season. Several motion picture photographers were taking pictures of the girls on the beach and a few days later Miss Davies saw herself on the screen in a Palm Beach theatre.
A New York producer who had met Miss Davies also saw this same picture. He saw in the young actress infinite possibilities for the silent drama. She was thus induced to abandon the stage for pictures. Her splendid portrayal of Princess Mary Tudor in When Knighthood Was in Flower brought Miss Davies international recognition. This, coupled with her recent big success in “Little Old New York,” has placed her securely in the front rank of cinema actresses.
Miss Davies is noted among directors for her capacity for hard work. She thoroughly enjoys it and sets a pace which cameramen and property boys find it hard to keep up with sometimes. She is noted also for her democratic ways and unfailing good nature and is held in affectionate regard by all those who work with her. She is an omnivorous reader and her library is filled with histories of all countries, as she is especially fond of this form of reading.
Her annual Christmas parties to the poor children of New York have become an institution. Miss Davies personally hands out the gifts to the several thousand children who attend.
Collection: The Blue Book of the Screen (1923)