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Obliging Young Lady
A woman attempts to shelter a young girl from the publicity surrounding her socialite parents' divorce.
Release : | 1942 |
Rating : | 5.7 |
Studio : | RKO Radio Pictures, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
Cast : | Joan Carroll Edmond O'Brien Ruth Warrick Eve Arden Franklin Pangborn |
Genre : | Comedy Romance |
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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Please don't spend money on this.
Admirable film.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Cute little antic comedy from very early in Edmond O'Brien's career. If you only know him from his later character work you'll be surprised how lean and attractive he is here. He also shows himself adept at the knockabout comedy the script calls for.Joan Carroll, more well known as Agnes Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis and Patsy the troubled young girl in The Bells of St. Mary's, is winsome as the mischievous child who causes the plot to be set in motion. Ruth Warrick, famous from years as Phoebe Tyler in All My Children, is pretty and properly exasperated as the object of O'Brien's ardor.Filmed at a breakneck pace and stocked with a bunch of reliable character actors, chief among them the great Eve Arden, this is a breezy minor comedy that is more enjoyable than you'd expect from a quickie feature obviously meant for the lower half of a double bill.
A very annoying young girl's rich parents are getting a divorce. Apparently this is big news, as reporters are flocking to interview them as well as the child. In order to keep the child away from this hysteria, the child is sent on a vacation in the country--with a fake mother so reporters won't recognize her. In the process, Edmond O'Brien meets up with the pair and instantly falls for the lady (Joan Carroll) and spends the film following them.I love romantic comedies from the 1930s and 40s, so you can't attribute my indifference to this film to any sort of dislike of the genre. I also love Edmund O'Brien and he could have handled this film better....if he'd had a decent script. The combination of a romantic comedy and O'Brien simply SHOULD have been a lot better.The biggest problem with "Obliging Young Lady" is a complete and total lack of subtlety. As a result, the humor sure seems very, very forced. Too many story elements just seemed to be tossed in for effect--not for coherence. And, because of this, the characters seem, at times, more like caricatures than real people. Now SOME of this is due to the genre--in "Bringing Up Baby", Katharine Hepburn's character sure isn't all that believable--but the script was so good that you could suspend judgment. With "Obliging Young Lady", the script just doesn't have the energy or quality to do this.Here are a few problems with the script. First, the young lady (from the film's title) was so completely unlike a real child it was ridiculous. She ran around putting tacks on people's seats compulsively--for a VERY cheap laugh that they did AGAIN and AGAIN. She also manipulated the heck out of everyone with a finesse that few, if any, adults could match. And, she was too 'cute' for her own good--and the film makers really tried too hard to make her adorable and kooky. I just wanted to hit her! Second, while O'Brien could have been great (especially since he was thinner and not yet Film Noir ugly back in 1942--plus he was a nice actor), his character too often was annoying. His "Heinie Manush" joke simply wasn't funny--yet it was repeated again and again and again. This really got me hating O'Brien's character and made me wonder if Manush (a retired baseball player) ever thought of suing these folks! Also, his character often got too close to the border between being a nice, cute guy AND being a creepy stalker. The way he forced himself on the leading lady made me wonder if he might just be a date rapist--he came on THAT strong and ignored every request to leave her alone. Nice. Third, while the bird watchers sequence could have been very funny, it was WAAAY overdone--too kooky and ridiculous--almost like it was made for a Three Stooges short (for which it might have been appropriate).So is the film worth seeing? Well, it's not all horrible and is a watchable time-passer--but nothing more. If you love old movies, it's worth seeing--otherwise, try seeing "Arsenic and Old Lace", "My Man Godfrey", "His Girl Friday" or "Bringing Up Baby" instead--these are all far more worthy romantic/screwball comedies.
I could have decided not to watch this film since it was rated very low. Never judging a book by its cover, I thought I'd give it a chance. It caught me up in the romantic pursuit O'Brien after Ruth. The little girl was cute with her attraction for getting a thrill by putting tacks on seats. Believe me, I know from experience that this kind of act shouldn't be funny because it once happened to me in grade school. However, it is part of the movie that O'Brien can relate with when he meets the little girl on the train and how he did it too to people. PLEASE WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! Never be afraid of ratings because some movies haven't been out there to the public and need a chance. It is a movie THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN ENJOY! My Father (bless his heart!) reminds all his 10 children to just concentrate on watching ROMANTIC COMEDIES! I want to say that this would definitely be a movie that my Pop was talking about. As far as the Bird-calling scene, only true birders can understand and appreciate the comedy. I don't want to spoil anything else but real birders will obviously find errors in the actual bird that made the calls made by the actors.
it's the fringe, supporting character actors that keep this movie even partly interesting. the basic plot is sound - a secretary in a law firm must take a little girl up to a vacation lodge to keep her feuding parents from abducting her. Frank Pangborn is the leader of the birdwatching group that shows up at the lodge - he's great as always, but that birdcall bit goes on for 4 minutes and 15 seconds - way too long. viewers will recognize Charles Lane, the detective (usually plays a cop, judge, or a very serious clerk.) Eve Arden plays fellow reporter trying to get a story on the little girl. several recurring gags - the rhythm of the train wheels, the lunatic staff of the lodge, the pranks that the little girl plays. and that cast-list on IMDb - longer than a soup line in NYC! the leads are Ed O'Brien & Ruth Warrick This was one of Warrick's and Obrien's first roles, so that may explain the lack of chemistry between them.