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Personal Maid's Secret

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 58m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
344
YOUR RATING
Ronnie Cosby and Ruth Donnelly in Personal Maid's Secret (1935)
Quirky ComedyRomantic ComedyComedyDramaRomance

A maid helps her employers climb the social ladder and has a secretive interest in one particular socialite.A maid helps her employers climb the social ladder and has a secretive interest in one particular socialite.A maid helps her employers climb the social ladder and has a secretive interest in one particular socialite.

  • Director
    • Arthur Greville Collins
  • Writers
    • Lillie Hayward
    • F. Hugh Herbert
    • Lillian Day
  • Stars
    • Margaret Lindsay
    • Warren Hull
    • Anita Louise
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    344
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Arthur Greville Collins
    • Writers
      • Lillie Hayward
      • F. Hugh Herbert
      • Lillian Day
    • Stars
      • Margaret Lindsay
      • Warren Hull
      • Anita Louise
    • 11User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos4

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    Top cast23

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    Margaret Lindsay
    Margaret Lindsay
    • Mrs. Joan Smith
    Warren Hull
    Warren Hull
    • John 'Jimmy' Smith
    Anita Louise
    Anita Louise
    • Diana Abercrombie
    Ruth Donnelly
    Ruth Donnelly
    • Lizzie
    Arthur Treacher
    Arthur Treacher
    • Owen Johnson
    Frank Albertson
    Frank Albertson
    • Kent Fletcher
    Henry O'Neill
    Henry O'Neill
    • Mr. Wilton Palmer
    Ronnie Cosby
    Ronnie Cosby
    • Bobby Smith
    Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    • Warren Sherrill
    • (as Gordon Elliott)
    Harry C. Bradley
    Harry C. Bradley
    • Candlesticks Salesman
    • (uncredited)
    Florence Fair
    • Mrs. Bentley
    • (uncredited)
    Maude Turner Gordon
    Maude Turner Gordon
    • Mrs. Abercrombie
    • (uncredited)
    Julia Griffith
    • Mrs. Havermeyer
    • (uncredited)
    Lillian Harmer
    Lillian Harmer
    • Miss Getson
    • (uncredited)
    Lillian Kemble-Cooper
    Lillian Kemble-Cooper
    • Mrs. Palmer
    • (uncredited)
    Claude King
    Claude King
    • Mr. B. Abercrombie
    • (uncredited)
    Etta McDaniel
    Etta McDaniel
    • Maid
    • (uncredited)
    Martha Merrill
    • Dinner Guest
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Arthur Greville Collins
    • Writers
      • Lillie Hayward
      • F. Hugh Herbert
      • Lillian Day
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    6.5344
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    Featured reviews

    6bkoganbing

    A regular Hazel

    Not even Hazel working for the Baxters in the comic strip or on television did as much good as Ruth Donnelly does for nominal stars Warren Hull and Margaret Lindsay in Personal Maid's Secret. With her offhanded suggestions thie couple manages to rise several notches on the social scale.

    Donnelly should have gotten top billing, she has the title role and the film does revolve around her. As per the title she does have a secret and it''s a beaut. She has to reconcile with her past as well and does.

    for you Arthur Treacher fans he's once again a butler and something happens to him that you won't see in any of his other films.

    A nice product from Warner Brothers B picture unit and for fans of donnelly and Treacher.
    SkippyDevereaux

    Good film from Warner Brothers in 1935

    Not a bad little film with the fabulous Ruth Donnelly in the title role of the maid. One has to suspend a sense of realism to think that even those people living in a small apartment had maid service!! I mean, to look at the apartment of Margaret Lindsay and Warren Hull, you would think that they don't have two nickles to rub together--let alone afford a maid!! But if you can overlook that fact, then this is a nice little movie that keeps your attention throughout. Also, it is another treat to watch Margaret Lindsay--one of the best actresses ever. But it is the great Ruth Donnelly that keeps the film going--she is another character actress never given her due and it is so nice to see her headline a film on her own. Like a certain IMDBer has said "Pass the popcorn"--you will enjoy this film a lot, I think.
    6ksf-2

    okay 1930s warner brothers... ruth donnelly

    Stars Margaret Lindsay and Warren Hull.... both had only been in hollywood for a couple years when they made "Personal Maid's Secret". Ruth Donnelly is Lizzie, the maid; she counsels Joan (Lindsay) on how to entertain correctly. and with her advice, they get more successful, and meet all the right people. Clearly, there's some downfall coming, but who knows what is about to happen? What is Lizzie's big secret? she's just too good to be true. It's a Warner Brothers shortie. all kind of light and fluffy, but no big deal. there are some surprises, which you will have already figured out. it's pretty rushed near the end, but it is only a short, so they had to hurry the plot along. only 58 minutes. Directed by Art Collins, his first directing job. only directed ten films. didn't do a lot in hollywood, acc to imdb.
    10eldrivesfaster07

    1938 comedy showing NYC street scenes and life with upper middle class couple on the way up

    I love this movie! The opening music is up tempo and very 30's. There are great character actors and the scenes of Park Avenue and double decker buses are wonderful. Another reviewer said the story was a stretch because the couples' first apartment was not so nice and if they lived there how could they afford a maid. I think that the story is believable because the furniture was correct for the time and their status and the fact that they had so many rooms - living room, dining room, at least 3 bedrooms, kitchen and maid's quarters - definitely put them in a class that could have supported a maid and the salary mentioned. If you enjoy looking at the architecture, furnishings, etc this is a real period piece. I am just old enough to remember some of those buildings on Park Avenue and it is a good glimpse of old NY.

    The actors are a treat too. The casting seems perfect to me. Even the young boy does a good job.

    It is a very upbeat story so just sit back and enjoy it as the audiences of the time must have. Goodness prevails and the maid's secret is safely in the happiest of endings.
    6SnoopyStyle

    "Mommy. Please buy this one."

    Lizzie (Ruth Donnelly) worked for the Bentleys on Park Avenue. She quits in frustration and goes to the employment agency. When she encounters working middle class Joan Smith (Margaret Lindsay), she decides to work for her even at a lower pay. She starts helping the Smith family climb up until they even take over the Bentley estate.

    I almost died when little Bobby says, "Mommy. Please buy this one." It's the only laugh in the movie and an outlier in many different ways. That needs to be a meme. The story is rather odd. For most of it, Lizzie never explains why she doing what she's doing. Then the movie does a big reveal and it comes out of left field. It's a soap opera move.

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    Romance

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The ship depicted as returning Diana home from Europe is the RMS Aquatania (1914-1950), owned by the Cunard Line. She served as a troop transport in both World Wars, and was the last surviving four-funnel passenger steamship when she was scrapped in 1950.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Palmer: I have a little boy about your age. Would you like to come and play with him someday?

      Bobby Smith: Is he colored?

      Mrs. Joan Smith: We had a colored servant once, and Bobby's enormously interested in the race.

    • Soundtracks
      Moon Crazy
      (1935)(uncredited)

      Music by Louis Alter

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 26, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Living Up to Lizzie
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 58m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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