I seem to remember this show under the name "Private Secretary" and what must have been its syndicated name, "Suzie." I just received a disc of this show from Netflix, and I must say I'm appalled that the Netflix reviewers gave this 1-1/2 stars. What a nerve.
The always delightful Ann Sothern plays Suzie McNamara, secretary to theatrical agent, Howard Sands (Don Porter). The various story lines show that the brains of the operation is Suzie, who knows how to get around her boss and get things done. In the first episode I saw, she wangles an audition for two of Sands' clients for an upcoming Samson and Delilah on Broadway; in another, she has both a playwright and his producer interested in her, and as a result, the two become mortal enemies and refuse to work together. Suzie gets them thinking she has other men in her life so they both bond again. And so on.
This isn't uproarious comedy, but it's fun and for Baby Boomers, and it brings back some wonderful memories. Not to mention the fashions, the home decorations, the switchboard, and the dial phones. Ann Tyrell is Vi, the switchboard operator. I still remember in my childhood watching one episode where Ann and Vi were in a restaurant and carefully counted the calories of everything they ate. When the waiter asked if they wanted dessert, they ordered two hot fudge sundaes.
The chemistry that Sothern, Tyrell, and Porter had was so good that they went into a second series together, "The Ann Sothern Show," which I think I also saw. It's funny that so much is made of actress' ages today -- it's true that Sothern probably aged out of the movies, but here she was in her forties playing a bachelorette and getting away with it.
To me this was an exceptional series - first, Sothern was not an ingenue; secondly, she and her friends were single New York career girls, unheard of; and three, she was the brains of that office.
I really don't know what the problem is over at Netflix. Why would you even elect to get this disc if the show didn't hold some nostalgia value for you? If you can rent it, do so -- there's something very charming about it and, of course, Ann Sothern.
