Take a Letter, Darling (1942)

A struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love.

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Claude Binyon (screen play), George Beck (story)

Stars:

Rosalind Russell, Fred MacMurray, Macdonald Carey

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rosalind Russell	...	A.M. MacGregor
Fred MacMurray	...	Tom Verney
Macdonald Carey	...	Jonathan Caldwell
Constance Moore	...	Ethel Caldwell
Robert Benchley	...	G.B. Atwater
Charles Arnt	...	Fud Newton (as Charles E. Arnt)
Cecil Kellaway	...	Uncle George
Kathleen Howard	...	Aunt Minnie
Margaret Seddon	...	Aunt Judy
Dooley Wilson	...	Moses
George Reed	...	Sam French
Margaret Hayes	...	Sally French
Sonny Boy Williams	...	Micky Dowling
John Holland	...	Secretary

Storyline

A struggling painter takes a job as a secretary to a female advertising executive. While working to obtain an account from a tobacco company, they end up falling in love.

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Plot Keywords:

advertising | female executive | role reversal

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Taglines:

She Had Him Put in a Full Day's Work ... At Night!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ela e o Secretário

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 4, 1948 with Fred MacMurray and Rosalind Russell reprising their film roles.

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Quotes

Tom Verney: You're a beautiful brain and beautiful clothes. No temperature, no pulse. That's all.
A.M. MacGregor: Where did you learn about women, Verney?
Tom Verney: It isn't a matter of learning. It's instinct.
A.M. MacGregor: I'm a brain with no pulse, eh? I'm a woman, Verney, more woman than you'll ever know.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the last scene, the camera zooms in on a billboard, which shows the closing credits...and an ad for the film's fictional tobacco company.

User Reviews

An early gem of a gender-bender

I've never seen MacMurrary of Russell give more nuanced performances than in this screwball comedy about a successful woman executive who hires a male secretary to appear conventional on social outings. What is completely surprising is the outcome isn't one that consigns either character to a rigid, gender-defined role. Sly wit and great performances throughout, albeit marred by unfortunate racial stereotypes of the time.