Dulcy

Ann Sothern is terrific as "Dulcy". Ann Sothern is a delight to most men, and she's very funny in this movie. Shocking there is no official studio release. I'm happy to have this terrific film in my 3000 DVD/Blu-ray collection where I know it can never be censored.

Bill Ward (Dan Dailey) is in love and wants to marry a lovely lady. So, he invites her and her parents to his lakefront mansion for the weekend. During most of this time, Bill's sister, Dulcy (Ann Sothern) keeps doing things to hurt the girl's father...along with a variety of other people who happen to get in her way.

In the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood made quite a few movies with kooky female leads. Usually they were played by Billie Burke or Gracie Allen or even Katharine Hepburn ("Bringing Up Baby") but "Dulcy" stars Ann Sothern...and whether or not you like the movie will depend a lot on if you like a leading lady THIS stupid, obnoxious AND selfish. Time and again, Dulcy hurts people because she is an idiot that just doesn't give a crap about them or her actions. One person's kooky is another person's vicious sociopath...and I found Dulcy to fall in that latter category and so I found the film tedious and horribly unfunny.

This film came at the end of the genre. The script is mirthless,and as a result the actors struggle manfully with their parts. Sotherns part is of a thoroughly obnoxious woman's whose antics border on the insane. She gabbles her part leading to the assumption that she wants to get to the end as soon as possible.

... despite the presence of some wonderful actors. One is hard-pressed to understand why any of these contortions would ever be considered amusing. The production values are high, but the endless succession of predictable sight gags and cruel mishaps descend into near-gibberish. Ann Sothern looks lovely, but embarrassed. Even Roland Young, for me one of the most most dependably skilled comic actors ever, just plows ahead dutifully until the whole thing grinds to a halt.

Ann Sothern is delightful as "Dulcy," a scatterbrained young woman who makes life miserable for weekend guests. The film stars Dan Dailey, Reginald Gardner, Roland Young, Ian Hunter, and Billie Burke.

After meeting an inventor who can't get a meeting with an airline executive, Dulcy decides to help. She has him come to her house when her brother (Dailey), his fiance, and her parents (Young, a major airline executive and Burke) are coming for the weekend. Chaos prevails on every level.

Fun movie with good performances by everyone, particularly an exasperated Roland Young. A perfect vehicle for Sothern.