Maisie Was a Lady (1941)

Showgirl Maisie Ravier finds herself once again out of work. She meets a wealthy playboy who hires her to be his family's new maid. Maisie soon finds herself trying to mend the family's ... See full summary »

Director:

Edwin L. Marin

Writers:

Elizabeth Reinhardt (story), Myles Connolly (story),

Stars:

Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ann Sothern	...	Maisie Ravier / Mary Anastasia O'Connor
Lew Ayres	...	Robert 'Bob' 'Bobby' Rawlston
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Abigail 'Abby' Rawlston
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Al Walpole, the Main Butler
Joan Perry	...	Diana 'Di' Webley
Paul Cavanagh	...	'Cap' Rawlston
Edward Ashley	...	Link Phillips
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rita Johnson	...	(scenes deleted)
Henry O'Neill	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

Showgirl Maisie Ravier finds herself once again out of work. She meets a wealthy playboy who hires her to be his family's new maid. Maisie soon finds herself trying to mend the family's many problems.

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Plot Keywords:

playboy | maid | doctor | burlesque | sequel | 

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Taglines:

"Blonde Bonfire" Maisie is in Society Now!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

En flicka på halsen

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fourth of ten movies starring Ann Sothern as the heroine Maisie Ravier.

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Goofs

The position of Maisie's hand while the father and son are talking at the foot of the staircase.

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Quotes

Motorcycle Policeman: [riding next to Maisie who is driving a convertible] Pull Over.
Maisie Ravier, an alias of Mary Anastasia O'Connor: Look Officer, I'm in kind of a hurry... so if you're lonesome and want to talk can't we just ride along like this?

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Connections

Follows Maisie (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Jingle Bells"
(1857)
Written by James Pierpont (as J.S. Pierpont)
Sung a cappella by Lew Ayres and the 5 midgets

User Reviews

Maisie becomes a maid to the rich

You can tell that the "Maisie" films were popular, especially when you compare the first two or so to this one. The budget has gone up considerably by the time "Maisie Was a Lady" was produced. Not only are the production values better but the cast is of a higher level, too. Besides the incomparable Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith and Paul Cavanagh are on hand, playing members of a wealthy family. When the drunken Bobby manages to lose Maisie her job in a carnival as the headless woman and then forgets he gave her his car so that she's arrested, a judge orders him to employ her at her headless woman's salary for the allotted period of time. After she nearly ruins his sister Abby's (O'Sullivan) engagement party, Abby changes Maisie's position to that of personal maid. Maisie discovers that the young woman is very much alone, especially after she realizes her fiancée only wants her money.

This is the best entry into the series of the ones I've seen, though Sothern is great in all of them, beautiful, sassy and vibrant. Maureen O'Sullivan is wonderful as the sweet and heartbroken Abby, and C. Aubrey Smith is great as the loyal, loving family butler. Lew Ayres, when he wasn't Dr. Kildare, seemed to be typecast as a drunken playboy a good deal before the war - it's a role he plays convincingly, though in life he was a deeply religious, health and work-oriented person. Handsome Paul Cavanagh plays Abby and Bob's dad, "Cap" who gets his comeuppance from Maisie.

Great fun and a must for Sothern fans.