L'Exubérante Smoky

For those who could never imagine Olivia de Havilland in a totally madcap comedy but would like to, I would highly recommend this movie to you!!

The story is set in Washington, D.C. in the middle of WW II, when all the hotels in town are full of important people doing business, mostly to help support the war effort. In this way, this movie is highly similar to The More the Merrier (1943) which was made in the same time period with a similar theme.

However, this movie is more about getting things done quickly rather than taking shortcuts through the housing shortage. Here, de Havilland serves as sort of an activity coordinator, trying to guide people to the right place and keep the herd of visitors moving with the least possible disruption. However, she is not ready for the likes of Ed Brown (Sonny Tufts) who is knowledgeable about manufacturing the huge number of aircraft needed quickly for the war.

Ed will do anything to make airplanes and put them into service quickly. To do this, he takes shortcuts to get through the red tape of Washington, and Elizabeth Allard (Olivia de Havilland) can do nothing but go along with him on his wild ride through the bureaucracy, always about five steps in front of any roadblock that may get in his way.

De Havilland often plays the clown to Tufts character, but is soon brought on board his madhouse tactics when she sees hundreds of new warplanes being launched and deployed, thanks to him.

I only saw this movie once on AMC (before they started showing recent "classics". I loved it. Sure, it is a war propaganda film, loaded with patriotism. Sure it is written to the largely female audiences of the time. Sure, it is a pale imitation of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "His Girl Friday". It is still a fun, witty, movie.

It is also possibly the best use of Washington, DC as a location. They get the geography right. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (one of my favorites) has people going in every direction. "Government Girl" keeps everything in its place. Also, it provides an historic look at wartime DC.

Tell me where I can find this movie, as I would love to see it again.

For over a decade, I have been favorably impressed by the work of Olivia de Havilland. That said, I had no high hopes for this film; I wanted to watch this film just to say I had, and to see de Havilland in a comedic role. I was pleasantly surprised, and I found myself rather taken in by the humor. Having seen Miss de Havilland in her Academy Award winning performances and many other dramatic roles, I was impressed by her comedic timing, facial expressions, and sharp sarcasm, which is also very prominent in her portrayal of Amy Lind in THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. I by no means consider this film one of Hollywood's best, but it isn't all that bad and is definitely worth a watch - particularly if you want to see de Havilland in a different kind of role.

This film describes the dollar-a-year workers who virtually volunteered their time and expertise to the war effort during World War Two. Ed Browne (played by Sonny Tufts) comes in conflict with the established manners and customs in Washington, D.C. Browne's method of operation is founded in the private sector of industry which clashes with the public functions of the government. Historically, many manufacturers had little choice but to take part in the the conversion to war production. Meager profits early in the war of cost plus four percent was little incentive for enthusiasm from all of industry. Even when the profit scheme went to cost plus eight percent, most industries could do much better in peacetime consumer goods. Many yielded to the threat of government sanctions and complied. This movie, however, points to the positive aspects of individuals working for the war effort, even at the cost of personal sacrifice. The most realistic character is "Smokey" (played by Olivia de Havilland. She is dynamic and forceful, but burning government records to support her boss (with whom she is in love) seems somewhat exaggerated. All in all, it is a fairly amusing film, with the bottom line echoed in a United States Senate hearing: "Thank you, government girl."

Dudley Nichols, the director of "Government Girl", working with Budd Schulberg on the script, gave us this look of America during the years of WWII. This is a move of how every department in Washington was taken over by thousands of women who descended on the capital to help with the war effort.

The housing problem of the times is clearly shown as we watch the opening sequence when Ed Browne arrives in Washington without a reservation for a hotel. Because his name is in the newspaper, he is given the honeymoon suite that young Sgt. Blake and May, were going to use for that purpose.

Smokey Allard comes to the rescue as she tries to give the couple a place where they can be together, but makes the mistake of taking them into the "only women" rooming house where she and May share a tiny apartment.

This comedy shows us a slice of life in Washington in those years. Even though there was a war going on, there is always optimism, as that conflict was a just one, in the minds of all Americans of that era. We are shown how Ed Browne is instrumental in setting up the factories that will produce the bombers that were key in winning the war in Europe and in the Pacific.

Olivia de Havilland makes a sunny "Smokey" Allard. Even when playing roles that didn't demand much of her acting abilities, this actress makes us like her because of the charisma she projected. Sunny Tufts is good as this unsophisticated Ed Browne who is mired in the bureaucracy he encounters in Washington. Ann Shirley, James Dunn, Paul Stewart, and Agnes Moorehead complete the excellent cast.

While the movie doesn't break new ground, it's pleasant enough for a few laughs and a nostalgic look at that period.