My Dear Secretary (1949)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Charles Martin

Writer:

Charles Martin (written by)

Release Date:

12 January 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

He chased her . . . 'til she caught him!

Plot:

Owen Waterbury, bestselling novelist, recruits aspiring writer Stephanie 'Steve' Gaylord as his latest of many secretaries...

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Secretary | Aspiring Writer | Marriage | New Job

Cast

Laraine Day	...	Stephanie 'Steve' Gaylord
Kirk Douglas	...	Owen Waterbury
Keenan Wynn	...	Ronnie Hastings
Helen Walker	...	Elsie (Waterbury's former secretary)
Rudy Vallee	...	Charles Harris (Harris Book Stores)
Florence Bates	...	Horrible Hannah Reeve (the landlady)
Alan Mowbray	...	Deveny (Bryant Detective Agency)
Irene Ryan	...	Mary (Waterbury's housekeeper)
Gale Robbins	...	Dawn O'Malley (The Untouchable Secretary)
Grady Sutton	...	Sylvan Scott (writing student)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #13279) | UK:U | Finland:S | Australia:G

Company:

Cardinal Pictures (II)

Quotes:

Mrs. Reeves: I guess I'll run along.
Ronnie Hastings: Must you go? I was just poisoning the tea.

Diamond in the rough

An overlooked and underrated gem in the genre of American Screwball comedy, "My Dear Secretary" pits Kirk Douglas and Laraine Day together in a romantic battle of the sexes set against the literary world of the 1940's. The script, complex in its plot as one expects from these brilliant comedies from that era, is flawless, and the performances by Day and Douglas, who demonstrates an early knack for comedic acting sorely underused in most of his later films, are solid. It is Keenan Wynn however as Douglas' wisecracking best friend who does a great deal of scene stealing in one of his most memorable roles. A shame Kirk Douglas claimed a lack of affection for this picture in his autobiography as it is a real treat to watch him in this type of film. Made by low key United Artists at a time when screwball comedy was winding down, it is not hard to see why this picture was overlooked then and is all but forgotten now. In the shadow of the more famous Cary Grant and Roselind Russell et al comedies it is nevertheless an intricate and finely tuned piece of screwball which deserves better recognition. Look for it at the video store, you will pleasantly surprised. And while you're there check out "A Lady Takes a Chance" with Jean Arthur and John Wayne, another sadly under-appreciated comedy from the 40's.