In her fifth role as Maisie Ravier, Ann Sothern walks out of her job as a taxi dancer (dime-a-dance girl) - while she's still able to walk She heads for a resort hotel in the Adirondack Mountains, but gets tossed off the train because she didn't buy a ticket. Hoofing it the 14 or more miles to her destination, she is passed by a young man who's training as a boxer. Terry Dolan's trainer is following along in his car and they give her a ride to the Shady Lawn Hotel at Cedar Lake.
When she doesn't come across with amour for her new dance partner, Ricky Du Prez, she gets canned and doesn't even dance her first number. Terry Dolan, fighting under the assumed name of Young O'Hara, goes home on weekends to visit his mother. He gives Maisie a ride back to the city, and it turns out that mom is elderly and in a wheel chair and needs a companion. So, Maisie gets the job. Terry has a girlfriend, Cecelia Reardon who visits him in training. And, his manager and promoter, Skeets Maguire, is out to make him the next world champion. Only Skeets and Maisie start their acquaintance off with fireworks.
The reason Terry uses an alias for fighting is because he doesn't want his mom to know he's a prizefighter. When his dad died, he left them well-secured with his grocery store. But his mom got swindled by a couple of shysters with an oil stock scam. So, Terry wants to make enough money fighting to be able to buy a grocery store and run it.
The plot is a good one - one of the better of the Maisie series, with good performances by all. It's a natural for some clashes and good drama with just the right amount of comedy worked in. Maisie has one of her best scenes in a brouhaha with Skeets over his stereotyping her as girl on the make, trying to cash in on a fighter. The contrasting personalities of Maisie and Skeets, played well by George Murphy, fit nicely for the romance that will come out of this. And Virginia O'Brien plays herself, as a singer with the band at the Shady Lawn Hotel. She does a hilarious rendition of "A Bird in a Gilded Cage."
The film has some good fight scenes in the ring and a good dramatic ending. Here are some favorite lines.
Skeets Maguire, "Pickin' up yellow-haired mice when you oughtta be doing your roadwork!" Maisie Ravier, "Wait a minute, foul mouth."
Terry Dolan, as boxer, Young O'Hara, "Now, don't be sore at me. C'mon back." Maisie Ravier, "Well, I'm not sore at you, you've been more than nice throughout. But, Gargantua is somethin' else again."
Maisie Ravier, "You listen, tall, dark and bad-mannered. I got no design on your fighters. I have neither the time nor the inclination to take up the part of Cleopatra."
Skeets Maguire, "I can't understand what a wren like you is doing so far from the sidewalks of New York."
Ricky Du Prez, "Whatsa matter, you got a guy you're stuck on?" Maisie, "No, but there's a guy someplace someday I'm gonna be stuck on."
Cecelia Reardon, "The train trip always takes so much out of one." Maisie Ravier,, "Yeah. Here's one they took outta the train."
Terry Dolan, "I, uh, guess you're feeling kind of low, huh?" Maisie Ravier, "I could look a snake in the eye if I had a pair of stilts."
Maisie Ravier,, "You know, it sure means a lot meetin' someone like you - just when I was beginning to think the wolves had taken over the world."
Terry Dolan, ,"He may act tough, but he's all heart." Maisie, "Yeah, well maybe an x-ray would change my mind."
Maisie, "You know, lookin' back on it, I don't think I ever told a lie in my life and really got by with it."
Skeets Maguire, "Say, I'd like to see mom, and I wouldn't mind goin' a couple rounds with the Brooklyn bonfire."
Maisie, "Well, I guessed wrong before, but this is an all-time low."
John Duffy, " I would've thrown the fight rather than have this happen." Mrs. Dolan, "Don't reproach yourself, boy. Just say a little prayer for him." Duffy, "Yes. I will, you bet. I've been doing it ever since they told me."
Skeets Maguire, "Well, so long, Maisie. They don't come any better."
Maisie, "Oh, and me kickin' him when he was down. Oh, can you perform a brain operation on me?"
Skeets, on the phone, "My wife? What does she look like?" Maisie, coming in the door, "A yellow-haired mouse." Skeets, "Maisie!"
