Beauty and the Boss

Although it betrays its theater-script origins in the rhythm of the performances and dialogue, this sparkling little formula comedy about a secretary who wins a rich Baron is chockablock with snappy retorts and racy rejoinders. Marian Marsh is adorable, charming and always convincing.

The surprising candor of the script is refreshing: despite the free modern use of more explicit language, this depression-era tale leaves nothing to the imagination. Its honesty is surprising and heightens the humor of the gentle jokes.

Watching scenes played out between Marsh and Warren William with such genuine engagement would be impossible in the modern era of frenetic jump-cutting. What a treat to see talented performers do such naughty and giggly scenes in a single take with hardly a cutaway or interruption in sight!

Warren William and Marian Marsh sparkle in this delicious Vitaphone production. Ms. Marsh handles the role of a dowdy but wise secretary with great aplomb, she's delightful! William (the star with two first names) is charming as the playboy baron with an amorous secretary on every phone line. Charles Butterworth adds to the fun with his usual hijinks. This one's a keeper!

Clearly a pun on "Beauty and the Beast".... this early talkie is so under-rated. It's just before the Hays code started being enforced, and the clever banter gets quite saucy. Warren William (from the Lone Wolf films) is the all-business, hardworking company president, who has no time for the flirtations of his secretaries, first Mary Doran, then Marian Marsh. It turns into a kind of competition between the two girls, after a confrontation. Doran is "Ollie", who uses her wit, wiles, and low-cut dresses to try to lure in the Baron. Susie (Marsh) tries to take the high road at first, but sees how easy it is to make men swoon with Ollie's naughty girlie ways. Charles Butterworth is here as the office manager, and has all the best lines. That dry, sarcastic wit, which he brought from his vaudeville days, usually muttered under his breath. He was only 36 in this film, but wow, he always looked old as dirt. Frederick Kerr is the Baron's sidekick, but doesn't really add much to the story. It's fun being an observer, to see who will "win" the prize. Story by Hungarian Ladislas Fodor, and the foreign currency and other words creep into the conversation. Directed by Roy Del Ruth, who had been around since the early days of silents, and successfully moved into talkies. This one is a lot of fun. Doesn't seem to have been shown often on TCM, with only 300 votes. Warner packed a lot into 66 minutes, and it moves right along. Recommended ! Catch it if you can. Warner Brother archives HAS released this on DVD...

Beauty and the Boss was a delightful movie with some very subtle humor and frank interfacing between the competing beauties. The rapid dialog between the Count and his prospective secretary was a pleasure in wittiness and abstract humor. This movie promised a bright career.

Marian Marsh was a beautiful young lady, but what struck me was a resemblance to a later actress, Jane Powell when she was of that age. It was a shame the studios did not hold on to her for better roles but I guess it was the depression and they were interested in churning out low budget movies and constantly showing new faces. Ms. Marsh did show considerable talent, artistically before the cameras, at quite a young age. Considering her young age it seems the studios could have been more understanding when they did not pick up her contract while they were having disagreements over a bad performing movie.

About a bank president who talks about putting a new rule into the company: "all females must wear long sleeves and high necks". Seems he is easily distracted by women, particularly his attractive and flirtatious secretary who he thinks is a "playgirl" rather than working girl, good for after hours only. He actually fires her - and she doesn't mind, 'cause she apparently agrees with this after hours concept, and becomes one of his new girlfriends (there seem to be many others too, judging by the office visits and phone calls from bathtubs he keeps getting). Soon a young waif arrives - hungry and oddly dressed in an outfit that includes black umbrella and flat black hat with a big white feather in it (why do these poor waif girls in old movies always seem to wear an odd feathered hat?). Well, seems she's an out-of-work stenographer looking to get hired - and turns out she's a whiz who loves work too, spending her free time toning her secretarial skills rather than dating men, she takes shorthand at 150 words a minute! He hires her on the spot since she's "plain" - seems even though she is clearly very pretty, he for some reason (like often seen in movies) can't see her beauty through the odd outfit. Well, she falls for him and soon blooms!

This is a thoroughly entertaining, fast paced, fun-to-watch film with lots of amusing pre-code banter and top-notch performances adding to the mix - I loved it. Warren William, one of my favorite actors from this time period, is just perfect as the rather handsome but stiff "girl crazy" boss, and Marian Marsh as the waif (who I thought looked like Reese Witherspoon in the earlier scenes) is just SO cute and charming - I really enjoyed her performance. Cute scene where she gets "taught" by the previous secretary how to seduce a man via accidentally-on-purpose leaning against him, and she tries it out on the boss. Really excellent film.