The Cardboard Lover

by Denise Morrison Aug 22, 2026

Good luck comes to CineSavant: Silent movie film historian Denise Morrison will be writing special disc reviews for us. She’s long been associated with The Kansas Silent Film Festival and knows her subject well. CineSavant needs more reviews for its silent film aficionados, so we hope we will be seeing many more… Her first contribution is a comedy from Marion Davies — she after Nils Asther’s autograph, on the French Riviera.

The Cardboard Lover
Blu-ray
Undercrank Productions/Library of Congress
1928 / B&W tinted / 1:33 Silent Ap / 76 min. / Street Date August 4, 2026 / Available from Deep Discount / 21.98
Starring: Marion Davies, Jetta Goudal, Nils Asther, De Segurola, Tenen Holz, Pepi Lederer.
Cinematography: John Arnold
Settings: Cedric Gibbons
Costume Design: Howard Greer (uncredited)
Titles: Lucille Newmark
Screenplay by Cary Wilson from a play by Jacques Deval
Produced by Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst (uncredited)
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard

Marion Davies Fans Unite!

Casual fans of silent classics may only know of one picture starring the fabulous Ms. Davies, as the Turner Classic Movies cable channel periodically shows her hilarious comedy Show People, about a hopeful actress coming to Hollywood. But there’s much more of Marion to discover.

There has never been a better time to be a Marion Davies fan than now. Two books and over a dozen films on DVD/Blu ray in the past 10 years, most of these improvements on the quality of what has been available, makes for happy silent film fans. All have shed light on an artist who spent more time remembered for her personal life than her professional one. And while William Randolph Hearst does loom large in her professional life, these latest disc releases plus Lara Gabrielle’s tremendous biography Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies (2022) Marion is a shining light on her own worth. On my silent film wish list of people I wish I could meet, Marion would be at the top of the list. So whether you’re a longtime fan or just discovered her, there is now a new film to enjoy thanks to Undercrank Productions. The film is The Cardboard Lover from 1928, the second of three films released that year by Marion.

Undercrank Productions is the brainchild of silent film accompanist, historian and author Ben Model. He released his first DVD Accidentally Preserved Vol. 1 in 2013. CineSavant reviewed Ben’s Accidentally Preserved Vol. 5 release in ’24. Working with the Library of Congress and private collectors, most of his projects are funded through Kickstarter and I can tell you being one of the funders on some of his projects made me feel great pride knowing I helped out in my meager way. Just released this month, The Cardboard Lover is the seventh of Marion’s silent films produced for digital release by Undercrank Productions. The full selection can be seen at the Undercrank Productions page.

In The Cardboard Lover Marion plays Sally, one of a whole busload of American gals just arrived at a swank hotel on the French Riviera. Sally is an autograph hound and zeros in on André, a handsome man she discovers is a famous tennis star (Nils Asther). She’s disappointed to find he has a beautiful girlfriend (Jetta Goudal) but pursues the tennis star anyway for an autograph all the way to a casino—and a fateful vow she makes to help him get over said girlfriend, which includes pretending to be his fiancée. Thus Sally becomes André’s ‘cardboard lover.’

Playing a similar character to the one she played in The Patsy, Marion Davies is just fun to watch as she very determinedly works to get her man. The big difference between the two movies is the surroundings; in The Patsy we’re in small-town America but in The Cardboard Lover we’re in Monte Carlo and the surroundings are very different indeed. This is where being part of a big studio like MGM pays off—the sets! The costumes! The credits list ‘Settings’ by Cedric Gibbons, which doesn’t do his magnificent set design justice. If for some reason you’re not into the story stick around for Jetta Goudal’s costumes alone, all thanks to Howard Greer. And as in The Patsy Marion does one of her famous impressions—this time in full costume—as her co-star Miss Goudal herself. I’ve read some fans didn’t believe it was Marion at all, that’s how good it is.

Marion works with a great cast and is matched well with Nils Asther, who makes a surprisingly good turn at comedy as Andre the tennis star. Given the moniker ‘the male Greta Garbo’ for being Swedish as well as quite handsome, Nils came to Hollywood in 1927 and actually transitioned to sound films well. His later career was all romantic drama, however, so seeing him here going through several facial expressions when a mustard plaster is removed was pretty darn funny. I had never seen a film with Jetta Goudal before — I’ve read about her but never witnessed the magnetism. What a fascinating personality; I imagine she realized she was playing up to her reputation in Hollywood as a diva.

Undercrank Productions/Library of Congress’s Blu-ray of The Cardboard Lover is wonderfully realized; the 2K restoration doesn’t disappoint (and one of the extras on the disc is a side-by-side restoration comparison of one reel) and I loved hearing another great organ score by Ben Model. But what really gives this disc something special is a 9 minute film essay Marion Davies: Steward of Her Legacy by author Lara Gabrielle. I can’t say enough about how good it is. Brings clarity to Marion’s career, her life with William R. Hearst, and gives some good information about the film itself. The disc doesn’t overload you with extras but in this case I was left wanting more—which is a good thing I think.

Did I mention two books at the beginning? Yes, I did. In addition to Lara Gabrielle’s book I want to give a shout-out to Ed Lorusso’s book The Silent Films of Marion Davies from 2017. Not a biography just a great look at each of her silent films with generous illustrations of each one. If you’re a fan of Marion’s this is a must-have.

Reviewed by Denise Morrison

The Cardboard Lover
Blu-ray
Supplements:
Featurette Marion Davies: Steward of Her Legacy (2026) – 9 mins
Side-By-Side Restoration Comparison – 10 mins.
Deaf and Hearing-impaired Friendly? YES; Subtitles: English (feature and featurette)
Packaging: One Blu-ray in Keep case
Reviewed: August 18, 2026
(7572card) CINESAVANT