Miss Grain de sel

Who in his right mind would give a secretarial job to Ellen Grant, a woman who doesn't seem to have mastered either typing or shorthand? Leave it to Dick Richmond, a man that wants to use Ellen as a distraction to be his receptionist at his real estate agency that serves as a front for his illegal betting activities that is his real business. Poor Mr. Richmond, he gets more than what he bargained for.

Ellen, who starts as an eager secretary, suddenly decides to help the firm in sponsoring the construction of badly needed housing in the area. This is happening at the 'baby boom' era in America, where the returning sailors and their families couldn't find affordable housing. Ellen, who has a heart of gold, wants to involve Richmond into being the builder. Little does she know she is getting in his way.

Lloyd Bacon directed this mildly funny comedy that showed Lucille Ball's talent as a comedienne, something she would exploit in later years as one of America's best loved funny woman in that new medium of television. William Holden shows he was an excellent comedy actor with the way he portrayed the con man Richmond. Two of the best character actors of the thirties and forties, James Gleason and Frank McHugh are seen as the men working the racket in the Richmond's real estate firm.

Although Lucille Ball was nearing forty at the time she appeared in this film, one tends to forget her contribution to the movies that came before this comedy and before finding fame in that new technology, television.

A film who, today, could have a basic virtue - to see William Holden, Lucille Ball and James Gleason in a comedy with too many expectations. a student at secretarial school, her unexpected luck, a bookie joint under Realtor appearences, a moral end - confuse, off course, noble message , the importance of the poor people. all - pretext for a nice comedy . not more. and that is the good thing. because it represents the right choice for the public looking for easy old fashion comedies. I am one of small examples - the admiration for the real significant roles of William Holden, I saw this film not ignoring its easy charm. and Lucille Ball is perfect as miss Grant. so, a film for see. especially for the fans of actors.

Miss Grant Takes Richmond is an OK comedy starring Lucille Ball as a somewhat dizzy secretary who is hired by Mr. Richmond, a bookie using a phony real estate business as a front. Lucy, of course, doesn't know this, and she believes that he will build low-cost homes for her friends. This film is, unfortunately, not very funny. There are a couple of humorous sequences, but overall it should have been funnier. There's also very little slapstick, which is strange considering that Lucy was so adept at it. She and Holden do have some chemistry, though, and the supporting cast is good. A 5 out of 10.

A small comedy with a nicely paced story about a bookie played by William Holden who tries to hide his operation behind the front of a real estate office that he opens in a medium sized town. He hires a secretary played by Lucille Ball who can't even type. To his consternation, she attracts interested first-time home buyers, WW2 vets and their wives and children. It almost has, at times, the feeling of George Bailey in Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, building homes for the emerging middle class. Taking us out to the construction site, Lucy is nearly crushed under tons of earth in a rather incredible scene, while Holden and his associates (who are given many funny lines) are reluctantly led by the positive goodness of the buyers into being pioneers in real estate development and early suburban sprawl.

This is a not so funny comedy that does at least provide a few laughs, mostly because it's a set-up for some shenanigans that are reminders of what would happen when LUCILLE BALL left films for television to become America's number one comedienne with I LOVE LUCY.

There are more than a few hints of her deft handling of physical comedy and there's a nice chemistry between Lucy and her handsome boss, WILLIAM HOLDEN. Then too, there's the additional advantage of having JAMES GLEASON and FRANK McHUGH as supporting actors for a thin story about a daffy secretary who is slow in catching on to the fact that the real estate office she works for is really a front for bookies.

MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND has all the appearance of a low-budget programmer and it's surprising to find WILLIAM HOLDEN still drifting around in this sort of weak material when he had so many golden opportunities just ahead of him. Still, he's not bad and shows a definite flair for handling light romantic comedy. But there's no doubt about it, this is a vehicle designed to promote the comic flair of his co-star, soon to become famous as a scatterbrained housewife.

The thin script plays more like a half-hour TV comedy padded to the running time of a feature film. The funniest bits are the slapstick elements, particularly Lucy avoiding a building crane that seems intent on burying her in a pile of dirt and mud. But the stronger laughs are few and far between when the script is as painfully weak as this one.

Strictly for Lucy's most ardent fans.