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"Maisie Was A Lady" is an undiscovered comedic gem from 1941. It is not quite as humorous as "Bringing Up Baby" or "It Happened One Night" because it is more ambitious-injecting a fair amount of social commentary into the story in place of additional comedy elements. About the only explanation for its obscurity is its association with the less than overwhelming "Maisie" series.

"Maisie Was a Lady" is the fourth film in the series; each story being completely unrelated (like episodes of "The Three Stooges") and linked only by the title character, a part that Sothern specialized in portraying.

"Maisie Was a Lady" transcends the other films in the series in part because the formula had been debugged by that point yet had not yet exhausted story ideas. More important, Sothern was finally given a strong supporting cast for this one; Lew Ayres as the disillusioned rich kid, Maureen O'Sullivan as his vulnerable sister, and C. Aubrey Smith as the family's very proper but kindhearted butler. All four actors give quite possibly the best performances of their careers, at least in part due to the perfect physical casting. All four parts (especially the Ayres and O'Sullivan characters) require extensive behavioral elements to enhance the characterizations, and they manage this quite deftly.

The film begins with drunken Bob Rawlston (Ayres) heckling Maisie Ravier (Sothern) while she is working as the headless woman in a carnival sideshow. When his antics destroy the illusion Maisie loses her job. She borrows Bob's car to get home but is pulled over by the police and spends the night in jail. Maisie get off her best line when she tells the cop that she knows a pinhead in the carnival and wonders why he never mentioned having a son on the police force.

In court the next morning a sympathetic judge orders Bob to give Maisie a job for two months, at the salary she was receiving with the carnival. When sober, Bob is a really nice guy and he makes her a maid in his mansion, under the kind direction of his butler Walpole (C. Aubrey Smith). Bob's sister Abby (O'Sullivan) is also very nice. They have been neglected by their globe-trotting father, Abby has accumulated a collection of unwanted jewelry-sent to her each time her father misses a special occasion. Maisie arrives on the eve of Abby's engagement party and quickly catches onto the true nature of her fiancée Link Phillips (Edward Ashley).

Abby is devastated when she receives yet another piece of jewelry in the mail, meaning that her father is not planning to attend the party. This is compounded by revelations about Link's real reason for wanting to marry her. O'Sullivan's performance as the vulnerable and insecure (yet very likable) Abby is especially convincing and should bring out the protective instincts in all viewers.

All in all a nice little film, with excellent performances from the entire ensemble.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

You can tell that the "Maisie" films were popular, especially when you compare the first two or so to this one. The budget has gone up considerably by the time "Maisie Was a Lady" was produced. Not only are the production values better but the cast is of a higher level, too. Besides the incomparable Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith and Paul Cavanagh are on hand, playing members of a wealthy family. When the drunken Bobby manages to lose Maisie her job in a carnival as the headless woman and then forgets he gave her his car so that she's arrested, a judge orders him to employ her at her headless woman's salary for the allotted period of time. After she nearly ruins his sister Abby's (O'Sullivan) engagement party, Abby changes Maisie's position to that of personal maid. Maisie discovers that the young woman is very much alone, especially after she realizes her fiancée only wants her money.

This is the best entry into the series of the ones I've seen, though Sothern is great in all of them, beautiful, sassy and vibrant. Maureen O'Sullivan is wonderful as the sweet and heartbroken Abby, and C. Aubrey Smith is great as the loyal, loving family butler. Lew Ayres, when he wasn't Dr. Kildare, seemed to be typecast as a drunken playboy a good deal before the war - it's a role he plays convincingly, though in life he was a deeply religious, health and work-oriented person. Handsome Paul Cavanagh plays Abby and Bob's dad, "Cap" who gets his comeuppance from Maisie.

Great fun and a must for Sothern fans.

There are already a number of well-written reviews that explain the movie very well so I'm not going to give a full-fledged review here. What I will point out is how much I loved Maureen O'Sullivan's performance as Abigail in this film. She plays a woman that is so kind, sweet, and thoughtful--not to mention pretty that you want to take her home to marry your son. However, there is also a torment to the character's life because she feels unloved due to circumstances that are apparent when you see the film. Ms. O'Sullivan gives such a dramatic depth to her characterization and is so appealing that she really deserves an award. You just want to watch her over and over again. A captivating and brilliant performance in an important role in the film. Ann Sothern, C. Aubrey Smith, and Lew Ayres are wonderful, too, but I just can't say enough about Maureen O'Sullivan in this film.

The one other comment I will make is the last scene was quite disappointing to me and detracted somewhat from my enjoyment of the film but to discuss why would risk others not wanting to see the film and Maureen O'Sullivan's performance is definitely worth seeing and appreciating.

In this entry in the Maisie series our showgirl from Brooklyn finds herself involved with the Rawlston family. She gets involved because a drunken Lew Ayres reprising some of his role as drunken playboy Nick Seton from Holiday gets Ann Sothern fired from her carnival act.

Through some interesting circumstances Sothern winds up working for the Rawlston family whose head is Paul Cavanaugh who runs an airplane factory, son Ayres and daughter Maureen O'Sullivan who Cavanaugh thinking her a plain Jane just smothers completely. He is glad however that O'Sullivan has found Edward Ashley and maybe someone from the same social background to take her off his hands.

Ashley is from the same background, but what he is is a thoroughgoing WASP blue chip rat. When O'Sullivan finds he's two timing her it almost becomes tragic and our Brooklyn showgirl springs into action.

Of course things work out for the best as Maisie instills some common sense into these upper crust folks. It's always happy for Sothern except that when the next film in the series comes along you know it didn't work out.

I must also single out C. Aubrey Smith as the family butler who has instilled those same blue chip values that his employers have. He and Sothern have some great scenes together.

Maisie fans and others will like this.

Maisie finds herself in yet another pickle and out of a job thanks to an inebriated Lew Ayres. When the judge rather ludicrously forces Lew to make restitution to her by employing her at his mansion she finds the joint badly in need of her common sense to sort it's inhabitants out. If you're a fan of the series than you know what to expect. The flashy Maisie through dint of her down to earth smarts accesses the situation and sets about making things right.

Ann Sothern drives this breezy vehicle like a master. Full of sass, piping up when she sees something wrong and knocking chips off of shoulders right and left these movies would be nothing without her. As always she's provided with a solid supporting cast, the best in this group being C. Aubrey Smith, and an inconsequential story but Ann's the reason to watch.

The Quick Pitch: Thanks to a drunk millionaire, Maisie Ravier finds herself out of work once again. To repay her, her hires her on as a maid. Maisie soon discovers that the family needs more attention than the house.

I've only see four of these movies, but Maisie Was a Lady might be my favorite so far. This was Ann Sothern's fourth Maisie film and director Edwin Marin's third. By this point, they knew what they were doing. They both understood what made Maisie work. Maisie Was a Lady features a very strong and capable supporting cast. I'm a bit shocked that actors like Lew Ayers and Marueen O'Sullivan appeared in secondary roles in a Maisie film. They were real pros. Also in the cast is C Aubrey Smith. Some of his scenes with Sothern are the highlights of the movie. Whether arguing about Maisie's jewelry or how to address the family, the two worked incredibly well together. The plot is a bit predictable. Has anyone ever watched Maisie Was a Lady and not predicted how things would end up for her? Finally, the movie looks great. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but sets, lighting, and cinematography are all better than expected. Given the fact that these weren't big budget affairs, MGM certainly got a lot of bang for their buck.

My biggest gripe with Maisie Was a Lady has to be the serious tone of much of the movie. I've come to think of Maisie as rather light-hearted, fluffy entertainment. Topics like alcoholism and suicide aren't what I expect.

7/10

Our MAISIE WAS A LADY, or at least took care of one after going to work for two very wealthy siblings.

In this, the fourth entry in the Maisie series (1939-1947), lovable Ann Sothern continues to shine as the brassy showgirl who uses her innate decency and good old common sense to see her - and those around her - through life's rough patches. Although the film can boast of good production values and a fine supporting cast, Sothern remains the primary reason to watch.

Lovelorn Maureen O'Sullivan and alcoholic Lew Ayres are the sister & brother in need of Maisie's not-so-gentle ministrations. Paul Cavanagh, as their too-often-absent father, does well with his few scenes. Ushering in some unexpectedly serious sequences, Edward Ashley as O'Sullivan's caddish boyfriend, and pretty Joan Perry as his jilted lover, give the film a raw edge often missing in most comedies.

Best of all is wonderful Sir C. Aubrey Smith as the family's elderly, kindhearted butler. In a role which could have been rather insignificant in lesser hands, the old gentleman works a gentle magic with his lines and turns his part into one of the film's highlights.

Movie mavens will recognize Billy Curtis & Jerry Maren as two of the carnival's Little People, and Hans Conried as one of the silly house guests.

I like ANN SOTHERN as much as the next guy, but I have to confess I was never smitten by these MAISIE movies that were tailor-made for Miss Sothern's particular brand of brassy, good-natured charm.

But at least here she gets LEW AYRES and MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN for support and a sterling performance from C. AUBREY SMITH as a wise butler. The script, however, is formula stuff and the less said about the "amusing" situation at a carnival that gets the film off to a wobbly start, the better.

It's the sort of fluff that audiences loved in the late thirties and early forties, or MGM wouldn't have made so many of these Maisie movies with Sothern from 1939 to 1947.

The improbable plot has to do with Ayres forced to hire Sothern after a judge finds him guilty of making her lose her $25 a week job at the carnival. Ayres turns out to be an unhappy alcoholic trying to forget something by being high most of the time. O'Sullivan is hopelessly infatuated with a man Maisie instinctively knows is no good. In no time at all she manages to have a sobering effect on Ayres and straightens out a few other odds and ends in the eccentric household, including a depressed O'Sullivan who was about to elope with a fraudulent man.

It's interesting how much Maureen O'Sullivan's voice sounds like another British actress--Vivien Leigh--the same timbre, inflection, and British accent. Lew Ayres, as her perpetually tipsy brother, seems to be doing a reprise of his role in HOLIDAY--but he seems to be enjoying himself, pratfalls and all.

Summing up: Formula "Maisie" entertainment is nicely performed with C. Aubrey Smith outdoing himself as the patient and worldly butler, but Maisie's brassiness is a little overdone when she lectures Ayres and a doctor on the despondent Maureen.

A surprisingly strong entry in the long-running Maisie series, this one features a fairly standard plot but strong performances from Lew Ayres and Maureen O'Sullivan. Maisie, through a an accumulation of mildly amusing circumstances, ends up as maid at a typical home of the idle (but troubled) rich. But why is the young man of th house (Lew Ayres) in a constant state of not-very-amusing intoxication? And why is Maureen O'Sullivan so neurotic, unhappy, and about to marry a pretty obvious fortune-hunter? And can Maisie save this household, or will she abandon the job in utter disgust? Watch the movie. None of the answers will surprise you that much, but Ayes' performance here is a standout, and Ann Southern's Maisie is a whole lot better than usual in the dramatic scenes. (It's permissible to fast forward through the heartwarming comic ones)

Ann Sothern is perfectly cast as the brassy, smart, and kind-hearted show girl, Maisie Ravier. This film adheres to the familiar path of Maisie slumming in a third-rate venue, trying to scratch out a living while fending off lecherous cads.

We find Maisie working in a carnival as The Headless Woman, her head seemingly detached from her body, as spectators look with wonder. Then Lew Ayres, playing a drunk playboy, staggers in, and begins tickling Maisie's exquisite nylon-clad legs. (Ann Sothern had quite a pair of gams). Maisie tumbles over. The act is ruined. Maisie gets fired.

Feeling guilty, Ayres hires Maisie as a maid, where she imposes order over a rich but neglected family. The cast includes Maureen O'Sullivan, and C. Aubrey Smith, whom I can hear speak all day, with that smooth, actorly, refined voice. Here Smith is playing a well-meaning butler. O'Sullivan plays Ayres's lovelorn sister (a complete 180 from her Tarzan films). And Ayres plays an alcoholic who, thanks to Maisie, sobers up, and falls in love with you know who.

Being a B movie, this lacks the MGM signature gloss. The images hew toward monochromatic. What's interesting about the Maisie character is she's a showgirl with a strict, rather conservative, moral code. But thanks to Ann Sothern's portrayal, in all the Maisie films I've seen, she never comes across as a moralizer.

Ann Sothern is a talented comedienne, and fine dramatic actress (Cry Havoc, A Letter to Three Wives), with a rapid-fire delivery and sexiness to boot. I could picture her going toe to toe with Cary Grant in His Girl Friday. She didn't reach the levels of, say, Carole Lombard, or Claudette Colbert, mostly because Ann starred in B movie screwball comedies. Two good ones are Walking on Air and Smartest Girl in Town, both from 1936, and both co-starring Gene Raymond.

Showgirl Maisie Ravier (Ann Sothern) gets fired from her sideshow job due to a drunken prank by rich jerk Bob Rawlston (Lew Ayres). He lends her his car but then she gets arrested and Rawlston claims to not remember the incident. The judge orders him to hire her for two months to replace her lost wages. She becomes a maid at the Rawlston mansion. Bob is a lousy drunk. His kind-hearted sister Abby (Maureen O'Sullivan) is getting married to the sleazy golddigging Link Phillips. Most of their friends are jerks. Their father Cap is often absent and the siblings are troubled.

The premise is a little ridiculous. There has to be a better way to get Maisie working as a maid in that mansion. Otherwise, it's a fine Maisie movie. It's not as jokey as the others. The suicide attempt sucks out a lot of the fun but the movie wasn't strictly fun in the mansion anyways. The jerk friends are annoying and it may be useful to have a feistier Maisie. She doesn't get into their face until Cap comes home. The acting is solid all around. It could use more humor. This is a more serious affair.

This is a pleasant but forgettable movie that depends entirely on the pizzazz of Sothern as Maisie. Hollywood produced a lot of movies in the 30s and 40s about the idle rich who needed a working-class person to set them straight. This is yet another entry into that category.

The one strange part is having Maureen O'Sullivan, a beautiful young woman with a wonderful voice, playing a plain Jane whom no one could take seriously. She is completely wrong for the role. She's just much too attractive.

There's nothing really to dislike here. The problem is that there's another nothing really to remember.

"Maisie Was a Lady" is the fourth of 10 films Ann Sothern made over seven years at MGM as Maisie Ravier. In this one, she's working at a carnival when a drunk rich kid throws a wrench in the act. Having lost her head for her job, she now loses her job. The fireworks start then, and before this movie ends, Maisie lands in jail, saves the drunk's sister from a bad marriage, sobers up the drunk and brings a family back together again. Things like that are all in a day's work for Miss Maisie.

This film has a few more prominent actors of the day. Lew Ayres is a young Bob Rawlston - quite irritating as a sot much of the time (which actually means well played as he's a real annoyance to Maisie). Maureen O'Sullivan is Bob's sister, Abby. C. Aubrey Smith has a somewhat different role - instead of a patriarch he's the family's long-time butler. Paul Cavanagh is Cap Rawlston.

This is another comedy drama with a real stretch for any romance. Here are some of the better lines from this film.

Maisie Ravier, "Thanks to you and your swell sense of humor, that little joke of yours cost me my job." Bob Rawlston, "My child, those who scoff at science are destined to failure."

Maisie Ravier, "Look, Bud, I've had all of you I can take. I gotta watch my blood pressure."

Bob Rawlston, "Kiss me goodbye, my sweet, for we shall never see each other again." Maisie Ravier, "Oh, ho. Yes we will, honey. I've got a bad habit of looking at dummies in department store windows."

Maisie Ravier, "You know, there was a pinhead worked at the carnival with me. Funny, he never said anything about having a son on the police force. But I guess he had his pride, same as anybody else."