His Private Secretary (1933)

Director:

Phil Whitman

Writers:

Lewis D. Collins (story)
Jack Natteford (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

10 June 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Dick Wallace wants to marry a minister's grand-daughter but his father, who wants him to get work on his company's business, is opposed. She takes a job with the company to prove she's okay. |

Plot Keywords:

Minister | Office Boy | Art Deco | Businessman | Taxi

Cast

Evalyn Knapp	...	Marion Hall
John Wayne	...	Dick Wallace
Reginald Barlow	...	Mr. Wallace
Alec B. Francis	...	Rev. Hall
Arthur Hoyt	...	Little
Natalie Kingston	...	Polly
Patrick Cunning	...	Van, Polly's Brother
Al St. John	...	Garage Owner Tom
Hugh Kidder	...	Jenkins, the Butler
Mickey Rentschler	...	Joe Boyd

Directed by
Phil Whitman		(as Philip H. Whitman)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lewis D. Collins		story (as Lew Collins)
Sam Katzman		uncredited
Jack Natteford		adaptation and continuity (as Jack Francis Natteford)

Produced by
Al Alt	....	supervising producer
D.J. Mountan	....	producer
Sam Katzman	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Abe Scholtz

Film Editing by
Bobby Ray		(as Robert Ray)

Production Management
Sam Katzman	....	production manager

Art Department
Fred Preble	....	settings

Sound Department
Oscar Lagerstrom	....	sound recording engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
John Jenkins	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
J. Henry Kruse	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Pat Patterson	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Joe Schaefer	....	chief grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Abe Meyer	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Paul Palmatelo	....	technical director

Production Companies

• Colam Pictures Co. (presents)
• Screencraft Productions
• Showmen's Pictures

Distributors

• Marcy Pictures Corporation (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (states rights system)
• Gaumont Ideal (1934) (UK) (theatrical)
• Grapevine Video (2006) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Classic Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Passport International Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Roan Group, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Freeman Lang Studios  recording system (as Freeman Lang)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Freeman Lang Recording System)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Colam Pictures Co.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dick and Marion first meet at the gas station she is by the rear left fender of his car, talking to the attendant on the other side, yet when Dick adjusts the rear view mirror we see Marion's full face instead of a left profile. Then Marion turns her back on the mirror, but when Dick adjusts it downward, we see the front of Marion's feet and legs instead of the back. Only when the camera backs off does Marion turn around and face Dick and the mirror.

Another B-movie for John Wayne...but it certainly is not typical!

I saw this film on a DVD from Westlake Entertainment. The picture and sound quality are simply terrible and it's obvious that absolutely no restoration was done to this public domain film before they released it. My recommendation is to just download a copy yourself for free and IMDb has links to these sites (such as archive.net). After all, the free one can't be any worse in quality! In the 1930s, the vast majority of John Wayne's films were B-westerns and a small number of mainstream westerns. He had a niche and had few opportunities for other sorts of films. However, "His Private Secretary" is one of a few films in this era where his co-star was NOT a horse!

This film finds Wayne a rich playboy. His father is upset at his lazy and girl-filled ways and has him come to work with him in the company business. However, the father is enraged when Wayne falls for and marries a young lady and the old man insists that the new wife is a gold-digger! So, to convince him otherwise, the wife has an odd plan--to become the old goat's secretary and convince him that she's a great lady--then he'll surely approve of the marriage. Seeing the new wife able to soon twist her father-in-law around her finger is pretty cute and makes the film worth while. Unfortately, Wayne's performance is rather bland, however.

All in all, the film is a pleasant diversion though it could have been a lot better. It's clearly a B-film with a very low budget and only passable production values. One problem is that there is very little incidental music even for a film from 1933--and it seems very, very quiet--too quiet. The most serious problem, however, is that the story idea simply could have been fleshed out better and the father came off a bit too gruff and difficult to believe---very one-dimensional. Overall, the production comes off as a bit cheap--though most of Wayne's films of this time were amazingly cheap and would surprise those not familiar with his early work.