Maisie

Ann Sothern took charge of this character and what was intended as a one-off B-picture became such a hit, and such a money maker, that MGM was forced to see Sothern and her character in a more positive light. Surrounded by actors who really didn't fit the roles they were supposed to play, Sothern pulls the whole thing off anyway -- and she does it marvelously. Because the money kept rolling in, MGM made nine (9) more Maisie movies, and Sothern starred in them all, while at the same time appearing in other classic films like "A Letter to Three Wives".

Sothern was a class act and deserved better from MGM. They made mega-bucks off her, but Mayer was following his sexual interests, as usual, and the big money went to projects starring the girls he was attracted to.

Sothern, of course, went on to superstardom on television and became a household name, like her co-star Robert Young. The Maisie series was much better than average and Sothern is a pure delight, the likes of which we may never see again.

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.

Plot-- A jobless brassy blonde worms her way into a spot on a Wyoming cattle ranch thanks to an infatuation with the foreman. There she gets mixed up with the cultured ranch owner and his philandering wife.

Ann Sothern brings off the wise-cracking Maisie in winning fashion. At times she's a little much, but the role's harder than it may look. She's got to be feisty, on one hand, without becoming dislikable, on the other. And that's a challenge since most every line is caustic even if humorous. I really liked the first part where Maisie sort of knocks around eking out a living. But once she settles in on Slim's (Young) ranch and gets involved with the Ames's (Hunter and Hussey), plot takes over and personality recedes. Looks to me like the screenwriter didn't know where to take the storyline, and reached for something melodramatic. Whatever the reason, the two parts don't blend that well despite Sothern's lively bridging performance.

On a different note, catch how Maisie's rather dubious background is finessed. It may not be exactly respectable, but no hint of anything immoral. There were quite a few movie series at the time (1939), mostly amateur sleuths, Charlie Chan, The Falcon, et al. The Maisie series, I believe, was one of the few to feature a female lead. Still, Sothern's so good in the tradition of sassy 30's dames, I'm not surprised a number of sequels followed.

On the whole, the movie's a Sothern showcase with a solid line-up of supporting players-- nice guy Young, a classy Hunter, and a vixenish Hussey. So catch the first part, especially.

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.

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.