Wise Girl (1937)

Snooty heiress decides to track down her dead sister's kids, who are living a Bohemian life with their uncle in Greenwich Village. Once she finds them, she discovers that the Bohemian life ... See full summary »

Director:

Leigh Jason

Writers:

Allan Scott (story), Charles Norman (story),

Stars:

Miriam Hopkins, Ray Milland, Walter Abel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miriam Hopkins	...	Susan Fletcher
Ray Milland	...	John O'Halloran
Walter Abel	...	Karl
Henry Stephenson	...	Mr. Fletcher
Alec Craig	...	Dermont O'Neil
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Mike (as Guinn Williams)
Betty Philson	...	Joan
Marianna Strelby	...	Katie
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Bell-Rivington
Jean De Briac	...	George (as Jean de Briac)
Ivan Lebedeff	...	Prince Michael
Rafael Storm	...	Prince Ivan
Gregory Gaye	...	Prince Leopold
Richard Lane	...	Detective
Tom Kennedy	...	Detective

Storyline

Snooty heiress decides to track down her dead sister's kids, who are living a Bohemian life with their uncle in Greenwich Village. Once she finds them, she discovers that the Bohemian life is fun and free of the constraints her country-club life places on her. But she decides to take the uncle to court anyway to free him from the kids so he can paint.

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Plot Keywords:

bohemian | heiress | vacuum cleaner | artist | fired from the job | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Russian French

Release Date:

31 December 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Moça de Expediente

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Legion Stadium - Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Feb. 1938, this film was being shown on a double bill with Penitentiary.

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Quotes

Mr. Simon Fletcher: You know my mental mastodons of the law: Barton, Barton, and a son of a Barton.

User Reviews

Spirited Antagonists

Years later the plot device of a paternal uncle and maternal aunt in a custody battle was used in the Clark Gable/Sophia Loren classic, It Happened In Naples. Only in that it was Sophia who was the Bohemian and Clark the square. Wise Girl does not have the international setting or the color location cinematography of the later film, but Ray Milland and Miriam Hopkins do play a pair of spirited antagonists.

Miriam's father Henry Stephenson who is rich enough to spoil Miriam had cut off her sister back when she married out of her class. Now with both his daughter and son-in-law dead he'd like custody of his two granddaughters. Miriam will be his accomplice in that endeavor.

But the trick is to get them away from their uncle Ray Milland who has them. He's a struggling artist and he supports the girls with odd jobs here and there. Miriam moves into Greenwich Village incognito to be near them all and naturally as things go in these type films she falls for Milland.

Looking at the set I can see where Alfred Hitchcock got the idea for his Greenwich Village set in Rear Window. And we meet a whole lot of colorful characters there and not just through a telescope. Milland's closest friends are prizefighter Guinn Williams and aspiring actor Walter Abel who has a bit of a thirst problem. Marianna Strelby and Kim Philson play the two young girls and Margaret Dumont has a great small part as the snooty woman running the Child Welfare League.

Wise Girl may not show Miriam Hopkins at her wisest, but it's a great comedy in the screwball tradition of the Thirties. Best scene is the chaos she causes at one of Guinn Williams' prizefights. Milland has his moments as well, especially trying to unsuccessfully sell vacuum cleaners door to door. All in all a lot of laughs.