Saleslady (1938)

Department store employees Mary Dakin and Bob Spencer are married, with Bob not knowing Mary is the granddaughter of millionaire mattress-king Miles Cannon. Mary is content to live on Bob's... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Greville Collins

Writers:

Kubec Glasmon (story), Marion Orth (screenplay)

Stars:

Anne Nagel, Weldon Heyburn, Harry Davenport

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anne Nagel	...	Mary Dakin Spencer
Weldon Heyburn	...	Bob Spencer
Harry Davenport	...	Miles Cannon
Kenneth Harlan	...	Bigelow
Harry Hayden	...	Steele
Ruth Fallows	...	Lillian 'Lil' Clark
John St. Polis	...	Crane
Matty Kemp	...	Wheeler
Doris Rankin	...	The Matron
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Babcock (as Donald Barry)
Herbert Evans	...	The Butler

Storyline

Department store employees Mary Dakin and Bob Spencer are married, with Bob not knowing Mary is the granddaughter of millionaire mattress-king Miles Cannon. Mary is content to live on Bob's salary but Bob loses his job and takes Mary to live with her grandfather and then finds out she is heir to a fortune. Bob, furious because Mary deceived him, is determined to make it on his own and goes into business with Crane, a competitor of Cannon. Eventually, Cannon, Crane and Bob decide to merge, and when Mary announces she is to have a child (the 1938 term for being pregnant), the Spencer family's future is assured.

---

Plot Keywords:

employee | millionaire | fortune | department store | co worker | 

---

Taglines:

It's Romance Up-to-the-Minute

---

Genres:

Romance | Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1938 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Bland

For the most part, "Saleslady" is a bland and too-often trite romantic comedy. The premise is perhaps of mild interest: Mary is an heiress who wants to live a life of her own, and to be appreciated 'for herself', so she moves away from her rich grandfather, takes a job in a department store, and marries fellow employee Bob, who has no idea who she is. With the young couple in financial difficulty, Mary is then faced with the question of whether to ask her grandfather to bail them out.

The story that follows is only slightly satisfying, and is not very plausible. Most of the characters are likeable but dull, the dialogue is stale, and on numerous occasions Bob is annoyingly stupid. The one bright spot is Harry Davenport as the grandfather - the character is routine (as are his lines), but Davenport is a good character actor who knows how to give him a little life.

It's not unpleasant to watch, but it does not offer very many reasons to do so, either. Overall, there just is not enough here to recommend it.