Obliging Young Lady

This second feature from 1942, Obliging Young Lady, stars Ruth Warrick, Joan Carroll, and Edmund O'Brien.

Linda Norton (Warrick) takes a child (Carroll) involved in a custody case to a resort to keep the child hidden from reporters. Her nemesis, Red Reddy (O'Brien) is at the same resort. He saw her at another train station, fell for her, kissed her, and was slapped. She wants nothing to do with him.

The whole thing turns into a big mess, with Linda's boyfriend arriving, with Linda and Red posing as Bridget's parents. A private detective shows up, as well as a reporter (Eve Arden) who knows Red. And there's a bird lovers' convention. The participants are under the impression that Red is well- traveled and can give them information.

Cute and fast-moving, with a nice cast that also includes Franklin Pangborn and Charles Lane, who died in 2007, at the age of 92, and worked until he was 80.

Ruth Warrick was a pretty leading lady in the style of Rosalind Russell and does well here, but her big fame came years later as Phoebe Tyler in All My Children. Joan Carroll is very good - she's not a cloying, overly sweet child, nor is she obnoxious. O'Brien is up to the comedy, though he would be known later for film noir.

All in all, pleasant.

Cute little antic comedy from very early in Edmond O'Brien's career. If you only know him from his later character work you'll be surprised how lean and attractive he is here. He also shows himself adept at the knockabout comedy the script calls for.

Joan Carroll, more well known as Agnes Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis and Patsy the troubled young girl in The Bells of St. Mary's, is winsome as the mischievous child who causes the plot to be set in motion. Ruth Warrick, famous from years as Phoebe Tyler in All My Children, is pretty and properly exasperated as the object of O'Brien's ardor.

Filmed at a breakneck pace and stocked with a bunch of reliable character actors, chief among them the great Eve Arden, this is a breezy minor comedy that is more enjoyable than you'd expect from a quickie feature obviously meant for the lower half of a double bill.

A very annoying young girl's rich parents are getting a divorce. Apparently this is big news, as reporters are flocking to interview them as well as the child. In order to keep the child away from this hysteria, the child is sent on a vacation in the country--with a fake mother so reporters won't recognize her. In the process, Edmond O'Brien meets up with the pair and instantly falls for the lady (Joan Carroll) and spends the film following them.

I love romantic comedies from the 1930s and 40s, so you can't attribute my indifference to this film to any sort of dislike of the genre. I also love Edmund O'Brien and he could have handled this film better....if he'd had a decent script. The combination of a romantic comedy and O'Brien simply SHOULD have been a lot better.

The biggest problem with "Obliging Young Lady" is a complete and total lack of subtlety. As a result, the humor sure seems very, very forced. Too many story elements just seemed to be tossed in for effect--not for coherence. And, because of this, the characters seem, at times, more like caricatures than real people. Now SOME of this is due to the genre--in "Bringing Up Baby", Katharine Hepburn's character sure isn't all that believable--but the script was so good that you could suspend judgment. With "Obliging Young Lady", the script just doesn't have the energy or quality to do this.

Here are a few problems with the script. First, the young lady (from the film's title) was so completely unlike a real child it was ridiculous. She ran around putting tacks on people's seats compulsively--for a VERY cheap laugh that they did AGAIN and AGAIN. She also manipulated the heck out of everyone with a finesse that few, if any, adults could match. And, she was too 'cute' for her own good--and the film makers really tried too hard to make her adorable and kooky. I just wanted to hit her! Second, while O'Brien could have been great (especially since he was thinner and not yet Film Noir ugly back in 1942--plus he was a nice actor), his character too often was annoying. His "Heinie Manush" joke simply wasn't funny--yet it was repeated again and again and again. This really got me hating O'Brien's character and made me wonder if Manush (a retired baseball player) ever thought of suing these folks! Also, his character often got too close to the border between being a nice, cute guy AND being a creepy stalker. The way he forced himself on the leading lady made me wonder if he might just be a date rapist--he came on THAT strong and ignored every request to leave her alone. Nice. Third, while the bird watchers sequence could have been very funny, it was WAAAY overdone--too kooky and ridiculous--almost like it was made for a Three Stooges short (for which it might have been appropriate).

So is the film worth seeing? Well, it's not all horrible and is a watchable time-passer--but nothing more. If you love old movies, it's worth seeing--otherwise, try seeing "Arsenic and Old Lace", "My Man Godfrey", "His Girl Friday" or "Bringing Up Baby" instead--these are all far more worthy romantic/screwball comedies.

From the opening of this minor screwball comedy from RKO, the silly tone is set for an enjoyable romp.

Joan Carroll plays a girl abandoned by her silly squabbling parents to the lawyer's secretary--Ruth Warrick, who is being chased by a crazy reporter--Edmond O'Brien. They all end up at Lake Mohawk in the off season.

The opening motif of repeating Heinie Manusch to the sounds of the clattering train wheels is very funny and starts the film off on a perfect note. Manusch was a famous baseball player. Warrick has a stuffy boy friend (Robert Smith) and the voracious lady reporter (Eve Arden) is after the story of the little girl.

At the lodge, Carroll and Warrick pose as sisters until O'Brien shows up and says he's the kid's father. The hotel staff gets intrigued especially when Smith shows up and says he "Mama's" boy friend.

Lots of fun and made funnier my a sterling supporting cast: George Cleveland, Ceorge Chandler, Almira Sessions and Fortunio Bonanova are the hotel staff. Charles Lane is the detective. Luis Alberni is the deranged composer. Franklin Pangborn heads the birding party. Marjorie Gateston and John Miljan are the parents. Pierre Watkin is the lawyer. Andrew Tombes is the train conductor. George Watts is the judge who wants chicken.

Warrick and O'Brien are attractive leads. Carroll isn't too sticky and is funny as she puts tacks on everyone's chairs.

and always remember: HEINIE MANUSCH!

Linda Norton (Ruth Warrick) encounters strange guy, reporter "Red" Reddy (Edmond O'Brien), on the train back to New York City. She works for a lawyer who is handling a contentious divorce with the Potters. Their daughter Bridget Potter (Joan Carroll) is part of the contention. The Judge gives temporary custody of Bridget over to their lawyer friend. Linda takes her to a remote resort. They are followed by Red and chaos ensues.

It's a screwball comedy of schemes and misunderstandings. It's light, convoluted, and silly. By the time they get to the resort, I'm completely lost in all the confusing lies. They don't start with reason and logic. By then, non of that matters. It's a bundle of silliness. The bigger issue is the love triangle. Charles is a fine guy if a bit stiff. Red is no catch either. Sure, he's a cad but not always a fun one. The meet-cute has cute ideas but it's also very much stalking. This would work better without Charles. Linda could judge Red based solely on his own merits. I understand what the love triangle is trying to do but I don't think it works well enough. That's this movie's Achilles heel.