Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies

by Lara Gabrielle

Overview

Northern California Book Awards Shortlist

The comprehensive critical biography of silent-screen star Marion Davies, who fittingly referred to herself as "the captain of my soul."
 
From Marion Davies's humble days in Brooklyn to her rise to fame alongside press baron William Randolph Hearst, the public life story of the film star plays like a modern fairy tale shaped by gossip columnists, fan magazines, biopics, and documentaries. Yet the real Marion Davies remained largely hidden from view, as she was wary of interviews and trusted few with her true life story. In Captain of Her Soul, Lara Gabrielle pulls back layers of myth to show a complex and fiercely independent woman, ahead of her time, who carved her own path.

Through meticulous research, unprecedented access to archives around the world, and interviews with those who knew Davies, Captain of Her Soul counters the public story. This book reveals a woman who navigated disability and social stigma to rise to the top of a young Hollywood dominated by powerful men. Davies took charge of her own career, negotiating with studio heads and establishing herself as a top-tier comedienne, but her proudest achievement was her philanthropy and advocacy for children. This biography brings Davies out of the shadows cast by the Hearst legacy, shedding light on a dynamic woman who lived life on her own terms and declared that she was "the captain of her soul."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520384200
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	09/27/2022
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	534,141
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Lara Gabrielle is a film writer and researcher whose work on Marion Davies has been featured in the Missouri Review and on PBS's American Experience. She has spoken about Davies at film festivals and retrospectives worldwide and has served as a consultant on her life and legacy for books, dissertations, and film projects. Gabrielle lives in Oakland.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources 
Family Tree 

Introduction 
Beginnings 
“One of the Most Popular Girls in Town”
“Unusual Box Office Attraction” 
“If You Stutter, They Find You Guilty Right Away” 
“A Good Actress, a Beauty, and a Comedy Starring Bet” 
“It’s Very Convenient to Have a Double” 
“Drinking Champagne Out of a Tin Cup” 
“Why Don’t We Forget the Play That’s Written and Let Marion Do as She Does?”
“I Cannot Do Sound Pictures” 
“A Butterfly with Glue on Her Wings” 
“I Didn’t Want a Part Where I Just Sit on My Tail and Recite Poetry” 
“Just Make One Good Picture a Year” 
“What Difference Does It Make If You Walk Up to the Altar?” 
“Marion Has to Take the First Step Herself” 
“The Girl Who Lies by My Side at Night” 
“My Bounty Is as Boundless as the Sea” 
“Not If They Offered Me Mars on a Silver Platter” 
“I Don’t Think She Was Afraid of Death” 
Epilogue 

Filmography 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index 

Editorial Reviews

06/27/2022

Actor Marion Davies (1897–1961) may have lived “a life shrouded in mystery, rumor, and half-truths,” but she was witty, talented, and loyal, according to this sparkling debut from film historian Gabrielle. The author recaps Davies’s rise from Broadway chorus girl to top-billed MGM star in the 1920s, thanks in part to her lover William Randolph Hearst’s lavish financing, production, and promotion of her movies (his headline writers, for instance, pronounced When Knighthood Was in Flower “the greatest picture ever filmed”). Oft maligned­­—incorrectly, Gabrielle notes—as the model for Citizen Kane character Susan Alexander (a talentless opera-diva wife), Davies, in Gabrielle’s telling, was a talented actor and comedian whose gifts were often wasted in the stodgy costume dramas that Hearst preferred. She was also ebullient (despite alcoholic rages later in life) and generous; far from a rich man’s helpless dependent, she asserted herself against the maniacally controlling Hearst and even offered him $1 million of her own money to rescue his bankrupt company during the Depression. Gabrielle’s narrative is a breezy, colorful saga of Old Hollywood, full of showbiz picaresque, glamorous parties at Hearst’s San Simeon castle, and a touching romance between two flawed, magnetic personalities. Film buffs will want to check this one out. Photos. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Author Gabrielle has given us a gift: an honest biography of a woman whose life and career have long been misunderstood. . . .  In short, this is the book Marion Davies has always deserved."

Leonard Maltin site

"Lara Gabrielle is the reigning expert on Marion Davies. She has written a spirited, well researched, highly readable biography that will pull you straight back to [Davies’s] times."

Northern California Book Reviewers

"One of the most striking qualities of Captain of Her Soul is how the author powerfully portrays the actress’s spirit through the pages. . . .a must-read."

The Wonderful World of Cinema

"Gabrielle's book proves to be a fascinating read, from start to finish. The author documents the glamorous and epic parties at San Simeon, giving readers a picture of Hollywood's golden era. She also reveals the complicated, but enduring romance between Hearst and Davies."

Pop Culture Classics

"Now, finally, there is a deeply researched and fair-minded biography of Davies’s life and movie work . . . . Gabrielle, like a detective or an archaeologist, has reconstructed a life history and made a convincing case . . . . that Marion was a complex, happy, and talented actress . . . . her love affair with W.R. Hearst was genuine, long-lasting, and intensely satisfying."

Alta Journal

"Gabrielle’s research is impressive. . . .  [she] points out that Davies’s motto came from William Ernest Henley’s famous poem, 'Invictus,' which deals with the struggle to overcome vicissitudes and to triumph: 'It matters not how strait the gate, / How charged with punishment the scroll, / I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul.'"

The New York Sun

"An entertaining, first-rate biography that necessarily serves . . . . as a corrective to Hollywood myth.

Air Mail

"Davies was a fierce woman who blazed a trail amidst a Hollywood increasingly dominated by powerful men. At last, she is treated with the respect and reverence she merits through Gabrielle's writing."

Entertainment Weekly

"Author Gabrielle has given us a gift: an honest biography of a woman whose life and career have long been misunderstood. . . .  In short, this is the book Marion Davies has always deserved."

Leonard Matlin site

08/01/2022

Marion Davies expert Gabrielle spent nine years on this scrupulously researched biography of American actress Davies (1897–1961), who was for a long time better known as the mistress of tabloid publisher William Randolph Hearst. Davies and Hearst's 30-plus-year relationship has been the subject of novels, films, and documentaries. She and "W.R." threw extravagant parties at his palatial estate and her Hollywood mansion, hobnobbing with the stars and politicos of the day. Gabrielle presents a more well-rounded picture of Davies. Though sometimes verging on hagiography, this work discusses her success in silent films, her transition to sound pictures despite a persistent stutter; her generosity to friends, family, and several charities (she even bailed out Hearst when his company nearly went bankrupt); and her business savvy. Gabrielle also addresses Davies's alcoholism and an unhappy marriage after Hearst's death. While she also crisply dismisses rumors about a Hearst/Davies love child passed off as a "niece" and a suspicious death on Hearst's yacht—readers may not be convinced. VERDICT For fans of old-Hollywood lore and classic movies, especially those starring Marion Davies. With notes, bibliography, filmography, and just enough photos to send readers to the internet in search of more images of Davies and her milieu.—Liz French

Library Journal