Una donna in cerca di brividi

Sassy Maisie Ravier (Ann Sothern) is on her way from LA to NYC for a job. She has trouble and an old lady helps her out. The old lady is driving her husband's car to New York and offers her a ride. It turns out to be a con when the old lady drives away with her suitcases and valuables. While reporting to the LAPD, Lt. Paul Scott (Barry Nelson) sees her as a great potential undercover agent. She quickly rushes through the police academy before being sent into the criminal world.

The police academy is a silly concept but it is silly fun. It actually reminds me of Police Academy. The story isn't that different. It would make more sense if she caught the old lady in the act and arrested her. In that way, Scott would be doubly impressed with her abilities. The police academy is fun. The undercover part is less fun. Maybe there is a way to make that part sillier. This is the last Maisie.

In all her Maisie films, Maisie Ravier ends up trying some new career and meets and falls in love....and the viewer is left assuming she'll marry finally and settle down with him. But, when the next film came out, any mention of the old boyfriend and career is gone...and she's on to new career and romantic adventures. This final Maisie film starring Ann Southern is no different...and the viewer can only hope that FINALLY Maisie got her happily ever after.

Early in the story, Maisie has hitched a ride with a nice old woman...or so she thinks. But the old lady turns out to be a crook and robs her. When Maisie reports this to the police, the Lieutenant (Barry Nelson) is impressed with her ability to recall the woman, her car and other details. So, he has an idea....to hire Maisie and get her to join his Bunco unit. During the course of this, Maisie is wooed by both the Lieutenant and another officer named Chip.

Her first assignment involves a fake psychic. Little does she know that he has other criminal enterprises AND his partners are rather bloodthirsty and want to kill her when they discover Maisie is a cop! Can help come in time and will they recognize the clues Maisie's left along the way?

Entertaining but far from perfect. The biggest thing against the film is modern sensibilities which make the cops look like first class sexual harassers! Still worth seeing and fun.

Final entry in the Maisie series is an inconsequential affair where our gal manages to find herself in a peck of trouble when she joins the police force.

As always the main reason to watch these films is the bright and bubbly Ann Sothern and as usual she's far better than the material handed her. The plot is a standard issue flimflam about phony spiritualists bilking unsuspecting dupes out of their dollars. You can see the ending coming from a mile away but the supporting cast contains several excellent actors including Leon Ames and Gloria Holden. Ann's leading men in these are usually competent but not terribly charismatic actors and Barry Nelson is no exception. He gets the job done although he and Ann share little chemistry.

Not a terrible way to end Maisie's journey but hardly the best place to see her. None are award winners but the original Maisie, Swing Shift Maisie and Maisie Was a Lady are the serial's best.

The final of 10 films in the Maisie Ravier series by MGM has one of the most far-out plots. Maisie's no longer in the entertainment field, but gets taken to the cleaners by an older woman who drives off with her jewelry and luggage. A police lieutenant likes her looks, and her keen sense of noticing details. He convinces her to become a cop, and he sends her off to the Los Angeles Police Academy.

In her first big case, she gets entangled with a fraud operation headed by Willis Farnes and Gus Canford and huis wife. Maisie gets discovered and tied up while the crooks try to make a break. When they plan to knock her off, she leaves clues for the police to follow to her eventual rescue that also leads to the capture of the bad guys.

By this final film, Ann Sothern's girl had changed her persona some, and the plots were getting quite thin. Had it not been for the war and her roles on the war-time Homefront, this series might have ended two or three films earlier. Oh, yeah, and Maisie finds romance in the end of this one too - with her boss, Lt. Paul Scott.

Here are a couple of lines from this film.

Maisie Ravier, "Do everybody's wings stick out like this, or, or, am I dislocated?" Chip Dolan, "No, no, you're all right." Maisie, "Oh, I'm not so sure. Let me look at yours."

Captain Mead, "Now, whatever you do don't let this star-gazer twinkle that you're a cop. Keep your head." Maisie Ravier, "My head?" Captain Mead, "Don't tip your hand." Maisie, "My hand?" Captain Mead, "What's the matter?" Maisie, "My knees."

The Maisie movies, starring Ann Sothern, were B films, light fun, enlivened by their effervescent star. This is the last one. Though a series, each film was separate. Maisie would fall in love with one guy and in the next film, he'd be gone. She worked a variety of jobs, sometimes getting work as a performer.

Here, Maisie volunteers herself to an older woman who is driving her husband's car to California. Maisie offers to help with the driving. When she goes into the store, the woman, a con artist, takes off, taking Maisie's money and jewels with her. The next time we see Maisie, she is blowing her stack at a police detective (Barry Nelson) who is very impressed with her powers of observation. He offers her a job on the police force, and after some training, she goes undercover.

Actually, I thought this was pretty good, even though Maisie wasn't suspicious enough of some people she met along the way. Ann Sothern is terrific as always, full of energy and flirtatiousness, and an upbeat attitude. In this film, her character is described as 25; try 37. And I give her a lot of credit. She played a much younger woman in her two television series, when she was well into her forties.

Barry Nelson looked for years like he had a portrait aging in his closet - it was always hard to believe he was in these early films, as he remained youthful for many years. Here he sports a mustache, probably because at 30, he looked 20. His main career was on Broadway, where he was very prolific and worked into his '70s. And few remember that he was the first James Bond, on television.

"Undercover Maisie" moves quickly and is entertaining.