Maisie

MAISIE was the first in a series of ten MGM features starring the delightful Ann Sothern as a sharp-tongued Brooklyn chorus girl with a heart of gold. One way or the other, Maisie found herself in the middle of other people's problems, and, more often than not, found a reasonable solution.

The MAISIE series was made on a noticeably low-budget, but Ms. Sothern's bright and vivacious personality elevated these "B" movies to A picture status, making every entry in the series always worth watching. MAISIE is also of great historical importance because it's the first time a female was the central character of a film series.(BLONDIE doesn't count because most of the 28 films in that series revolved around Dagwood).

Though I have seen all of the films in the MAISIE series and love them all dearly, my top favorites are: MAISIE(1939), CONGO MAISIE(1940), GOLD RUSH MAISIE(1940), MAISIE WAS A LADY(1941), MAISIE GETS HER MAN(1942), and MAISIE GOES TO RENO(1944).

A very popular series was launched by MGM with Ann Sothern portraying that very wise show girl Maisie. Over the next several years Maisie would circle the globe, find herself in all kinds of situations and would dispense advice that more people ought to listen to, especially in the realm of human relations.]

This first film finds Maisie stranded in some western town where a show she was promised an engagement with has folded. The only thing in the town right at the moment is a rodeo.

Sothern after getting in a jackpot courtesy of carnival sharpie George Tobias hitches a ride in the back of Robert Young's truck. Young is the foreman of absentee ranch owner Ian Hunter and Hunter's coming to town with wife Ruth Hussey. Of course the added benefit for Hussey is she will see boyfriend paramour John Hubbard and Sothern who has befriended Hunter has discovered the relationship.

Later on Young gets himself in quite a jackpot after Hunter's demise and it's up to Sothern to straighten the situation out.

The plot of this inaugural Maisie film is thin and rather obvious. But Sothern puts her character over with skill. Ruth Hussey has the other really meaty part, a cold forbidding gold digger of a woman whom Hunter has fallen hopelessly in love with. It's the basis for tragedy.

There's a happy ever ending in this film, but it was not fated to be because Sothern was on the road again in her next Maisie film.

Why did I like "Maisie"? It was not hilarious and the story seemed to try to feign plausibility. It trivialized a suicide, which is the one thing which bothered me about the film – but by trivializing it, they avoided dwelling on.

That being said, the situation was good and the acting was splendid. I adored Maisie (Ann Southern), liked Slim (Robert Young) as the character surpassed his initial single dimension, and had no time for Sybil (Ruth Hessy) or her paramour (John Hubbard).

The film worked because it is about Maisie in a situation. She is a good and decent person, bothered but not surprised that the world contains sharks and charlatans, and shameless women who marry for money. She'll judge everything personally, but she won't grandstand about it. She'll be put in any number of situations, and she knows how to survive and thrive in each of them.

Wonderful character actor George Tobias makes two excellent appearances in the film, towards the beginning and the end, as a sort of a con man. It was a nice touch.

I am looking forward to seeing the nine other films in the "Maisie" series.

Our heroine, Ann Sothern as Maisie Ravier, is left stranded in a small Wyoming town with the rather unfortunate name of Big Horn. With only 15 cents to her name, she takes a carnival job and through a chance comment, meets Robert Young ('Slim' Martin). For some unexplained reason Maisie stows away on Martins truck and ensconces herself at the farm run by Martin for rich Ian Hunter (Cliff Ames), who turns up with his cheap wife played by Ruth Hussey. A series of misadventures follows with romance for Maisie and tragedy for the Ames. In the end Maisie comes shining through.

The first in a series, Sothern plays Maisie as a brassy, worldwise, blonde with a heart of gold. Her role is reminiscent of Jean Harlow in 'Red Dust': I have heard that Harlow was in line for the role but have no confirmation of that.

The movie itself is quite amusing, if dated, but not helped by poor production values and obvious in studio scenes. There is one shot where Robert Young is driving a truck and a calf pokes it's head into the front part of the truck. Although meant to be real, it is so obviously fake it is laughable. Young walks around in ramrod fashion and Hunter is strangely wooden. Overall, enjoyable nonsense. Not to be taken too seriously.

Ann Sothern took charge of this character and what was intended as a one-off B-picture became such a hit, and such a money maker, that MGM was forced to see Sothern and her character in a more positive light. Surrounded by actors who really didn't fit the roles they were supposed to play, Sothern pulls the whole thing off anyway -- and she does it marvelously. Because the money kept rolling in, MGM made nine (9) more Maisie movies, and Sothern starred in them all, while at the same time appearing in other classic films like "A Letter to Three Wives".

Sothern was a class act and deserved better from MGM. They made mega-bucks off her, but Mayer was following his sexual interests, as usual, and the big money went to projects starring the girls he was attracted to.

Sothern, of course, went on to superstardom on television and became a household name, like her co-star Robert Young. The Maisie series was much better than average and Sothern is a pure delight, the likes of which we may never see again.