Miss Grant Takes Richmond

I watched because I am a William Holden fan. Others will watch b/c they are Lucille Ball fans.

They work well together in this harmless comedy. The concept was probably scratched on a diner napkin. Bookie with a fake real estate company hires dimwit secretary. Wacky hijinks ensue.

Throw in veteran support. Include a couple of double entendres along the way. Let Lucy do some physical comedy. And let Bill Holden be his super cool self. And away you go.

I've always thought William Holden was an underrated comic actor and at his most charming in some of his comedies (Sabrina, Born Yesterday, Moon is Blue). Since he didn't make a lot of comedies, I was looking forward to this one with Lucille Ball. But it's not Holden's film. It's Lucy's film, with Holden playing the straight man. I'm not a big Lucy fan, but she's quite funny in this. Holden, on the other hand, seems a little stiff or disinterested. To be honest, there's not much to work with. Lucy probably succeeds because she's very good at physical comedy and can make us laugh without saying anything, which helps when the script is so weak. Holden's humor tends to come from his intelligence and his timing, which is harder to make work when the screenplay is mediocre or you don't want to be in the film to begin with. Miss Grant Takes Richmond came out the year before Sunset Blvd., so I imagine that Holden's frustration with his roles during much of the 1940s was reaching its peak around this time. But James Gleason and Frank McHugh, two wonderful actors, also seem to struggle a bit in this film, so I pin much of the blame on the writing. There are some funny bits here and there, but it's all a little sugary for me. Lucy fans will probably enjoy it, though - she does the best.

Ellen Grant (Lucille Ball) is the worst typist in class. Everyone is surprised when Dick Richmond (William Holden) hires her for his new secretary. He's actually a bookie running a horse race gambling operation out back and a fake property rental business front. He needs a dumb blonde as the face of his fake business but she starts making the fake operation real.

Lucy is showing off some of her physical humor which would come in handy later on her TV show. She does need to be much dumber. The comedy would work better if she's a complete moron. Ellen should be absolutely a young innocent. One can absolutely see the TV Lucy especially when she turns fake thug. The plot is a bit convoluted but a screwball comedy can do that. This is a great progression into one of the great TV shows of all times.

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.