The Feminine Touch

Very charming early 40's romantic screwball comedy. Don Ameche is a psychology professor at Digby College, which he decides to leave after being asked to pass a dimwitted football player so Digby can win an upcoming game. Prof. Hathaway is now free to publish his book on his theories on marital jealousy. Only he doesn't expect to be smitten with his editor, Kay Francis and likewise his wife, Rosalind Russell with Kay Francis' partner, Van Heflin. It's not heavy on plot; rather, its forte is in its snappy dialog, especially from Russell and Francis.

Here is one thing I especially love about 40's/50's romantic comedies: the bachelor pads, such as Van Heflin's here! They're always large and usually have a sunken living room with lots of cool furniture. You go up three steps and behold! A grand piano! As if this weren't enough, Heflin's also got a log cabin retreat outside the city (NY). Other outstanding 1940's visuals: Kay Francis' outrageous hats. Francis looks even better here than in the 30's. She even reminded me somewhat of Sean Young in BLADE RUNNER. Other highlights include the make-up exam Prof. Hathaway gives to Rubber-Legs, the football player in question at the beginning, at the request of the dean. The questions are deliberately idiotic, but Rubber-Legs bows out with a headache! For more abuse of football players at the hands of professors I recommend Disney's THE MONKEY'S UNCLE (24 years later). Then there's the scene in the publisher's office where Ameche and Russell find claustrophobic Elliott Morgan (Heflin) locked in a closet by Nellie (Francis)! Funny seeing a bearded Heflin through the keyhole. There's also a lot of coffee preparing and drinking in this movie, and some kind of statement about beards. At the beginning the football players are wearing beards until they defeat their opponent. Later, Francis declares that Elliott is hiding behind a beard for security (??) We're also treated to some 1940's feminism spouted by Don Ameche and scoffed at by Francis, who says those are the women (overly independent) who are alone at night.

This is a sprightly comedy with sturdy comedic performances from all. Give it a look - you'll feel good when you do!

This film was made in the days when dialogue was king, and this dialogue requires the viewer to pay attention. There are elements of Rosalind Russel's performance in "His Girl Friday" with stinging repartee delivered subtly by the four stars. Good acting is required here too, because much is conveyed through the actors eyes. Scenes with Russell, Francis, Heflin, and Ameche all on screen at once are a real treat, and no one upstages anyone else. I would guess they had fun making this funny picture, which is underrated by many people who do not follow the actors' exchanges.

Look too, for Robert Ryan who is uncredited in his early pre-war days, and an uncredited song by a barely 21 year-old Peggy Lee, who had just joined Benny Goodman's Band; and oh, my, you can hear her rich, cool, perfect pitch starting to come alive.

Rambling and over-long comedy about a married couple (Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche) who argue over the idea of jealousy in marriage. He's a college professor who has written a dull book without having a clue what real jealousy is; she's the little wifey who secretly pines for a caveman type. They get involved with an unmarried publisher and his editor (Van Heflin, Kay Francis) who throw a monkey wrench into the marriage. It seems he's too flighty and she wants his full attention. Everything comes to a head when Heflin runs off to his island in the Adirondacks, only to be followed by Russell and then by Ameche and Francis. There, the men duke it out and the gals get down to a cat fight. Of course this silliness settles everything and both couples end up happy.

Sometimes way too talky and at other times just plain silly, but it's all quite watchable thanks to the four stars. The slapstick fight between Ameche and Heflin is the low point. But there's a dream sequence a la Salvador Dali that is quite funny.

Others in the cast include Donald Meek, Sidney Blackmer, Cecil Cunningham, Grant Mitchell, Gordon Jones, Anne O'Neal, Bernard Nedell, Henry Daniell, Julie Gibson as the singer (no, it's not Peggy Lee), and Robert Ryan as an extra playing a cop.

Rosalind Russell and Kay Francis come off best ... no surprise.

Charming goof-ball comedy played by experts. Roz, looking great, is sassy and fun one of the greatest at the slow burn ever. She comes across as a bit addle-pated at times but she also has an enormous amount of patience with her husband, a good but not very sensitive man.

This was Kay Francis' last part in an A level film and a shame since she is both humorous and chic. Her slide into low grade junk and obscurity within a few years of this is an example of the way Hollywood wastes talented performers once they are no longer as big at the box office. Since this is an MGM film and she made a good showing in the picture it's surprising they didn't take her on. Her brand of sophistication seems right up their alley and even if no longer a leading lady she could have done well in support.

Ameche's character as I said is a rather clueless blow-hard but his natural charm makes him less irksome than he would normally be. Heflin, fresh off his Oscar for Johnny Eager, is well cast as a would be gigolo who thinks he is more suave and irresistible than he in fact is.

Overall a bit dated in it's attitudes, unsurprisingly, but the four stars make it worth watching.

I agree with "Aeovox" below that this is an unusual film, and also an unsatisfactory one. I was drawn to it by the presence of Don Ameche and Rosalind Russell in the cast. I thought the whole premise of the film - the Dionysian wife's unhappiness with her Appolonian husband's refusal to recognize the emotional legitimacy of jealousy, and her subsequent attempts to make him jealous - was a bit tenuous, and it is executed in a rather - to me at least - incoherent way. The movie is far too talky, although that talk often is quite witty (and just as often seems implausible and pointless), and goes on far too long. The slapstick bits are weak. On the whole, despite the good efforts of Ameche and Russell, I found this a disappointment.