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Smartest Girl in Town

  • 1936
  • Approved
  • 58m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
328
YOUR RATING
Ann Sothern in Smartest Girl in Town (1936)
Romantic ComedyComedyRomance

Modeling furs has given our heroine Cookie a taste for them, so she's determined to marry a rich man. Scheduled to meet a male model aboard a yacht, she meets the yacht's rich owner Dick Smi... Read allModeling furs has given our heroine Cookie a taste for them, so she's determined to marry a rich man. Scheduled to meet a male model aboard a yacht, she meets the yacht's rich owner Dick Smith instead; he welcomes the confusion of identity and sets out to win her by force of pers... Read allModeling furs has given our heroine Cookie a taste for them, so she's determined to marry a rich man. Scheduled to meet a male model aboard a yacht, she meets the yacht's rich owner Dick Smith instead; he welcomes the confusion of identity and sets out to win her by force of personality alone. It's an uphill battle. Lots of wry repartee.

  • Director
    • Joseph Santley
  • Writers
    • Viola Brothers Shore
    • Muriel Scheck
    • H.S. Kraft
  • Stars
    • Gene Raymond
    • Ann Sothern
    • Helen Broderick
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    328
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Joseph Santley
    • Writers
      • Viola Brothers Shore
      • Muriel Scheck
      • H.S. Kraft
    • Stars
      • Gene Raymond
      • Ann Sothern
      • Helen Broderick
    • 13User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos6

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    Top cast27

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    Gene Raymond
    Gene Raymond
    • Richard Stuyvesant Smith
    Ann Sothern
    Ann Sothern
    • Frances Cooke
    Helen Broderick
    Helen Broderick
    • Mrs. Gwen Mayen
    Eric Blore
    Eric Blore
    • Lucius Philbean - Dick's Valet
    Erik Rhodes
    Erik Rhodes
    • Baron Enrico Torene
    Harry Jans
    • Terry - Gwen's Husband
    Bobby Barber
    Bobby Barber
    • Hotel Porter
    • (uncredited)
    B.F. Blinn
    B.F. Blinn
    • Wedding Witness
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Blystone
    Stanley Blystone
    • Man in Room 216
    • (uncredited)
    Lynton Brent
    Lynton Brent
    • Photographer
    • (uncredited)
    Alan Curtis
    Alan Curtis
    • Male Model Who Escorts Cookie
    • (uncredited)
    Tom Ferrandini
    • Wedding Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Gustine
    • Party Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Eddie Hart
    Eddie Hart
    • Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Hoyt
    Arthur Hoyt
    • The Minister
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Jenks
    Frank Jenks
    • Mr. Murphy - Photographer
    • (uncredited)
    Etta McDaniel
    Etta McDaniel
    • Phoebe - the Maid
    • (uncredited)
    George Noisom
    • Second Call Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Joseph Santley
    • Writers
      • Viola Brothers Shore
      • Muriel Scheck
      • H.S. Kraft
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews13

    6.3328
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    Featured reviews

    6petersjoelen

    weak love story

    Ann Sothern plays a model here who, especially in the beginning, is portrayed as quite a spoiled brat, as a viewer you quickly start to dislike her because of her selfish character.

    However, Raymond nevertheless falls head over heels in love with her upon their first meeting. While he knows that she is purely after money, it comes across as very naive.

    Gradually she becomes more sympathetic and the sharp edges in her character are smoothed away.

    The scene in the bathroom is crucial but actually a bit too little to make it really believable.

    All in all, somewhat amusing, but the romance is ultimately not very believable.
    5morrisonhimself

    Even the adorable Ann Sothern can't save this

    Despite a charming and capable cast, this movie was really bad.

    The story had a fair-to-middling premise, but the final script was just muddled and silly.

    The whole things seems to be based on "Hmmmm. We've got to crank out some film to fill some theaters."

    Ann Sothern has long been one of my favorites (I guess I have several), and she is delightful to watch and lovely to look at. She is always charming, even downright adorable.

    Gene Raymond is a good-looking and talented guy who seems to be little known these days, and I don't understand why.

    Unfortunately, the production is slap-dash and fairly senseless and ultimately not a lot of fun. Except to see Ann Sothern.
    7csteidler

    Predictable plot, charming and enthusiastic cast

    Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond are the handsome young leads who are bound to get together eventually in this good-natured, slightly manic comedy.

    Sothern plays a model determined to find and marry a rich man. She meets handsome millionaire Raymond during a modeling job on his yacht - but mistakenly assumes he is the male model supposed to meet her there. Raymond (immediately smitten, of course) quickly gathers that it will be more fun if she thinks he is a peer rather than a millionaire, and he begins an elaborate scheme to win her heart as a poor working sap.

    A big part of Raymond's scheme is enlisting his valet, Eric Blore, to pretend to switch roles with him. Blore is hilarious as the scandalized employee gradually leaning into his assumed role as boss instead of servant. Helen Broderick is equally good as Sothern's tart-tongued sister and manager. Erik Rhodes has a couple of extremely goofy scenes as a baron with money who would be an eligible suitor for Sothern if he could just stop talking about birds and eggs all the time.

    The plot holds hardly any surprises, but there is a neat scene where Sothern washes Raymond's wild mop of hair in her bathroom sink, realizing as she does so that he has become more than just a co-worker. And despite the standard plot, clever dialog and enthusiastic performances throughout make this one lots of fun.
    6boblipton

    One RKO Glossy Romcom To Go

    Ann Southern enjoys being a model and getting to wear rich clothing, but she hates turning it back in. She decides she's going to marry a rich man. When she's shooting a layout on a yacht, she concludes that Gene Raymond is, like her, a model earning a good $10 a day. He's actually the yacht's owner, a man constantly having to pay women for pursuing them. He decides he's going to win her by the force of his personality.

    Raymond is in his rich, handsome guy mode here, and that's not my favorite characterizaton, but Miss Sothern is a delight at her most cynical. Under the direction of Joseph Santley, there are some nice comedy sequences, and the whole thing looks like it was shot on the sets for an Astaire-Rogers movie, and it has the character actors to prove it. Eric Blore is Raymond's manservant, Helen Broderick is Miss Sothern's scornful sister, and Erik Rhodes her fractured-Italian suitor. It's clearly all formula all the time, but the wry tone that everyone takes -- except for Raymond -- makes it fun.
    8SimonJack

    A very good, wacky comedy with a top cast of the day

    "Smartest Girl in Town" is a very funny comedy romance that borders on the screwball. This is one of several comedies that Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern made for RKO, and I think the best of the lot. Although there are a couple more in the screwball realm that are just about as good.

    Besides Raymond and Sothern, three other familiar actors in the supporting cast contribute to the humor. Helen Broderick plays Mrs. Gwen Mayen, the sister of Sothern's Frances "Cookie" Cooke. Gwen has an itinerant ex-husband who shows up periodically to mooch off of her. That's Terry, played by Harry Jans. Eric Blore - I think the best comedy actor of all time in butler or valet roles, plays Lucius Philbean here. He is - you guessed it, the valet to Raymond's Dick Smith. That's the somewhat alias that Richard Stuyvesant Smith goes by as he makes a play for Cookie. She calls him m"Smtty." Erik Rhodes is Baron Enrico Torene, who's out to woo Frances with his rare egg collection.

    Well, I said this is borderline screwball. The first half is rather straightforward comedy with one of those common wealthy people disguised or acting as a common non-wealthy person, trying to win the other without his (or her) money. It all starts out as a mistaken identity when the wealthy Smith returns early to his yacht. Trusty Philbean has rented it for a couple of hours for use by a photo publicity firm. The shoot has been delayed some because the male model hasn't shown up, so when Dick figures out what's going on, he plays along as the model. All of this to win the girl he's just fallen for.

    Philbean, in the meantime, is glad not to have been caught for his indiscreet way of making some money on the side. But, he's also the watchdog of his boss, to keep him from again going overboard and having a young thing taking his boss for some big dough. Well, Cookie has her heart set on marrying for money - nothing new there. Sister Gwen wants her to go for the baron who's loaded with money. She puts off Dick's moves, so he makes up an advertising company with Philbean at the head and he hires Cookie. This is all to film commercials for the make-believe company. But, in reality, it's so Smitty can get close to Cookie and win her over.

    Before this is over with, lots of mayhem, silliness and just plain screwball activity happens, bringing the whole thing to a happy conclusion at the end. One scene that may be unique in all of filmdom has Cookie giving Smitty a hair treatment and shampoo. It's funny and quite intense and messy, so it's probably a scene that was shot in just one take. This film has lots of laughs and many smiles. It's for those who enjoy real comedy and like to laugh. I think most people would still enjoy it well into the 21st century. The last scene in the Belvedere Hotel is riotously funny and had me laughing out loud.

    Here are some favorite lines.

    Mrs. Gwen Mayen, "What's wrong with him?" Frances "Cookie" Cooke, "Oh, there's noting wrong with him, and there's nothing right with him. He's a foreigner. I don't understand him, and he's a bore."

    Gwen Mayen, "Oh, what difference does it make what he collects, so long as he has the habit? You can get him to collect furs, emeralds, diamonds just as easy."

    Photographer, "Hey, what's your name - I told you to hold here there." Dick Smith, "The name's Smith." Frances Cooke, "You sure it isn't locksmith?"

    Lucious Philbean, fumbling with the office phone, as Smith tries to get him to use the switch on his desk, "Hello... switch, which switch, hello, are you there? Oh, of course you're there. Yeah, we're all here... yeah, were al..." He continues mumbling.

    Lucious Philbean, "Oh, but sir, I thought...." Dick Smith, "What with?"

    Frances Cooke, "My father used to say, A smart man knows that money can buy anything, so he doesn't have to prove it.'" Dick Smith, "Well, mine used to say, 'Money makes a man go for it.'"

    Dick Smith, "Wait a minute! That's not right. She can't be in love with that fellow. She must be in love with me." Lucius Philbean, "Isn't that rather carrying the wish to the well, sir?"

    Cookie Cooke, "This stuff'll nail your hair right into your scalp."

    Dick Smith, "You mean you'd really go to bat for me?" Cookie, "Well, you were nice to get me my job. Anyway, you're such a nitwit that you need a manager."

    Dick Smith, "Say, I'm no cripple." Gwen, "Well, you stand an awfully good chance of making it if you don't scram."

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    Related interests

    Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
    Romantic Comedy
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Smartest Girl in Town (1936) is one of five movies of the mid-1930s in which Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond are romantic partners; the others are Hooray for Love (1935), Walking on Air (1936), There Goes My Girl (1937) and She's Got Everything (1937). Three decades later, both were cast in the political drama The Best Man (1964). According to film historian David Shipman, the pair didn't get along at all and actively disliked working together. Raymond wrote the song "Will You?" for The Smartest Girl in Town and sings it in the film to Sothern whose answer, by the way, is "No." In another tart dialogue exchange, Raymond asks if he may smoke and Sothern snaps, "Go ahead, if you think you're so hot."
    • Goofs
      The cord on Lucius Philbean's pince-nez glasses flips back and forth several times during the scene in the Philbean Advertising Company office.
    • Quotes

      Young model: What's the matter with her? She's too ritzy for chili?

      Gwen: I don't know, maybe it's too chilly for the Ritz.

    • Soundtracks
      Will You?
      (1936)

      Written by Gene Raymond

      Played during the opening credits and as background music often

      Played on a ukulele and sung by Gene Raymond (uncredited)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 27, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Million Dollar Profile
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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

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