Caine And Mabel
As a vehicle for the actress and model, Marion Davies, this film is one expensive Greeting Card! William Randolph Hearst, provided his mistress Marion a huge budget for the production of this film. Sets, costumes, lights and songs by Warren and Dubin still couldn't save the movie. Marion, an actress with an earthy sense of humor and wisecracking personality was ill used as the "society belle" in this story. Importing the handsome yet wooden talents of Clark Gable is some help, but in the end the picture did very little to help his career.

The most lavish production number in the show is the song "I'll Sing you a Thousand love Songs" which wasn't one of Harry and Al's best work and even they agreed. Warren recalls that "they built a huge set to accommodate a Venetian canal, with bridges and movable sections of scenery, and a huge organ. All this required raising the whole floor of the sound stage by about five feet. It must have cost them a fortune. Marion was no more than a model in the thing..a real guilding of the lily" .

The production number would last over eight minutes, and Warren and Dubin put an additional selection of melodies in the show, including "The Shadow Waltz" and "The Rose in her Hair" which were great coming from the mouth of an Italian Gondolier!

Part of the set for "I'll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs"
Marion made just one more film, and Warren recalls that "she was kind and generous to the extras, She was never a problem. " Marion retired from pictures to take over her most important job, that of mistress at San Simeon.