His Private Secretary

It's strange to see a youthful John Wayne receiving a ticking off from his curmudgeonly father for staying out late and gallivanting with inappropriate girls. Even the Duke seems a little ill at ease and it's easy to see why he ultimately spent so much time in the saddle in the first ten years of his movie career. He just looked right up there somehow, while dressed in a suit he looks like a school kid at a wedding.

He plays Dick Wallace, the playboy son of a hard-hearted industrialist in this cheap programmer, who finds it impossible to keep his mind off women. Dad sets him to work in the office, but Big John spends his time breaking pencils so that he can ogle the legs of the secretary who re-sharpens them for him (which isn't quite the same as putting lead in it I suppose…).

Sent to a tiny village to collect a debt he tricks wholesome Evelyn Knapp into accepting a ride from him. Of course it turns out that she is the granddaughter of the man who owes Dick's dad all that money. Granddad's the village vicar, a kindly old chap who wears a hearing aid the size of an ear-muff, and he gave away all the money to the poor. Keen to get back into Evelyn's good books, Dick waives the debt, getting himself sacked in the process. Then he goes and blows it with Evelyn by trying to snog her before she's ready.

Evelyn Knapp's a pretty little creature with a winning smile and saucy hips, and it wouldn't bother me one little bit if I lost my job over her. Dick certainly isn't bothered – he just swaps his fancy car for the local garage so that he can stay close to her, even though she won't give him the time of day. Of course his dogged pursuit wears her down in the end, and within a minute of making up they're sharing rings. With that particular avenue closed to it, the film changes tack, and instead of Wayne pursuing Knapp, she now goes after his dad in order to get his blessing. Dad's convinced she's a gold-digger after Dick's inheritance, but she inadvertently winds up as his private secretary (although he doesn't know who she is) and he soon begins to thaw…

This one's obviously made on the cheap, but at least a little care has gone into the screenplay. It's supposed to be a romantic comedy but it isn't really very funny. Despite this, like John Wayne's aimless character, it is undeniably amiable, and its short running time ensures that it doesn't outlast its welcome. By the way, if you happen to watch this film, check out that stair banister in Dick's dad's house – it's got to be one of moviedom's strangest

This would be worth watching if for no other reason than to watch John Wayne in a romantic comedy, and it's a decent movie in its own right. While its not as funny or as moving as the best films of this type, the story is good and is usually at least mildly amusing.

Wayne plays the carefree son of a rich man. His Father disapproves of him and his lifestyle, and after giving him one last chance, rejects him and the woman he has married (Evalyn Knapp). His wife decides to take matters into her own hands, with a creative scheme intended to bring the cold-hearted father to his senses. It's a fairly interesting scenario, and most of the possibilities are realized. The acting is generally good, and Wayne does well in a role much different from those he would later become famous for.

Wayne's fans should enjoy seeing how he performs in this atypical role, and fans of old-fashioned romantic comedies should also find this worth a look.

This light-hearted romantic comedy. Wayne had not yet developed into the man we would know as "Duke", but he definitely had presence. There are signs, though. Near the end of the movie, where "Dick" confronts his father about the woman he married, we see a hint of what is to become.

Richard (Dick) Wallace is a playboy whose father wants him to straighten up and join the family business, but Dick only wants to have a good time. He meets Marion and falls in love with her. He trades his car for a gas station in order to stay in the town she lives in to be near her, and convinces her to marry him. But, his father will not be convinced that Marion is not a gold digger. She sets out to prove to the old man that she is different, and does. Dick, however, has not yet changed, and suffers the consequences of his folly.

The movie is a bit choppy, and the plot is weak in places. Some of the supporting roles could have been stronger. Never-the-less, it is fun to watch John Wayne as the ne'er-do-well son of a rich man, and get his come-uppance at the hands of the preacher's granddaughter.

Nice old movie tho it feels a bit short. My only complaint was not with the movie but the DVD I rented via Netflix. Westlake Enterainment's 2007 DVD shows little if any care was taken for improving the quality of movie during transfer to DVD. The transfer was horrible even considering the age of the film it should have been handled much better and cleaned up both visually and sonically. At times the faces seem almost like glaring white ghosts on screen. Scratches and obvious film damage abound as well.

John Wayne out of his boots and six gun was nice to see and he did well here playing the male romantic lead. Seems odd to see the Duke in a movie without gunfights and horse chases. If you want to see Wayne in a better romantic comedy tho I still suggest you watch "The Quiet Man" instead.

Though the quality of the film is not too great (hey, it IS from 1933!), it is a good little movie, and the entertainment value exceeds the quality (at least in the version we watched).

It is fun to see John Wayne in this atypical role. He plays the part of a fun-loving rich playboy, whose father wants him to settle down and start working in the family business. When he does the ultimate in settling down, by getting married, his father is convinced the wife is a gold-digger. How she convinces him otherwise is clever and well done, and shows the value of being a positive person with initiative.

MOST of the other comments on this movie say it so well, but I wanted to add one more very positive comment for the film.

If you are a John Wayne fan, you should definitely watch this movie.