Alison Drake (Ruth Chatterton) is the owner and CEO of the Drake auto company. She is strictly business at work, but has an eye for the handsome men among her employees. They usually want to talk about some idea that they have pertaining to the company, she acts interested in their idea and invites them for dinner at her house, and she then loves them and leaves them as in a one night stand. The next day they think the two of them are an item. They find out otherwise when they are transferred to the Montreal office. Alison proves, through her actions in the first half of the film, that she can be as ruthless in business and as carnivorous in sexual conquests as any man.
But then she meets HIM - Jim Thorne (George Brent). They meet at a shooting gallery one night when she is looking for somebody to like her for herself - He does. But he also thinks she is a pick up AND he has traditional values. He won't allow himself to be used and he won't use others. She finds herself caring that he doesn't care, and she has an opportunity to see a lot of him as he turns out to be the hot shot auto designer to whom her company has given a two year contract.
This film benefits from the fact that Brent and Chatterton were married when they made this, and their chemistry shines through. It also benefits from some great character actors including Ruth Donnelly, usually full of sass, acting demure here, strangely enough. She is pursued by Pettigrew (Ferdinand Gottschalk), Alison Drake's personal assistant who at age 75 is elf-like enough that no credible sexual link between them could possibly exist. He is a wise and yet mischievous presence. Also note that this film, a B effort for Warner's, acts as a running ad for other Warner's films with Cagney's "Picture Snatcher" being called out by name and the film's soundtrack consisting of Warren and Dubin songs written for the Busby Berkeley musicals of this same year.
This film was initially a troubled production and ultimately had three directors - William Dieterle, who became ill after nine days, then William Wellman, and ultimately Michael Curtiz, who was tasked with reshooting what Jack Warner considered a weak film. Happy with the final product, and with the speed with which Curtiz reshot the film, Jack Warner gave Curtiz sole director's credit.
The basic change in Alison's character did not spare "Female" when it came to the Production Code Era which began in 1934. Head censor Joe Breen refused to allow it to be shown calling it "A cheap low-tone picture with lots of double meaning, wise-cracks, and no little filth which they think is funny." Usually such words from Joe Breen are a ringing endorsement, and that is the case in this instance.
