Swing Shift Maisie (1943)

Street-smart Maisie from Brooklyn lands a job at an airplane assembly plant during WWII and falls in love with handsome pilot "Breezy" McLaughlin. Breezy, however, falling in love with and ... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Wilson Collison (characters), Robert Halff,

Stars:

Ann Sothern, James Craig, Jean Rogers

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ann Sothern	...	Maisie Ravier
James Craig	...	Brian 'Breezy' McLaughlin
Jean Rogers	...	Iris Reed
Connie Gilchrist	...	Maw Lustvogel
John Qualen	...	Horatio Curley
Kay Medford	...	Ann Wilson
Harry Wiere	...	Harry Smith / Schmidt
Herbert Wiere	...	Herbert Smith / Schmidt
Sylvester Wiere	...	Sylvester Smith / Schmidt
Jacqueline White	...	Grace
Betty Jaynes	...	Ruth
Frederick Brady	...	Judd Evans (as Fred Brady)
Marta Linden	...	Emmy Lou Grogan
Celia Travers	...	Helen Johnson
Donald Curtis	...	Joe Peterson

Storyline

Street-smart Maisie from Brooklyn lands a job at an airplane assembly plant during WWII and falls in love with handsome pilot "Breezy" McLaughlin. Breezy, however, falling in love with and getting engaged to Maisie's conniving roommate Iris, doesn't realize she's using him and it's up to Maisie to convince him.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | maisie series | ménage à trois | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Girl in Overalls

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Connections

Follows Gold Rush Maisie (1940)

User Reviews

Starts Off Well

The first half is almost delightful, thanks to a light touch and some snappy dialog. Then too, Sothern and Craig act out the lines with bounce and sass. And to spice things up, we don't just wonder which girl Breezy (Craig) will end up with, there are even hints that it might be both! (Pretty naughty for the time.)

But then the screenplay turns gradually somber as the troubled Iris (Rogers) takes over and the breezy Breezy drops out of sight. The transition is rather skillfully managed; still, the movie loses its bouncy strong point, becoming almost melodramatic instead. Too bad, but then it seems good comedy scripts are harder to do than good melodrama-- maybe that's why.

One reason I watch these wartime programmers is to catch some flavor of the times. I figured a swing shift at a defense plant might provide insight. Well, the movie does, partially. There's some Rosie the Riveter feminism as expected.

But what I picked up was that each segment of the airplane assembly line was sealed off by guards from the others. Just why wasn't explained, but I surmise it was to make possible espionage more difficult. Also, the little episode with Iris's long locks explains why the iconic Rosie is always pictured with bundled hair. Still, I wish the rather lengthy run-time (87-min.) spent more time with how the women were adjusting to their new roles, which might also have made good comedy.

Anyway, despite the questionable change in tone, it's a decent enough programmer, especially the bouncy first half.