I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Pat O'Brien once said, "I don't just want to be a fast-talking Charlie all my life." That's exactly what he is in "Page Miss Glory"--a flimflam man who is always looking for an angle. As Click Wiley, he pairs up with Eddie Olson (Frank McHugh), a photographer whose lens is in hock. They are about to be ejected from the hotel where they have been squatting when a new scheme falls into their laps. Marion Davies plays a naive rube (Loretta) who comes to New York City. Her search for the perfect guy mostly centers around celebrity crushes, like the daring self-promoting stunt pilot, Bingo Nelson (Dick Powell). Davies' performance is the highlight of the film, but it is worth seeing the film just for the bevy of talented supporting actors.This light-weight comedy clocks in at 93 minutes, and it feels like an adaptation of a play (which it is), but its screwball story serves up plenty of fun and feels like a cultural artifact from the mid- thirties.

A few years back, IMDb pages for Marion Davies movies were flooded by a wave of scores of 10 for all of her movies. I have no idea who or why this was done, but as a result all of her movies have incredibly high scores--even her terrible ones (and, unfortunately, many of her sound films are pretty bad). So although this film currently has a very respectable score, understand it is because of some sort of effort to artificially inflate every Davies film...all of them. For example, this film (which by any sane standard is only mediocre) has scores of 10 for 51% of its votes, whereas "Gone With the Wind" only has 37%! And, if you were to check, this 51% is a higher percentage of 10s than the vast majority of the Top 100 films on IMDb!! Something screwy is afoot with the voting! The style of "Paging Miss Glory" is very similar to several other Pat O'Brien films--"Boy Meets Girl" and "The Front Page". That's because in each of these O'Brien plays a schemer who delivers lines like a machine gun! He's 100% energy--like a guy on crack! And, if the material is very good (like in "The Front Page"), it works wonderfully. Unfortunately, this film's only asset is this energy, as underneath all the hysteria and frenetic action, the movie just isn't that good--much of it because the story makes little sense--especially the hysteria that results from a publicity stunt.The film begins with O'Brien and his partner, Frank McHugh, broke and running up a huge hotel bill (like "Room Service"). But O'Brien is a promoter--and he knows he'll come up with some idea that will dig them out of their situation. Out of the blue he gets an inspiration--McHugh will make a composite photo made up of all the best parts of the great beauties and enter it in a photo contest (sort of like a primitive version of PhotoShop!). Well, without knowing it, they have created a picture that just coincidentally looks like the chambermaid (Davies). So, when they win they need to be able to present this fictional lady to the press--especially since O'Brien plans on milking it for all it's worth. In the process, the plan picks up a goofball aviator (Dick Powell), a crusading reporter (Lyle Talbot), and a group of mobsters (including Barton MacLane and Allan Jenkins). In addition, Mary Astor is along for the ride--making the film have a very strong cast of familiar faces.The problem is that none of the film makes any sense even if it is occasionally entertaining. Plus, in all deference to the Davies ballot-stuffers, she is the worst actor in this movie. Mostly, Marion just stands around and gawks at the camera. In addition, and I know this will sound mean, but by now she is 39 and frankly not THAT attractive to be playing such a glamorous part. As a result of this film and other turkeys during the mid to late 1930s (such as "Cain and Mabel"), Miss Davies retired soon after "Paging Miss Glory".

...so if you are expecting a typical Marion Davies vehicle in which she is the center of attention most of the time you're going to be disappointed. However, if you're just looking for a fun fast moving comedy in the tradition of 1930's Warner Brothers this will hit the spot.There are two con-men (Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh) inventing the concept of Photoshop over 50 years before it is a practical reality by entering a composite photograph in a beauty contest and winning, Marion Davies being brave enough to parade around before the camera for almost a full hour as an overweight plain chamber maid, and Dick Powell as a Dudley DoRight type of ace pilot with a chest full of medals who proposes to the beauty contest winner, who is, of course, a girl he's never even met since she doesn't exist. Marion's chamber maid character returns the sentiment having fallen in love with the pilot's picture. Mary Astor plays the mismatched and possessive fiancée of Frank McHugh's character.In short this movie is intentionally ridiculous fun. It pokes fun at publicity campaigns and what makes people famous and interesting to the press and has plenty of that rapid fire dialogue for which Warners was famous in the 30's. Just take off your thinking cap and enjoy.

PAGE MISS GLORY is a first rate comedy, and possibly (if all the other films of Marion Davies vanished) would establish her as she would have hoped - as the leading female comedienne of her day. She apparently enjoyed having a good sense of humor, and in films like this and the silent film SHOW PEOPLE she demonstrated what she should have been doing in her film career. Ah, if only the man she loved (who equally loved her - it did not become a "Kane" relationship) could have let well enough alone Davies reputation in film would be so much higher than it became.The story has been mentioned in other reviews here. Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh have created the fictitious "Miss Glory" as the winner of a spurious Hollywood talent contest, making a picture of her based on parts of all the other great Hollywood leading ladies of 1935. Of course, in this film, the resulting montage picture looks like Davies. But their con may be collapsing - they have to produce Miss Glory and they can't. Then the see their hotel room cleaning lady, a young woman wearing drab clothes and glasses, and who is remarkably clumsy. Without her eyeglasses - why it's none other than Davies. Quickly O'Brien, McHugh, Mary Astor, and Patsy Kelly convince Davies to play Miss Glory. She dumb, but now she is dumbstruck! But the idea actually catches her fancy. Soon she is ready to be the putty in their hands.It was an early view of publicity and notoriety. The way the public chews up the fashionable, beautiful Miss Glory, without seeing a bit of evidence she can do anything at all is astounding - and was not really recaptured for another twenty years until George Cukor turned Judy Holliday into "Gladys Glover", the overnight celebrity on a huge Manhattan billboard, in IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU. Only one guy really doubts the ballyhoo - Lyle Talbot, a cynical newspaper reporter who does not trust O'Brien with his checkered past. But in the main the public love her, and when (in a radio interview) she mentions her admiration for a dumb aviator - hero played by Dick Powell, Powell hearing it on his radio decides she must be the girl of his dreams too!O'Brien is not happy about this relationship, and tries to stop it - it is possibly putting a halt to his making a killing in getting Davies' endorsements for advertising various goods. He orders McHugh to take her into the country so that Powell can't get into contact with her. This keeps McHugh from dating his girlfriend, Kelly, who is getting jealous. In one of the most touching moments of the film, McHugh and Davies kiss each other in the front seat of his car, each pretending the other is Powell and Kelly. But after a moment they both realize it just won't work!There are funny little moments of other performers in the film. Joseph Cawthorne and Al Shean play rival yeast manufacturers who are always arguing. Both want Miss Glory to advertise their particular yeast. O'Brien dislikes both men (they forced their way into the hotel room), and as the two "Dutch" dialog actors argue out loud, O'Brien (in total anger) yells to McHugh, "Get Weber and Fields out of here!". If only she had made more films like this - but W.R. wanted her in historical films and dramas. Sad for her career and her reputation.