Enchanting Marion Davies as she appeared in the 1927 film QUALITY STREET. Produced by Cosmopolitan Productions for release through MGM, the film was based on the 1901 play of the same name by James M. Barrie. Barrie is now remembered solely for 'Peter Pan', but his play 'Quality Street' was once extremely popular ... so much so that in Britain a brand of filled chocolates were named Quality Street. In her 26th film, Marion Davies starred in this romantic drama as a young woman about to be married, when her love interest (Conrad Nagel) suddenly goes off to war. Upon his return ten years later, he finds the beautiful young girl he knew is now a tired, aging schoolteacher and he is no longer interested in her. She is still in love with him, however, and rather than give him up, she "reinvents" herself as her younger, perkier "niece" Livvy and tries to regain his interest. Although Davies won rave reviews for her dual performance, the film itself was not a box office success. It in fact earned the lowest gross receipts of all her MGM silent films. On a more positive note, the costumes and sets were impressive throughout the feature. Even more impressive was the camera work by Hendrik Sartov, who filmed the movie's dolly shots with a hand-held camera while wearing roller skates. In 2002, the film was released on DVD by the Milestone Films and Video company releasing through Image Entertainment. There was also a sound film version made in 1937, starring Katharine Hepburn.
Color enhanced image by Hollywood Pinups from the b&w original.