La alegre solterona

With three fabulous actresses as Zasu Pitts, Aline MacMahon, and Marjorie Main, I figured this would be a fine little movie. It was not. Blame falls on the writing for this film. But with these wonderful ladies, who were nothing short of great in anything they were ever in, something occurred to me. Let's say this movie had never been made, good writers were obtained, and Aline played the lead, supported by Zasu and Marjorie, as three lady sleuths. They assess the suspects, get into a bit of mischief, have some close calls and finally solve the case. There could have been a series of six movies made along these lines. Zasu did some of this with her 'Hildegarde Withers' films with James Gleason, and Aline did some of the same with Guy Kibbee (they were both quite good in 'While the Patient Slept'). I would even consider signing Kibbee as the main cop in those films. That would have been a six-pack of movies I could go for!

The best thing about this movie is the three spinsters, played perfectly by the three leading ladies. They are all consummate actresses, not "just" comedians, and they know how to handle their often wonderful lines wonderfully. It's all very innocent fun, but really very clever at times.

The rest of the movie, even Guy Kibbe's character, is forgettable.

Definitely a movie to see when you need a pick-me-up.

LOVE Marj Main (Ma Kettle and The Women)& Aline MacMahon...Aline STOLE the show, which ain't easy to do with M Main in the film... MacMahon should have won an award for this one, but the film itself has some problems... Lots of weird jumps forward in time, with time gaps & plot filled in by fast talking on the part of the 3 gal-pals. This film also dealt with some big issues for its time, with that naughty ol film production code in force at the time... it takes place during WW II, so that figures into the plot. There IS some sorrow, pain, and loss in this one, but it ends on KIND of a happy note, like any good WW II flick. Guy Kibbee is the ornery old cantankerous grandfatherly judge, who gets his come-uppance, as he usually did. Fun to watch, but keep those expectations in check. Some silly mis-understandings, similar to an episode of Three's Company. (But I do love anything with M Main or A. MacMahon.)

Okay, it's a little silly. But where else do you get to see three of the finest character actresses in one picture? Main, Pitts, and McMahon are all delightful if ill-served by the very uneven script. In addition, there is the adorable Susan Peters, who at 21 displays a mature talent. And of course, the always funny Guy Kibbee adds his particular brand of stodginess to the mix. It was just a bit after the Pearl Harbor attack, so a bit of overly patriotic war-cheerleading is understandable and excusable. What is not excusable is the maudlin twist in the otherwise comic (and often slapstick) hijinks. Still, all in all a picture worth watching if you like great character actors or gorgeous gals like Miss Peters and Miss Gray.

It's nice to see the three great characters actresses, but they are given very little to work with. Marjorie Main's is the only developed character, and she seems miscast in it. Fine production values, to be sure, but this film is a mess from beginning to end. The script desperately needed many more re-writes, as you can't tell who's supposed to be in love with whom. People that you think are supposed to be good do cruel things, and then you're supposed to turn around and find them good again. Terribly tragic events are used as contrived plot devices, and passed over by the characters with little more than an "oh, too bad" by the characters. Then to compound the tragedy of this comedy is the back story: Susan Peters, so young and beautiful in this film married Richard Quine who played her love interest. She was paralyzed in a gun accident a few years later, and after trying to recover her career by working in a wheelchair, she fell into depression and decline and died. She had divorced Quine. He had a successful but largely forgotten career as a director, until he also fell into depression and committed suicide.