Obliging Young Lady (1942)

Linda Norton is instructed by her employer attorney to take young Bridget Potter, whose wealthy parents are engaged in a divorce suit, to an isolated country resort, to shelter the girl ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Wallace

Writers:

Arthur T. Horman (story), Frank Ryan (screenplay),

Stars:

Joan Carroll, Edmond O'Brien, Ruth Warrick

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Carroll	...	Bridget Potter
Edmond O'Brien	...	'Red' Reddy, aka Professor Stanley
Ruth Warrick	...	Linda Norton
Eve Arden	...	'Space' OShea, aka Suwanee Rivers
Robert Smith	...	Charles 'Charlie' Baker
Franklin Pangborn	...	Professor Gibney
Marjorie Gateson	...	Mira Potter
John Miljan	...	George Potter
George Cleveland	...	Clarence, manager of Lake Mohawk Lodge
Luis Alberni	...	Riccardi, the musician
Charles Lane	...	Private detective Smith
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Chef
Andrew Tombes	...	First train conductor
Almira Sessions	...	Maid at Lake Mohawk Lodge
Pierre Watkin	...	John Markham

Storyline

Linda Norton is instructed by her employer attorney to take young Bridget Potter, whose wealthy parents are engaged in a divorce suit, to an isolated country resort, to shelter the girl from newspaper reporters and publicity. To the same resort comes Red Reddy, a hope-to-be novelist with plans also of furthering a former brief acquaintance with Linda; Charles Baker, Linda's fiancée; a snooping private detective; and Space O'Shea, who hopes to get a story on Bridget and her divorce-seeking parents. The resort is also host to a convention-meeting of a group of bird lovers headed by the prissy Gibney. The mix gives rise to more than a few situations.

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Plot Keywords:

resort | reporter | private detective | niagara falls | love at first sight | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Senhorita Amabilidade

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening scene, Red Reddy repeats "Heinie Manush" to the rhythm of the motion of the train he's riding and gradually the other passengers begin to repeat it as well. Henry "Heinie" Manush was a major league ballplayer who played for 17 seasons and had retired from baseball at the time this film was made.

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Goofs

Florence Gill is credited onscreen as "Miss Hollyrod", but it is Nora Cecil who is called by that name.

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Quotes

'Red' Reddy, aka Professor Stanley: [Chants the name of a baseball player in rhythm of the train in motion - soon picked up by everyone on the train] Heinie Manush-Heinie Manush-Heinie Manush-Heinie Manush...

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Soundtracks

"The Volga Boatman"
Composer unknown
In the score in the rowboat scene

User Reviews

This film tries too hard and as a result is far from subtle.

A very annoying young girl's rich parents are getting a divorce. Apparently this is big news, as reporters are flocking to interview them as well as the child. In order to keep the child away from this hysteria, the child is sent on a vacation in the country--with a fake mother so reporters won't recognize her. In the process, Edmond O'Brien meets up with the pair and instantly falls for the lady (Joan Carroll) and spends the film following them.

I love romantic comedies from the 1930s and 40s, so you can't attribute my indifference to this film to any sort of dislike of the genre. I also love Edmund O'Brien and he could have handled this film better....if he'd had a decent script. The combination of a romantic comedy and O'Brien simply SHOULD have been a lot better.

The biggest problem with "Obliging Young Lady" is a complete and total lack of subtlety. As a result, the humor sure seems very, very forced. Too many story elements just seemed to be tossed in for effect--not for coherence. And, because of this, the characters seem, at times, more like caricatures than real people. Now SOME of this is due to the genre--in "Bringing Up Baby", Katharine Hepburn's character sure isn't all that believable--but the script was so good that you could suspend judgment. With "Obliging Young Lady", the script just doesn't have the energy or quality to do this.

Here are a few problems with the script. First, the young lady (from the film's title) was so completely unlike a real child it was ridiculous. She ran around putting tacks on people's seats compulsively--for a VERY cheap laugh that they did AGAIN and AGAIN. She also manipulated the heck out of everyone with a finesse that few, if any, adults could match. And, she was too 'cute' for her own good--and the film makers really tried too hard to make her adorable and kooky. I just wanted to hit her! Second, while O'Brien could have been great (especially since he was thinner and not yet Film Noir ugly back in 1942--plus he was a nice actor), his character too often was annoying. His "Heinie Manush" joke simply wasn't funny--yet it was repeated again and again and again. This really got me hating O'Brien's character and made me wonder if Manush (a retired baseball player) ever thought of suing these folks! Also, his character often got too close to the border between being a nice, cute guy AND being a creepy stalker. The way he forced himself on the leading lady made me wonder if he might just be a date rapist--he came on THAT strong and ignored every request to leave her alone. Nice. Third, while the bird watchers sequence could have been very funny, it was WAAAY overdone--too kooky and ridiculous--almost like it was made for a Three Stooges short (for which it might have been appropriate).

So is the film worth seeing? Well, it's not all horrible and is a watchable time-passer--but nothing more. If you love old movies, it's worth seeing--otherwise, try seeing "Arsenic and Old Lace", "My Man Godfrey", "His Girl Friday" or "Bringing Up Baby" instead--these are all far more worthy romantic/screwball comedies.