Amor a Percentagem

seductive against the air of period. Rosalind Russell as axis of a nice comedy about success , a project and love in a mixture who respects classic rules of romantic comedy. that could be all. but it has a special dose of charm and that does it interesting in not ordinary manner. the strong woman, the charming , wise, sarcastic reporter and the innocent Prince Charming, the chaos and the silence, the feelings and the duty as ingredients of a story, like many others, about the metamorphose and real happiness. the mark of period, the brilliant Russell, the splendid performance of Brian Aherne are pillars of a film who , far to be memorable is an inspired choice for remind the flavor of a lost time.

The '30s, women wore feminine, flowing dresses. They had boyfriends, some of whom were live in, and they flirted.

Then the Code hit, followed by the war, when women entered the workforce. So now it's the '40s, and the women are all business. They wear tailored suits, are unmarried, and apparently don't need a man.

Aha! But they really do. Women in the '40s learn that without a man, their great career has no meaning.

This brings us to What a Woman! Starring Rosalind Russell and Brian Aherne. She's a top agent handling a million book bestseller, Whirlwind.

In order for the film version to get off the ground, the perfect leading man must be found. The author (Willard Parker) is using a fake name. Russell tracks him down, and it turns out he's perfect for the role himself. She brings him to New York to prepare him.

Meanwhile, every time she turns around, she is being hounded by a journalist (Aherne) doing a profile of her. He knows Parker is falling for her and, interested in Russell himself, watches her discomfort with great amusement.

Russell is terrific in a role that was perfect for her '40s image: a strong beauty who talks a mile a minute and is very efficient ordering people around.

Aherne and Parker give good support, but this is Russell's show. After all, it's the '40s, and women ruled. Or thought they did.

Irving Cummings, a contract director best known for his long tenure at Twentieth Century Fox where he directed Shirley Temple and many musicals, did this fast-paced, well-staged romantic comedy for Harry Cohn at Columbia. It's quite an achievement. Not only do the actors move as they deliver the dialogue, but the camera directed by Capra's favorite DP, Joe Walker, moves as well. The performances from the smallest to largest are perfect. One wonders, for example, why Williard Parker who plays the innocent professor never went on to stardom. He's both handsome and believable as is Ahern. This film is an ideal example of the Hollywood studio system at its best. Rosalind Russell in a star turn is surrounded by a superb supporting cast, and looks wonderful, lit by Walker. Was this picture ahead of its time? Did it lose money?

Carol Ainsley is on top of the world as the best 10% agent for authors, musicians, artists, actors, etc. But after selling the movie rights to her latest hit author's book, her whole staff are in a quandary trying to find the right man to play the lead. Meanwhile, across town, the publisher of Knickerbocker Magazine assigns its associate editor and top writer, Henry Pepper, the job of doing a profile article on Miss Ainsley. That's in lieu of one on the hot author of "Whirlwind," Anthony Street, whom no one knows but his publisher. That's because it's a pen name of the author who wants to remain anonymous.

But, when Ainsley sees a picture of the handsome author, she decides that he's the guy to play the lead in the movie based on his own book. So, she wrangles the his true identify out of the publisher and boards a train for Buxton where he's a college professor. Pepper follows her because his way of writing a profile is by shadowing his subject to see what her work day is like and what makes her tick. But when Pepper and the anonymous author, Michael Cobb, meet and become friends, the top 10% agent has her hands full. And a complex comedy of personalities develops around these three people.

The film has a good plot idea, with a smattering of clever or witty lines. But, a better screenplay with more humor would have boosted it considerably. And, it should have had some inkling of World War II that was happening at the time. As is, it's a fair comedy romance. Rosalind Russell is Ainsley and Brian Aherne is Pepper. They made a few movies together - all comedies, that were fair to good. But they each made a number of comedies with other leading actors, including some that were great comedies. Among Russell's best comedies were "Rendezvous" of 1935 with William Powell, "His Girl Friday" of 1940 with Cary Grant, "They Met in Bombay" of 1941 with Clark Gable, and "Take a Letter, Darling" of 1942 with Fred MacMurray. Aherne made three smashing comedies - "The Great Garrick" of 1937 with Olivia de Haviland, "Merrily We Live" of 1938 with Constance Bennet, and "A Night to Remember" of 1942 with Loretta Young.

The supporting cast are all good, though few of them are among the better-known supporting players of the day. Willard Parker plays Anthony Street/Michael Cobb. He played in many Westerns of the period. Ann Savage, Alan Dienhart and Edward Fielding lead the rest of the cast.

There's always something missing and strange to me when movies made during World War II and set in that time don't have anything to even hint of what's happening in history at the time. Most movies made then - comedies, dramas, crime pictures, etc. that had little or nothing to do with the war nevertheless had signs of the time. If nothing else, men and women in uniform would be apparent on the streets. So, to have this film set in 1943 with no sign of anything else going on in the world - that would surely affect the people in the story, seems odd. It's another minus for the film.

The top box office movie for 1943 was "This is the Army," a comedy musical war-time film set on the home front. It far outdistanced all others in ticket sales at $24.3 million. The fourth-place finisher at the box office was the biggest Academy Award winner - "The Song of Bernadette," with a box office of $13.4 million. In the top 20 films, a dozen were war or wartime related stories; and more than two-thirds of the top 50 films were war related.

"What a Woman" did fair at the box office, coming in 53rd with $5.2 million in U.S. ticket sales. But several comedies finished higher for the year. I don't know that any other characters would have made this film better. It just needed a better script.

Here are the best lines from the film.

Dillon, "Oh, and by the way, Pepper, Miss Ainsley doesn't permit her female clients to have babies."

Carol Ainsley, "Any soap?" Pat O'Shea, "Not a bubble."

Carol Ainsley, on the phone with an actress client, Monica, "Oh, but there's no such thing, angel, as a small part - just small actresses. Wh... Oh, you get killed in the first reel? Oh, but darling, think how they're going to miss you throughout the rest of the picture."

Michael Cobb, looking at the gifts that Carol has received but told Pepper that they are appreciations from members of a quartet that's a client of hers, "There's one more." Henry Pepper, "One more what?" Mike Cobb, "Gift." Pepper, "Oh, did you send these?" Mike Cobb, looking at Carol, "Oh, he didn't know?" Carol Ainsley, "No, he didn't know, but he knows now."

Carol Ainsley, "Uh, Michael, have you any idea how this happened?" Michael Cobb, "Well, darling, I spoke to the press tonight, but it was strictest confidence." All the dinner guests at her father's house laugh. Unidentified woman, "Strictest confidence!" Unidentified man, "With the newspapers." The group continues to laugh.

Henry Pepper, "Hello, everyone." Carol Ainsley, "Well, what are you doing here?" Pepper, "Me? I'm the best man."

Pat O'Shea, "Look, Pepper, how long has this been going on between Carol and Buxton?" Henry Pepper, "All the time. From the first moment she laid eyes on him. She's mad about him. Go to bed, Pat."

Miss Timmons,, "I can't understand it, Pat." Pat O'Shea, "She's mad about him. Always was. Go to bed."

Carol Ainsley, "Everything went blank, and suddenly I'm a bride to be."

Rosalind Russell stars in What A Woman in one of her career girl parts, that of a literary agent and one high powered agent she is. She's the daughter of a US Senator Edward Fielding.

That's enough to get free and easy free lance writer Brian Aherne interested enough to do a profile. Especially since Russell has a new project. She wants to get one of her authors reserved English professor Willard Parker to shed his pseudonym from the steamy romance novel he's written and become an actor.

She operates under the thesis if you can write it, you an emote it. As it turns out beneath the shy exterior of the professor lies a budding Errol Flynn.

Russell's high powered agent complements beautifully the slow paced and unhurried pace of Brian Aherne. Her big problem is she might just have fallen for her own creation in Parker.

The ever wise Aherne realizes that Roz will inevitably grasp they are meant for each other.

It's all a bit silly, but the leads do carry it off. After over 70 years What A Woman still holds up beautifully.