El capitán es una dama

Anyone who appreciates old-fashioned family values and mores will enjoy this fine comedy as much as I did. Based on a 1909 novel, Charles Coburn wonderfully plays the title character, a retired sea captain who gets into trouble by making poor investments with money that should have been used for mortgage payments. It may not sound like much of a setup for a comedy, but there are small pleasures throughout.

It's Coburn's film all the way, but the acting of all is uniformly excellent and it is paced well by director Robert B. Sinclair. And you get to see Dan Dailey in his second film.

Happened to catch this today and it held my attention throughout. The story itself was a little thin and the film shot in probably three weeks. But the acting was very well done. As the synopsis already includes mention of the couple losing their home, it is fair to mention that I was genuinely saddened by the helplessness of their loss (again, the acting). Although the film is 66 years old, the under-swell of emotion involved in a retirement age couple uncontrollably losing their home to heartless circumstances and poor decisions seems timeless -- people doing the best they can to get along and seeing their hopes and security slip through their fingers. It is categorized as a comedy, but I did not know that beforehand and did not see it as such. Sure, there are many intentionally cute moments (many including Glinda, the Good Witch of the North), but it is a severely desperate premise. I haven't yet seen a convincing comedy about homelessness.

A wonderful cast is wasted in this bland rather self-consciously "cute" comedy/drama. Charles Coburn and Beulah Bondi star as a long married couple who lose their home. The only retirement place in the small community is an "old ladies home" and when Beulah refuses to be parted from her husband, the staff and residents agree to make an exception and allow Coburn to become their one and only male resident.

It's rather startling to see this cast of mostly 50-ish players being residents in an "old ladies home", particularly the vivacious if well into middle-age Billie Burke. This was one of Coburn's first starring roles and one of the few in which the great character actress Beulah Bondi has essentially the "leading lady" part. The other old gals at the home get rather infatuated with the lone man on the premises, leading to misunderstandings and bit of jealousy. I was fairly shocked by one rather unkind speech Beulah spouses to the maiden ladies about them not knowing what it's like to have a man in their lives.

It was nice to have the chance to see this little film on Turner Classic Movies but I found it rather dull and didn't keep it as a permanent title in my film collection.

Charles Coburn stars as a rascally old sea captain who gets into into financial troubles and loses his house. He and his wife (Beulah Bondi) then have to move into and old ladies' home. Not much for plot, but the acting is terrific. Coburn causes all sorts of problems in the home as is known as Old Lady #31 (the name of the play this was adapted from). Helen Westley runs the home, and the star boarders are Billie Burke, Helen Broderick, Cecil Cunningham, and Marjorie Main. Dan Dailey and Virginia Grey are the young lovers. Clem Bevans is Coburn's friend, Francis Pierlot the town conniver, and Nora Cecil is the shopper. The women are especially good, each in a juicy character part. They were among the best character actresses in Hollywood in 1940 and are each easily recognizable. Nice film.

CHARLES COBURN as a crusty sea captain has to deal with dispossession of his house after making bad investments in THE CAPTAIN IS A LADY, a curious little comedy from MGM. The supporting cast includes a very young DAN DAILEY, billed as Dan Dailey, Jr. in one of his earliest roles.

BEULAH BONDI, HELEN BRODERICK, BILLIE BURKE and MARJORIE MAIN have their moments when Coburn is forced to find shelter in a home for women. VIRGINIA GREY provides romantic interest for Dan Dailey.

Despite a good cast, it's a pleasant trifle of the B-film variety. The title leads one to suspect Coburn will be masquerading as a woman, but no such thing. It's merely the fact that he's in a boarding house for ladies.

Summing up: Silly plot is pretty much of a yawner. Coburn has an abundance of corny lines like "Women is funny critters" and says "I reckon" every few minutes, as if he's playing Walter Brennan. It's no wonder you never heard of this one before.

I know Coburn fans who will find it a pleasant enough trifle, but it gets a decidedly negative review from me, overly sentimental and implausible nonsense makes it downright painful to watch.