Wise Girls

"Of course I'm going to marry you... sometime." That's what Duke (Roland Young, from Topper and Philadelphia Story) tells Kate, played by Norma Lee, in one of the two credited roles she ever did. in the very next scene, she marries the next guy she meets, who happens to be "Kemp" (Elliot Nugent), who her dad treats like enemy number one . Kemp's claim to fame is : "I rule my own life, and I don't stammer!" You can see why she fell for him. This is all quite silly, but the picture and sound quality are actually pretty good for a film from 1929. It's all a family affair, because Kate's dad in the film is Elliott Nugent's actual father, J.C. Nugent. To confuse things further, Norma Lee was actually married to Elliott Nugent, who also wrote and directed. The Nugent father and son team had written the play on which this film is based. The editing is pretty rough. About halfway through, there's a scene where the camera stays on sister Ruth, while she makes eyes at Kemp for a minute or two; the camera stays on her for an extra long time, which is awkward in itself, then we cut back to the wide shot, and suddenly her mouth is down-turned, in an unhappy, dour look. The whole story starts with the question of the family deciding whether or not to accept the new husband, when everyone had expected her to marry Duke. More silly, smarmy looks from sister Ruth towards Kemp. Much ado about nothing. Elliott Nugent's acting is terrible... he should have stuck to writing. and Marion Shilling keeps turning to stare into the camera after she says a line. lame. At one point, she fondles his wrench VERY slowly and suggestively as she says: "Just think, here we are all alone in the world...". Could leave this film on while you are doing homework, or cleaning house, or something. big yawn. it kind of felt like it wa everyone's first job... the director, the actors, the film editor.

WISE GIRLS (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1929), directed by E. Mason Hopper, is the screen version to the 1920s theatrical play "Kempy" by and starring the father and son team of JC. Nugent and Elliott Nugent, who also appear in this early talkie adaptation. Oddly retitled as WISE GIRLS rather than using a title that bears reference to the story like SHE MARRIED A PLUMBER, WISE GIRLS can be said to be a film record of the staged play that has surprisingly survived intact decades after its initial release.

The setting is set in "Lucyville, New Jersey, sixty miles from New York and sixty two miles from Atlantic City." The story focuses on the Bence family, headed by the retired and opinionated head of the house (J.C. Nugent), his wife (Clara Blandick), and three adult daughters, Katherine (Norma Lee), Ruth (Marian Schilling) and Jane Wade (Leora Spellman), wife of real estate agent, Ben (James Donlan). Kate, a free-spirited woman whose relationship with attorney Duke Merrill (Roland Young) ended two years ago due to an argument over her published book, "Angie's Temptation," reunite again, only to have another disagreement to have Merrill part company with her once again. Kempy James (Elliott Nugent), a 20 year old plumber of Hodges Plumbing Company, is hired by Bence to fix the pipes in the kitchen. His short time at the household soon goes to a different direction. After meeting with the family, and learning that Kate is the author of the book that inspired him to become an architect, Kempy goes off with Kate across the river to get married. After returning home, it comes as a surprise to everybody that not only did Kate married the plumber instead of the proposed Merrill, but the plumber never started the job he was hired to do at $4 an hour. If that isn't enough, Ruth shows more interest in Kempy than Kate, who now wants a career on the stage, much to the dismay of her father, now nearly going out of his mind.

Not quite as well known by today's standards due to its lack marquee names and unusual title, WISE GIRLS has fortunately survived intact at 98 minutes. Virtually stage bound with few cutaways to the outside home and closeups of facial expressions, WISE GIRLS gets by on its own merits through some witty dialogue probably transferred from the stage. Elliott Nugent's performance comes as a reminder to the style enacted by actor Eddie Bracken of the 1940s. Not only does Nugent sometimes resemble Bracken at times, but speaks almost like him in certain scenes. Had WISE GIRLS or KEMPY been remade in the 1940s when Bracken was at his prime, there is no doubt that Bracken would have been a perfect fit in the role.

WISE GIRLS also plays like a situation comedy of latter television shows of the 1950s, sans laugh track, especially with an unrealistic approach of someone marrying a woman he had just met. As in many 1929 releases that aren't categorized as musicals, WISE GIRLS is all talk and no action, something that would be dull and deadening for some, or a curiosity for others. While J.C. Nugent appeared on screen in character parts during the 1930s, his son, Elliott, gave up acting where he fared better as both playwright and director for both stage and screen. Aside from Roland Young and Clara Blandick becoming better known to many due to their continued film work in future years, its vintage age and casting of mostly forgotten and now unknown stage actors may be the main reason WISE GIRLS has seldom or never been revived on television broadcasts.

With no distributions on video cassette or DVD, WISE GIRLS (not to be confused with the 1938 comedy, WISE GIRL (RKO Radio) starring Miriam Hopkins), began to surface again first on Turner Network Television in 1988, followed by limited showings even on Turner Classic Movies since 1994. (**)

Was able to catch this Gem on a TCM airing recently and found it to be a wonderful comedy. Stopped by here to learn if the Nugent authors were related. The dramatic hyperbole is part of the comedy, not to be critiqued as poor acting, but enjoyed like reruns of Dark Shadows with all the notorious set flaws. A talkie borne out of the silents, sans bad makeup, the dialog is intentionally over expressive, but the script is heartfelt small town Americana, and the casting is wonderfully touched. My favorite is the bewildered and berated "king of his castle" Dad, besieged by 4 women in his life... Ma, the older married daughter next door, the naivete "artiste du wannabe" Kay, and the youngest budding collegian Ruth. An overall excellent run around of 30's family values with many little lessons mixed into the porridge.

Hope to find this teams other creation and be able to be similarly entertained.

I have to take my hat off to MGM. They preserved almost all of their film history including this film which could only have been a B effort in its day. It shows none of the polish that MGM gave its A list early talking efforts that same year and has no stars or director of note except Roland Young, and he was just starting out in films in 1929 after years of having been a stage actor.

J.C. Nugent (Dad, or Mr. Bence) is a retired businessman who appears to be in his mid to late 50's. He has a nice but not super elegant house, and he has two single spendthrift daughters. This is driving Dad crazy because he retired only with one hundred thousand dollars - I'm going to guess that's worth between one and two million today - and it has to last him the remainder of his life. One daughter, Ruth, appears to be level headed beyond all of the spending. Kate, however, has delusions of grandeur of making it big in the art world on top of everything else. She got her book published only because her wealthy beau secretly pulled some strings, and now she wants to tackle musical comedy. This gets on the last nerve of her beau (Roland Young as Duke Merrill) because he wants her to settle down and for them to be married, and the two quarrel.

The first person Kate meets after the quarrel is Kempy (Ed Nugent), an indigent young man who is a plumber by day and architect by night. He tells her that her book changed his life and that he always promised himself if he met the author he would marry her. Kate is angry, Kempy is easily led, and off they go to the justice of the peace. Now when Kate phones home and tells her family she is a married woman, they assume she married Duke. This is great news for Dad, since back in the 20's single girls lived at home until they married, and Duke will be a good provider. When the couple returns home and her parents see who Kate's husband really is, all tarnation - and Dad's blood pressure - break loose.

The problem is, Kate really got married to get back at Duke, Kempy got married because he is easily led and seems to be just a little afraid of Kate, and sister Ruth and Kempy are starting to find that they have much in common besides Kate. Comic complications ensue.

Shave about a half hour off of this film and it would have been a nicely paced comedy, almost a screwball comedy foreshadowing those great Jean Arthur vehicles of ten years later. Up to the time Kate gets married the film moves along nicely. After the wedding, the film drags frightfully to its conclusion so that it is real work just to stick with it to the end in spite of its many humorous scenes and situations.

As for the Archie Bunker comparison I made with "Dad" Bence in the title of this review, it mainly has to do with his attitude towards his new son-in-law and the prospect of supporting him on top of everyone else and how he takes for granted his long-suffering wife (Clara Blandick). There is no social commentary going on here other than this film taking an interesting peek into what was probably a typical middle class home in the 1920's. I'd recommend it for that "interesting peek" and from the film history angle if nothing else.

I needed something that expressed true, non-profanity and overly banal used laughs. I didn't expect it but this movie had me on a Rodney Dangerfield type, unexpected belly laughs. True wit and timing. Loved it.