Magnificent Doll (1946) Xvid 1cd - Ginger Rogers, David Niven [DDR]
CAST:-
Dolly . . . . . Ginger Rogers
Aaron Burr . . . . . David Niven
James Madison . . . . . Burgess Meredith
John Todd . . . . . Horace McNally
Mrs. Payne . . . . . Peggy Wood
Amy . . . . . Frances Williams
Mr. Payne . . . . . Robert Barrat
Thomas Jefferson . . . . . Grandon Rhodes
MOVIE REVIEW:- Magnificent Doll (1946)
Director Frank Borzage and star Ginger Rogers both came acropper in the lavish but dull historical biopic Magnificent Doll. The usually ebullient Rogers seems encased in wax as Dolly Madison, first lady of the United States in the early 19th century. The story begins as young Washington socialite Dolly Payne, previously and unhappily wed to one John Todd (Horace McNally), can't make up her mind romantically between idealistic politician James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and firebrand Aaron Burr (David Niven). Burr solves that problem when he flees the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving the field clear for Madison. What should have been the film's highlight, Dolly's rescue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during the 1812 burning of Washington, is treated as a throwaway. Told in flashback, the film ends just before Madison's ascendancy to the White House, with Dolly chastely charming the current chief executive Thomas Jefferson (Grandon Rhodes). Magnificent Doll is anything but
For, according to this presumptuous romance, the fabulous Dolly was a political pin-up girl who was equally adored by James Madison (to whom she was married) and by Aaron Burr. As a matter of fact, it took her some time to see the good of Madison over the evil of Burr. And it was she who not only played on Burr's love to win the Presidency for Thomas Jefferson in 1800, but it was she who also persuaded the public to scorn Burr and his ambitions later on.
This glorified notion of Dolly, whom most people simply know as the wife of an early President after whom lots of tea-rooms are named, is, of course, entirely erroneous. And it does great injustice, too, to the nature of Burr—and of history. But it fits more or less conveniently with the necessities of a plot which would represent Ginger Rogers as a mover of important events—and also as the adored one of two historically distinguished men.
In the role of magnificent Dolly, Miss Rogers wears her Lilly Dache hats and her Vera West gowns with more attention than she seems to be giving to her lines—which is not altogether reprehensible, for the lines are distressingly dull. Irving Stone, who wrote this pompous twaddle, must have thought he was writing for The Federalist, barring a few rather grating injections of modern turns of phrase.
Burgess Meredith represents Madison as a surprisingly youthful visionary who courts his wife with solemn dialogue, as though he were haltingly reciting the Bill of Rights. And David Niven is dandified and reckless as an equally unconvincing Burr. Several other minor actors wear period costumes and behave with all the formal discomfort of a kid in a rented dress-suit.
If the producers, Jack Skirball and Bruce Manning, meant to make this a film in freedom's cause, they have failed almost as badly as they have failed to make it fun.
Spirited young Dolly Payne (Ginger Rogers) re-enters Washington, D.C. society in the early 1800s following her brief and unhappy marriage to John Todd (Horace McNally). Catching the eye of two young politicians, kindhearted James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and hot-tempered Aaron Burr (David Niven), she uses her charms not only to woo her suitors but to influence a presidential election, and also to save precious national treasures from marauding British troops during the War of 1812.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:-
Video Codec: XviD ISO MPEG-4
Video Bitrate: 836 kbps
Video Resolution: 640x480
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.212:1
Frames Per Second: 23.976
Audio Codec: 0x2000 (Dolby AC3) AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 1
Audio Languages: English
RunTime 95 mins
Subtitles: None
Ripped by: Trinidad [DDR]