The Hearst and Davies Affair is a made for TV Movie from 1985 broadcast on the ABC Television Network.
The film is based on the true life romance, or affair, of William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies. The interest in the scandal primarily being because of the age difference between the two. Virginia Madsen takes on the role of Marion Davies.
Hearst was said to be in his 60’s / 70’s with Davies being in her late teens / early twenties. Quite the eyebrow raiser, even today. It’s hard to give a definitive answer to how old the pair were due to historical records not being what they are today.
Marion Davies first met Marion Hearst when she was 19 and he was 53. William Davies was a part of the Ziegfield Follies production at the time and already a success in her own right.
William Hearst would take over the management of her career and by 1924 she would be a major success in Hollywood. Though, it’s believed that William Hearst would in fact stifle her career somewhat by promoting her as a serious actor rather than letting her lean into her natural comedic talents.
The affair would become one the worst kept secrets in Hollywood at the time. William Davies was written off as a gold digger by some but she would prove them wrong by staying with William Hearst till his end in 1951.
This particular movie isn’t as kind to William Davies as it could have been, as history hasn’t been in general to be fair. Virginia has spoken of her part in this adaptation with some regret as it was marketed as “the scandalous love affair between one of the richest and most powerful men in America and the obscure Ziegfeld girl he promoted to stardom”.
Years later Virginia Madsen would take part in the Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies which sought to dispel some of the untruths about her from public record, how much good that will have done though is anyone’s guess.
On the flip side to this Virginia would become a real fan of Marion. In preparation for the role she would watch all the movies she could, read books on her, collect Marion Davies memorabilia. Even this early in her career and at just 23 years old it was a sign of just how seriously Virginia took her role
The movie is worth a watch, though the two have been portrayed on screen several times since in varying degrees of authenticity. If you’re after a broader understanding of it all then this is a good a place to start as any.
Availability:
It’s not easy to get hold of physically. It was only ever released on VHS and while you can find copies on DVD then they are just home made transfers. Copies on VHS show up from time to time on eBay so if you’re a completionist then you might have to settle for one of those to add to your collection. Even then it’s likely it’ll be an NTSC copy of the film which you might have trouble with outside of America, and that’s if you can track down a VHS Player in good working order.
If you just want to watch the movie then, well you can find it easily enough. And you might want to remember there are tools you can use to do your part and preserve the film digitally if you do.
Gallery:
Trailer:
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