In the 1952 comedy "Monkey Business", Charles Coburn told secretary Marilyn Monroe, "Go find somebody to type this!". Ginger Rogers played the wife of Cary Grant in that, but only 22 years before, she played a "stenog" even dumber than Monroe in one of her very first films, hired by uncle Frank Morgan in this comedy with songs that makes it seem like an overlong short. It reeks of bad office politics gone rancid as Rogers is made a pawn between partners Morgan and Charlie Ruggles who can't stand each other while finding romance with a songwriter she met on the subway.
This was made around the same time that Rogers got a big Broadway break in "Girl Crazy", but like that show, she was second fiddle (even as the leading lady) thanks to a newcomer named Ethel Merman. Rogers isn't at fault here. She is directed as if in Helen Kane's shoes (who was also at Paramount and a bigger star), but unfortunately, what works for one poop-poop-de-doop song stylist doesn't work with Rogers. Even as one of the biggest gold diggers of 1933, she didn't make your skin crawl, but that is exactly what happens here, making it obvious that her future success in movie musicals wasn't instantly assured.
Some old movies do score highly with Gracie Allen type dumbbells being smarter than their leading men, but Rogers is over the top and unbelievable in her idiocy. A few musical numbers thrown in for good measure prove to be bad inches. After only 35 minutes, I was ready to cash it in. A huge fan of Rogers, Morgan and Ruggles, I found this totally tedious. Wheeler and Woolsey did much better with virtually the same plot in one of their lesser movies ("On Again, Off Again") than the Morgan/Ruggles feud here. Ruggles did better as a boss with a dumbbell secretary, asking Jane Wyman in "The Doughgirls" (of all people) if she took dictation verbatim, only to have her respond, "No I do it word for word!".
According to her autobiography, Ginger Rogers once reached out to Judy Garland in an effort to help her get through some hard times, but sadly in this movie, even the future "Wizard of Oz" couldn't help this turkey.
This was made around the same time that Rogers got a big Broadway break in "Girl Crazy", but like that show, she was second fiddle (even as the leading lady) thanks to a newcomer named Ethel Merman. Rogers isn't at fault here. She is directed as if in Helen Kane's shoes (who was also at Paramount and a bigger star), but unfortunately, what works for one poop-poop-de-doop song stylist doesn't work with Rogers. Even as one of the biggest gold diggers of 1933, she didn't make your skin crawl, but that is exactly what happens here, making it obvious that her future success in movie musicals wasn't instantly assured.
Some old movies do score highly with Gracie Allen type dumbbells being smarter than their leading men, but Rogers is over the top and unbelievable in her idiocy. A few musical numbers thrown in for good measure prove to be bad inches. After only 35 minutes, I was ready to cash it in. A huge fan of Rogers, Morgan and Ruggles, I found this totally tedious. Wheeler and Woolsey did much better with virtually the same plot in one of their lesser movies ("On Again, Off Again") than the Morgan/Ruggles feud here. Ruggles did better as a boss with a dumbbell secretary, asking Jane Wyman in "The Doughgirls" (of all people) if she took dictation verbatim, only to have her respond, "No I do it word for word!".
According to her autobiography, Ginger Rogers once reached out to Judy Garland in an effort to help her get through some hard times, but sadly in this movie, even the future "Wizard of Oz" couldn't help this turkey.