Obliging Young Lady

This film had great potential, however, the screenplay left a lot to be desired. Young Miss Carroll is actually the better performer of all the folks who appear in it. Franklin Panghorn isn't that bad either. After these two forget it, which is a ashame. Eve Arden is wasted, such a talent deserved more than the tripe she was given in this one. Edmund O'Brian makes one ill just watching him handle his lines. I cannot bear to discuss the other parts. Joan Carroll had a lot of potential, but she like Ann Carter and Sharyn Moffet never were consistent child performers thanks to much of the inane scripts they were given. Carroll was the most talented of the three RKO child Starlets, but Moffet at least had a few pictures that were all her own. Obliging Young Lady shows Carroll was star material, this just wasn't a vehicle in which she was able to shine, still whatever redeeming value it has is carried by her.

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.

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!

I could have decided not to watch this film since it was rated very low. Never judging a book by its cover, I thought I'd give it a chance. It caught me up in the romantic pursuit O'Brien after Ruth. The little girl was cute with her attraction for getting a thrill by putting tacks on seats. Believe me, I know from experience that this kind of act shouldn't be funny because it once happened to me in grade school. However, it is part of the movie that O'Brien can relate with when he meets the little girl on the train and how he did it too to people. PLEASE WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! Never be afraid of ratings because some movies haven't been out there to the public and need a chance. It is a movie THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN ENJOY! My Father (bless his heart!) reminds all his 10 children to just concentrate on watching ROMANTIC COMEDIES! I want to say that this would definitely be a movie that my Pop was talking about. As far as the Bird-calling scene, only true birders can understand and appreciate the comedy. I don't want to spoil anything else but real birders will obviously find errors in the actual bird that made the calls made by the actors.

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.