L'Exubérante Smoky

Have watched Government Girl and enjoyed the interaction between the two stars. Although Sonny Tufts career was short lived, he is fun to watch. As an actor who was 6'4" he at times seems to fill the room he is in. His costar shines. Having seen her in To Each His Own,it is fun to see her in a lot of funny situations. The scenes in the bedroom and the lobby of the hotel really show her comedic talent. The part about the different initials of the different departments is really funny. Even funnier to that many of the departments really did exist during the war. A lot of bright and fluffy movies were made to lighten the days during the war and this was one of them.

Sonny Tufts, high energy but unorthodox management type, has just arrived in Washington to step up airplane production. Olivia de Havilland, the "government girl" assigned to assist him, quickly realizes that the biggest part of her job is showing Tufts just how D.C. works.

The plot isn't much but it's the kind of material that ought to make a great comedy—part satire, part romance, lots of patriotism and snappy dialog....Unfortunately, this picture mixes in bits of all of those elements but never quite manages to put any of them over the top.

Olivia de Havilland is fine as the title character and it's fun to watch her play broad comedy. There's a great shot of her sitting behind her desk, shoes off, feet up, smoking a cigarette and reading a book. She looks good and it's fun seeing her in modern dress. (Sure, she made plenty of "modern" movies but many of her most famous roles were period pieces. Here she dresses like neither Melanie Wilkes nor Maid Marian, and she looks comfortable.)

However, it just seems like there isn't enough for her actually to do: one of the recurring gags in the film is de Havilland racing across the office then racing back to her desk, having forgotten to put on her shoes. That's kind of funny but no matter how cutely performed it's just not hilarious.

Ann Shirley is rather lively as de Havilland's friend. Shirley and soldier James Dunn are just married, but they can't seem to find a place to live, or even get a little privacy before Dunn's leave is over. They exchange some corny dialog (Shirley: Oh, wouldn't it be awful if ya got killed before our honeymoon? Dunn: For me it'd be just as bad after!) and are generally cute if silly.

Overall, this is of those well-meaning pictures that's pleasant enough but just a bit dull.

I must disagree with the person who first commented on the rating of this movie. I've seen this movie many times. True, it has some scripts that could have been better written, particularly for such a wonderfully and already famous actress Olivia De Havilland, but I don't think it was a bomb. It's really not such a bad movie--not the greatest in the world, but--worth watching if you're an avid fan of De Havilland! :o)

I only saw this movie once on AMC (before they started showing recent "classics". I loved it. Sure, it is a war propaganda film, loaded with patriotism. Sure it is written to the largely female audiences of the time. Sure, it is a pale imitation of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "His Girl Friday". It is still a fun, witty, movie.

It is also possibly the best use of Washington, DC as a location. They get the geography right. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (one of my favorites) has people going in every direction. "Government Girl" keeps everything in its place. Also, it provides an historic look at wartime DC.

Tell me where I can find this movie, as I would love to see it again.

This film describes the dollar-a-year workers who virtually volunteered their time and expertise to the war effort during World War Two. Ed Browne (played by Sonny Tufts) comes in conflict with the established manners and customs in Washington, D.C. Browne's method of operation is founded in the private sector of industry which clashes with the public functions of the government. Historically, many manufacturers had little choice but to take part in the the conversion to war production. Meager profits early in the war of cost plus four percent was little incentive for enthusiasm from all of industry. Even when the profit scheme went to cost plus eight percent, most industries could do much better in peacetime consumer goods. Many yielded to the threat of government sanctions and complied. This movie, however, points to the positive aspects of individuals working for the war effort, even at the cost of personal sacrifice. The most realistic character is "Smokey" (played by Olivia de Havilland. She is dynamic and forceful, but burning government records to support her boss (with whom she is in love) seems somewhat exaggerated. All in all, it is a fairly amusing film, with the bottom line echoed in a United States Senate hearing: "Thank you, government girl."