marcslope William Randolph Hearst preferred to see mistress Marion Davies in magnolia-scented romances, but comedy was her forte, and she gets a nice chance to show off in this screwball romance, her last movie. She's a capable secretary who's sick of being pawed by her bosses and disguises herself as a frump. The trouble is that even a brunette-wig Marion with unbecoming glasses isn't THAT hideous, and the plot machinations stemming from her deception thus seem a little under-motivated. Further, it's something of a B supporting cast--what's Louise Fazenda doing in a role with Edna May Oliver written all over it, and why isn't Gail Patrick playing Marion's nemesis instead of this nobody? Bob Montgomery is just fine playing the light-leading-man sort of role he did dozens of times, and Patsy Kelly and Allen Jenkins are very reliable in this sort of thing. It doesn't sparkle, but as others have noted, it makes its serious points about women in the workplace who aren't appreciated for their talents, and Marion looks like she's having fun getting to be something other than a boring beauty.

blanche-2 "Ever Since Eve" is a cute comedy from 1937 starring Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Patsy Kelly, and Allen Jenkins. Davies plays a secretary who gets sick of the men she works for hitting on her all the time - so sick, in fact, that she makes herself into a homely frump and goes to work for Robert Montgomery, who plays an author in need of someone efficient so that he can finish his book.Davies' transformation is very good, but I have to admit that I didn't find her so much of a knockout normally that no man could keep his hands off of her. It was really a role for someone like Jean Harlow. The interesting thing is, Davies was 40 at the time. It was unusual in those days for an actress to still be playing starring roles by then and only superstars with clout could get away with it. Norma Shearer retired at 40, as did Greta Garbo; by the time Joan Crawford was 38, MGM was giving her junk, and she was drummed out of the studio.Davies is very good, and the film is cute, with good performances from the rest of the cast. Davies' acting abilities come as no surprise to me, as I have enjoyed many of her performances. She was a bright presence as well."Ever Since Eve" goes down easily. It's not a masterpiece, not a classic screwball comedy, but it's very enjoyable.

MartinHafer This is a film where you must completely turn off your brain in able to enjoy it. Apparently members of the Marion Davies cult must have no problem turning off their brains, as 52.2% of the people who have rated this film gave it a 10. This, for a film that is a tad silly and was never meant as "high art"--even by Miss Davies. Plus, it turned out to be such as disaster at the box office (following several other recent disasters) that she called her career quits following this film.It's a shame really, as she is neither as bad an actress as some have claimed over the years (though she did some bad films--particularly in the 1930s) nor was she the greatest or among the greatest stars of her era either. The truth lies somewhere in between. With lovely films like SHOW PEOPLE and THE PATSY, she demonstrated that she could do well with good material. But, with films like CAIN AND MABEL and OPERATOR 13, she could also be sunk by junk scripts.Here with EVER SINCE EVE, she is given an adequate script but just wasn't the right person for the role. Marion might have done better with a script that accepted that she was no longer the young star she had once been. Having a 40 year-old woman play a woman who men chase after like the wolf from a Tex Avery cartoon is pretty silly. Miss Davies didn't look that bad for 40, but she clearly was not the beautiful starlet she was in the 1920s--she'd put on a few pounds (as we all tend to do) and just looked every bit her age. Yet, every man that met her in the film instantly began sexually harassing her at every turn--she was supposed to be that hot and desirable.As a result of constant sexual harassment, in the film Marion comes up with a perfect remedy for all these unwanted advances. She would put on old fashioned glasses and dress like a sex-less old lady. And, instantly, all the unwanted suitors left her alone! This is pretty silly, as Marion STILL looked like Marion--even with the glasses and ugly business suit. It reminded me of the Wonder Woman TV show. With her glasses on and hair up, no one thought Lynda Carter was beautiful. Then, without the getup, everyone would drool uncontrollably at her! Heck, even wearing concrete or a box, Ms. Carter was majorly smokin'! Miss Davies, while not quite as amazing, still was ridiculous under all that getup--it just wasn't convincing. Nor, unfortunately was the romance that developed later in the film with Robert Montgomery.As for Patsy Kelly, she was one of the loudest and most obnoxious actresses of the 1930s. Here, she is up to her usual standards of acting. It's a shame she's in the film, as Marion was handicapped by having this lady as her supporting actress. Allen Jenkins, often pretty good in films, wasn't particularly helpful here, either.So, overall, it's a silly piece of fluff and I am probably being very generous in giving it a 5. However, despite a silly plot, it is watchable and fun here and there.By the way, I have noticed that other reviewers who did not adore this film were flooded with "not helpfuls". Too bad, as some of these reviews are very good and well thought-out--like mystn's.

MissMellieY I give it a 5 because I liked Marion Davies but on the whole, this really was not a very good movie. For me, Patsy Kelly and Allen Jenkins were horribly annoying. I don't say that often about Patsy as I am a fan but this particular movie was not her best. I admit, though, that she was only annoying when she had to share the screen with Allen Jenkins. HE was the annoying one. I realize that I am filtering everything through modern sensibilities because it is impossible not to to a degree, but I could not see what she (Marion's character) fell in love with. Robert Montgomery's character was bland at best. The lead romantic characters didn't spend any time together...at least not enough to build a movie romance on. Love at first sight (so to speak)was not particularly well played out. Also, I think the premise could have been much more effectively played out. A pair of glasses and a wig does not render someone unrecognizable. Marion deserved so much better than this. Now, this is not the worst film I have ever seen but it is by far not a very good effort. It tried for screwball but didn't quite make it there. See it though, if only to be able to see Marion's last screen performance. She was highly underrated. Don't use this as an example of her best work.