Professional Sweetheart (1933)

Radio singer Glory Eden is publicized as the ideal of American womanhood, in order to sell the sponsor's product Ippsie-Wippsie Washcloths. In reality, Glory would like to at least sample ... See full summary »

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writer:

Maurine Dallas Watkins

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Norman Foster, Zasu Pitts

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ginger Rogers	...	Glory Eden
Norman Foster	...	Jim Davey
Zasu Pitts	...	Elmerada de Leon
Frank McHugh	...	Speed Dennis
Allen Jenkins	...	O'Connor
Gregory Ratoff	...	Samuel 'Sam' Ipswich
Franklin Pangborn	...	Herbert Childress
Lucien Littlefield	...	Ed, the Announcer
Edgar Kennedy	...	Tim Kelsey
Frank Darien	...	Appleby
Sterling Holloway	...	Stu

Storyline

Radio singer Glory Eden is publicized as the ideal of American womanhood, in order to sell the sponsor's product Ippsie-Wippsie Washcloths. In reality, Glory would like to at least sample booze, jazz, gambling, and men. When the strain of representing "purity" brings her to rebellion, the sponsor and his nutty henchmen pick her a public-relations "sweetheart" from fan mail. But they soon find that young love is not to be trifled with. Includes spicy pre-Code episodes and satirical jabs at a variety of targets.

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Plot Keywords:

kentucky | singer | disillusionment | new york city | poetry | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Careless

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ginger Rogers was dubbed by Etta Moten; this is reputedly the only film in which Rogers did not do her own singing.

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Quotes

Glory Eden: Me, that's what I'm thinking of! Me! Dens of iniquity, gambling, dives... That's what I want!

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Connections

Featured in The Love Goddesses (1965)

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Soundtracks

"Daybreak"
by Hoagy Carmichael
played instrumentally during a scene in Ginger Rogers' apartment

User Reviews

Wash Yourself, Watch Yourself

I saw this with another RKO Ginger Rogers film from the same year.

Even though these are targeted as light entertainment, I am amazed at how fresh they feel and how experimental the structure is.

That lightness is often attributed to the lack of the Hayes Code, which lowered its dark curtain the following year. Its clear in retrospect that this was a bad thing, that it wounded an entire society, and would have destroyed it altogether had we not encountered a similar more obvious evil. And went to war.

But how does one know what is right around the corner? How does one celebrate the freedoms that are about to be taken away? Its a haunting thing in the background of this, as part of the joke is that this perfect man is "the purest of Anglo-Saxons." Another part of the joke is that sweetness, goodness and happiness is contrasted with black jive, sex and Harlem, all of which are "fun."

The structure of the thing is pretty sophisticated. Many films from these four years 1930- 33 were similarly adventuresome in their structure.

Its a show about sex and domestic values within which is a show (a radio show) about sex and domestic values. (The domestic hook is literally a dishrag.) Around this show are a collection of nattering men trying to engineer romance and predictably failing. If you study the narrative structure of date movies, you'll be familiar with tricks about how to reflect the viewer in the story. Its rather novel and somewhat perfect here.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.