Private Secretary

I seem to remember this show under the name "Private Secretary" and what must have been its syndicated name, "Suzie." I just received a disc of this show from Netflix, and I must say I'm appalled that the Netflix reviewers gave this 1-1/2 stars. What a nerve.

The always delightful Ann Sothern plays Suzie McNamara, secretary to theatrical agent, Howard Sands (Don Porter). The various story lines show that the brains of the operation is Suzie, who knows how to get around her boss and get things done. In the first episode I saw, she wangles an audition for two of Sands' clients for an upcoming Samson and Delilah on Broadway; in another, she has both a playwright and his producer interested in her, and as a result, the two become mortal enemies and refuse to work together. Suzie gets them thinking she has other men in her life so they both bond again. And so on.

This isn't uproarious comedy, but it's fun and for Baby Boomers, and it brings back some wonderful memories. Not to mention the fashions, the home decorations, the switchboard, and the dial phones. Ann Tyrell is Vi, the switchboard operator. I still remember in my childhood watching one episode where Ann and Vi were in a restaurant and carefully counted the calories of everything they ate. When the waiter asked if they wanted dessert, they ordered two hot fudge sundaes.

The chemistry that Sothern, Tyrell, and Porter had was so good that they went into a second series together, "The Ann Sothern Show," which I think I also saw. It's funny that so much is made of actress' ages today -- it's true that Sothern probably aged out of the movies, but here she was in her forties playing a bachelorette and getting away with it.

To me this was an exceptional series - first, Sothern was not an ingenue; secondly, she and her friends were single New York career girls, unheard of; and three, she was the brains of that office.

I really don't know what the problem is over at Netflix. Why would you even elect to get this disc if the show didn't hold some nostalgia value for you? If you can rent it, do so -- there's something very charming about it and, of course, Ann Sothern.

"Private Secretary" was such a good show.

Remember the beginning with that fabulous typewriter going so quickly. Since typewriters are obsolete today, could Susie MacNamara had been as effective on her computer? While technology has changed for the better, this is one example where the show would have been hurt.

Didn't Ernest Truex appear with Ms. Sothern? Or, was he on a subsequent show of hers highlighting a hotel known as the Barkley House?

Vi, Ann Tyrell, was great as a zany co-worker. I vividly remember her for her brief stint in "Good Morning, Miss Dove" as the parent of a young Freddy Makepeace, who had a good heart but found trouble so easily. Her daughter would receive an Oscar nomination years later for "Fat City."

The beginning of the show had great theme music set off by the noise of a fast going typewriter. Secretaries could identify with this show, especially those who looked to get their bosses out of jams.

I also remember Don Porter as the Conservative incumbent senator up against the very liberal senator in "The Candidate," as well as the bigoted father-in-law to be in the Lucille Ball version of "Mame."

Jessie White, whose role as the sanatorium attendant in the movie "Harvey" is another gem and was later known as The Lonely Repairman in the Maytag commercials, played Cagey Calhoun.

He was frequently called upon by Susie to put into action some hair-brained scheme to get either get her boss into or out of a tight spot.

I seem to remember him referring to Susie "Foxy" with a wink-wink,nudge-nudge interaction. Does anyone remember what his link to the Susie character was? I was surprised to read that he was from Buffalo. He had a wonderful Brooklyn NY accent!

Television provided a lease on life for the careers of so many players in the second tier in Hollywood. As fewer films were made many had to go to television for work.

One of the luckiest in that regard was Ann Sothern who had series experience of a sort when she starred in the long running Maisie series of films. Sothern found herself a role that perfectly suited her personality, Susie McNamara Private Secretary to theatrical agent Don Porter and all around girl Friday. It was like Maisie Revere had given up the life of a wandering showgirl and took typing and stenography and became a secretary.

Sothern's character has been compared to Lucille Ball, but I think there was a world of difference. Sothern never did harebrained stuff like Lucy Ricardo did. She always zealously guarded the interests of her boss and never had to be rescued from the consequences of a plan. Her's usually worked.

The Ethel Mertz of the story was Ann Tyrell who was the switchboard operator. Tyrell sometimes bordered on the hysterical waiting to see if a Sothern scheme would work. She also had the longest neck I've ever seen, it's one of the things I remember well as a kid seeing this show.

The comic villain was Jesse White as rival bottom feeding agent Cagey Calhoun. As Michael Francis Calhoun was nicknamed 'Cagey' he in turn called her 'Foxy' the only one whoever did. White always thought he was so clever and lost as many times as Wile E. Coyote.

Wit and character were the hallmarks of Private Secretary which would be great if it were revived for the 21st century. It's timeless.

I think the best episode in this series would have to be the "efficiency expert" show, I feel this should be shown to many companies that do way too much "cost cutting" without considering the ramifications!

Ann Sothern & Ann Tyrell were a great team!