Beauty and the Boss

Beauty and the Boss was a delightful movie with some very subtle humor and frank interfacing between the competing beauties. The rapid dialog between the Count and his prospective secretary was a pleasure in wittiness and abstract humor. This movie promised a bright career.

Marian Marsh was a beautiful young lady, but what struck me was a resemblance to a later actress, Jane Powell when she was of that age. It was a shame the studios did not hold on to her for better roles but I guess it was the depression and they were interested in churning out low budget movies and constantly showing new faces. Ms. Marsh did show considerable talent, artistically before the cameras, at quite a young age. Considering her young age it seems the studios could have been more understanding when they did not pick up her contract while they were having disagreements over a bad performing movie.

...but you just can't help yourself. William is perfect here as an efficient German bank president and baron, totally consumed with business by day and with romancing the ladies -lots of them - at night. He only has problems when his two interests converge. This usually occurs because he has a beautiful secretary. His usual solution - to fire the secretary and get her out of his business life, and then make her one of his many mistresses.

The baron tires of this repetitive problem, and vows that his next secretary will be a plain practical woman for whom he will have no attraction. So into his life walks Susie Sachs (Marian Marsh), "the church mouse". The cutest scene of the film is where Susie tricks her way into see the baron and tells him about the plight of her class -"the mice" - the unemployed and hungry. The baron is quite interested in her story. You see, he is not such a bad guy. It just never occurred to him that there might be a girl of her age in Germany more interested in a good meal than a diamond bracelet. He's never seen that side of life and therefore not given it much thought. He hires her, and she works out quite well for him until a business trip to Paris brings the Baron quite a few surprises.

This film was really a delight with very good dialogue and animated performances. Charles Butterworth is really quite good as comic support in these early Warner Brothers talkies. He plays the baron's assistant who is constantly writing down instructions on his cuffs and seems to have no objections when he is told he will be working all night and won't be allowed time to eat. David Manners plays the baron's younger brother who sees the beauty in Susie even when she is playing the frump.

About a bank president who talks about putting a new rule into the company: "all females must wear long sleeves and high necks". Seems he is easily distracted by women, particularly his attractive and flirtatious secretary who he thinks is a "playgirl" rather than working girl, good for after hours only. He actually fires her - and she doesn't mind, 'cause she apparently agrees with this after hours concept, and becomes one of his new girlfriends (there seem to be many others too, judging by the office visits and phone calls from bathtubs he keeps getting). Soon a young waif arrives - hungry and oddly dressed in an outfit that includes black umbrella and flat black hat with a big white feather in it (why do these poor waif girls in old movies always seem to wear an odd feathered hat?). Well, seems she's an out-of-work stenographer looking to get hired - and turns out she's a whiz who loves work too, spending her free time toning her secretarial skills rather than dating men, she takes shorthand at 150 words a minute! He hires her on the spot since she's "plain" - seems even though she is clearly very pretty, he for some reason (like often seen in movies) can't see her beauty through the odd outfit. Well, she falls for him and soon blooms!

This is a thoroughly entertaining, fast paced, fun-to-watch film with lots of amusing pre-code banter and top-notch performances adding to the mix - I loved it. Warren William, one of my favorite actors from this time period, is just perfect as the rather handsome but stiff "girl crazy" boss, and Marian Marsh as the waif (who I thought looked like Reese Witherspoon in the earlier scenes) is just SO cute and charming - I really enjoyed her performance. Cute scene where she gets "taught" by the previous secretary how to seduce a man via accidentally-on-purpose leaning against him, and she tries it out on the boss. Really excellent film.

No big stars in this one but still a very entertaining little film. Marsh and Doran are two women who go after Warren William in very different ways. Butterworth is good in his usual comic relief role. A charming and fast-moving movie.

Rapid fire dialog rips through this charming pre code gem so fast you'll have to put down your iPhone to enjoy. Marian Marsh shines and Warren William is offensive and hilarious.