Big Business Girl

It's no great classic. Assembly line Hollywood stuff, about the same quality as Erin Brockovich, circa 1931. But it's worth watching, especially if you're already into pre-code-era stuff, or if you're interested in feminist themes in cinema, or if you're awake at 3 AM and it's on cable. An honest and accurate film, it gets the male-female dynamic just about right, for 1931, 2002, or whenever. Loretta Young was casual and charming and perfect for the role. 6.5/10, rounded down to 6/10.

It's funny, but for a movie made back in 'the good old days', it's amazingly sleazy--filled with sexual innuendo from start to finish. When the film begins, you learn that Claire (Loretta Young) and Johnny (Frank Albertson) have been 'playing house' (an old euphemism for living together). Now that they are finishing up in college, he has a job offer to take the band to Paris and she wants to stay home and be a career girl. At first, it's tough going for Claire--after all, it's the Depression and jobs are scarce. Eventually, however, she gets a job as a secretary and does quite well. In fact, she's soon made an executive at the advertising agency--partly because of talent and partly because her boss, Mr. Clayton (Ricardo Cortez) thinks she has nice legs! Once in this high-paying position, Claire seems to spend most of her time avoiding going to bed with Clayton--as Clayton is the ultimate horn-dog and CONSTANTLY sexually harasses her.

Johnny arrives home early from Paris and is shocked to see his girl is a business woman. However, they both get off on the wrong foot and soon they are arguing about pretty much everything. Clayton uses this as an excuse to butt in--and he really starts putting a lot of pressure on Claire to either sleep with him or marry him (quite the romantic, isn't he?!). What's next? See it and find out for yourself.

It's interesting that although the film is jam-packed with sexuality, nice girl Claire manages to remain rather pure (other than living with Johnny when the film began). In other words, it's a case of the old expression 'all tease, no please'--as the film seems pretty dirty but nothing especially ever happens. There are lots of folks who think adultery is a new national sport and the film seems to think the subject is quite funny. And, the adultery scenes with Joan Blondell (playing a VERY unusual small part in the film) at the end are pretty funny at that! All in all, a rather salacious film--the sort of thing that was pretty popular in the early 1930s before the toughened Production Code was enacted in 1934. Thereafter, a film such as "Big Business Girl" would either have to be heavily re-written and cleaned up or simply not made at all. An odd little curio that is mildly interesting but not sleazy enough to make it a must-see (such as Loretta's "Platinum Blonde").

Big Business Girl (1931)

** (out of 4)

A smart and sexy college girl (Loretta Young) goes to the big city to make good money but once getting there she realizes it takes a nice pair of legs, more than brains, to get anywhere. The girl uses her legs to start moving up but when her boss starts coming onto her this doesn't make the husband very happy. Here's another pre-code dealing with (at the time) "women trying to be men". The story is pretty flat but Young and the cast manage to keep things going throughout. There are some nice pre-code elements at the start of the film including a college party where all the couples are in the backseats of their cars.

Pretty college graduate Loretta Young (as Claire "Mac" McIntyre) tells musician boyfriend Frank Albertson (as John "Johnny" Saunders) she's going to chisel out a "Big Business Girl" career in New York while his dance band plays a Paris date. Although Mr. Albertson begs her to go, Ms. Young needs to pay off college loans. She is hired as a secretary to advertising executive Ricardo Cortez (as Robert "RJ" Clayton). Young is ambitious, intelligent, powdered and leggy. She also has a secret...

After being referred to as "office decoration," Young hikes up her skirt and swings her legs around the boss' face. This understandably arouses Mr. Cortez. Young is promoted. Albertson returns from Paris. Romantic misunderstandings ensue. For her "lingerie scene" Young wears a clingy, low-cut slip which shows off her thin figure to great effect. At the subsequent party, flies crawl around her back and down her dress. Also watch for brassy Joan Blondell (as Pearl) to liven up the last act.

***** Big Business Girl (6/12/31) William A Seiter ~ Loretta Young, Frank Albertson, Ricardo Cortez, Joan Blondell

BIG BUSINESS GIRL (1931) is an unspectacular pre-Code talkie with a bit of a racy edge. Eighteen-year-old Loretta Young plays a college grad trying to make it in the business world. At her advertising company, she is quickly promoted from a secretary, but finds out she's being paid merely to "decorate the office". What she doesn't realize is that her boss (Ricardo Cortez) is underpaying her by more than half what her talents are worth, but this is not the main issue in the film. She wants to climb the ladder and is willing to play the game if that's what it takes. The sudden appearance of her long-distance boyfriend (Frank Albertson) throws a monkey wrench in her plans and the movie becomes a will-they-won't-they waiting game to see if the young couple can work out their misunderstandings.

Fourth-billed Joan Blondell doesn't appear until the very end of the film, but she's fantastic as a professional correspondent in divorce set-ups. She plays cards in her negligée with nervous husbands as they await the private detectives. It's a living. Streetwise Blondell can handle herself and, as she says, with the type of husbands she works with it's safer than working in a beauty parlor. Blondell is a great comedienne and her scenes are easily the highlight of the film.