Maisie

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.

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.

A meddlesome, but well-meaning Brooklyn showgirl(the wonderful Ann Sothern) becomes stranded and ends up on a Wyoming ranch where she falls in love with a handsome foreman(Robert Young) and attempts to clear him of a trumped-up murder charge. Based on the Wilson Collinson novel, "Dark Dame", the film was intended as a vehicle for blonde bombshell Jean Harlow, who died before the project could be lifted off the ground. The script was then given to another spicy and likable MGM contract player, Ann Sothern, who had charmed her way into the hearts of movie audiences a year earlier with her delightful turn as the wisecracking blonde in the United Artists release, TRADE WINDS. Miss Sothern's winning personality and comedic talents enabled the film to betray its low-budget status, and the picture became such a hit that it spawned no less than nine sequels, all starring the gifted Miss Sothern. "MAISIE" may not be one of MGM's confirmed classics, but it is noteworthy, however, as one of the few film series to feature a lady as the central character.

First in MGM's Maisie series starring the adorable Ann Sothern as everyone's favorite Brooklyn showgirl. Most of the movies in this series follow the same formula: Maisie loses one job but finds another, usually thanks to her love interest in that particular film. This first one has Maisie falling for a ranch foreman (Robert Young, rather unbelievable in cowboy get-up) while befriending the sad ranch owner whose wife is cheating on him.

Ann Sothern was born to play this role. It was apparently originally intended for Jean Harlow before her untimely death, but I can't imagine anyone else doing quite as good with it as Ann. She's delightful to watch. Then there's Robert Young, who tries to make the most of a real A-hole of a character. It's kind of hard to swallow that Maisie would fall for him so fast despite him treating her like crap. But "them's was the times." Ian Hunter offers solid support as the sympathetic cuckold and Ruth Hussey does a good job as the villainous wife.

The Maisie movies tend to be classified as comedies, but that's not really true. As with other MGM series like the Hardy films, these movies are mostly dramas with a little bit of comedy thrown in. Some entries have more comedy and some have less. This first one leans more on the drama. I mean, a character in this commits suicide for crying out loud. Not much humor in that. Anyway, it's an enjoyable start to an entertaining series. The darker moments add a little something to it that helps it rise above your average B movie.