Ringside Maisie

When Robert Sterling heavyweight contender confides to Ann Sothern that he really hates boxing all I could think of was the film Twins where Arnold Schwarzenegger confesses to Danny DeVito that he really hates violence. To which DeVito replies, 'but you're so good at it.'

That is the underlying plot premise for Ringside Maisie where our Brooklyn showgirl is stranded on a road and she's offered a lift by Sterling who is out doing road work under the watchful eye of manager George Murphy and trainer Maxie Rosenbloom. These guys prove useful after dancer Jack LaRue won't settle for just a professional relationship.

When Sterling says he wants out of the fight racket, two fights away from a title shot despite what Sothern tells Murphy about being a heel, my sympathies were completely with him. He did invest years of time and money in Sterling and was right to want a return on his investment. And from what I saw looked out for him pretty good.

Sterling is also saddled with Natalie Thompson a real peach of a girl friend who does nothing but eat and get carsick and won't be at his side at the climax. Later for her.

But more than anything else Ringside Maisie shows the weakness of using this kind of plot for a series film. At times she shows interest in both Murphy and Sterling and you know because there will be another film that she won't wind up with either. In real life she did show some interest in Bob Sterling because Ann Sothern took him as her second husband.

On the plus side there is a nice specialty number from Virginia O'Brien. But Ringside Maisie goes down as one of the weaker films in the series.

In her fifth role as Maisie Ravier, Ann Sothern walks out of her job as a taxi dancer (dime-a-dance girl) - while she's still able to walk She heads for a resort hotel in the Adirondack Mountains, but gets tossed off the train because she didn't buy a ticket. Hoofing it the 14 or more miles to her destination, she is passed by a young man who's training as a boxer. Terry Dolan's trainer is following along in his car and they give her a ride to the Shady Lawn Hotel at Cedar Lake.

When she doesn't come across with amour for her new dance partner, Ricky Du Prez, she gets canned and doesn't even dance her first number. Terry Dolan, fighting under the assumed name of Young O'Hara, goes home on weekends to visit his mother. He gives Maisie a ride back to the city, and it turns out that mom is elderly and in a wheel chair and needs a companion. So, Maisie gets the job. Terry has a girlfriend, Cecelia Reardon who visits him in training. And, his manager and promoter, Skeets Maguire, is out to make him the next world champion. Only Skeets and Maisie start their acquaintance off with fireworks.

The reason Terry uses an alias for fighting is because he doesn't want his mom to know he's a prizefighter. When his dad died, he left them well-secured with his grocery store. But his mom got swindled by a couple of shysters with an oil stock scam. So, Terry wants to make enough money fighting to be able to buy a grocery store and run it.

The plot is a good one - one of the better of the Maisie series, with good performances by all. It's a natural for some clashes and good drama with just the right amount of comedy worked in. Maisie has one of her best scenes in a brouhaha with Skeets over his stereotyping her as girl on the make, trying to cash in on a fighter. The contrasting personalities of Maisie and Skeets, played well by George Murphy, fit nicely for the romance that will come out of this. And Virginia O'Brien plays herself, as a singer with the band at the Shady Lawn Hotel. She does a hilarious rendition of "A Bird in a Gilded Cage."

The film has some good fight scenes in the ring and a good dramatic ending. Here are some favorite lines.

Skeets Maguire, "Pickin' up yellow-haired mice when you oughtta be doing your roadwork!" Maisie Ravier, "Wait a minute, foul mouth."

Terry Dolan, as boxer, Young O'Hara, "Now, don't be sore at me. C'mon back." Maisie Ravier, "Well, I'm not sore at you, you've been more than nice throughout. But, Gargantua is somethin' else again."

Maisie Ravier, "You listen, tall, dark and bad-mannered. I got no design on your fighters. I have neither the time nor the inclination to take up the part of Cleopatra."

Skeets Maguire, "I can't understand what a wren like you is doing so far from the sidewalks of New York."

Ricky Du Prez, "Whatsa matter, you got a guy you're stuck on?" Maisie, "No, but there's a guy someplace someday I'm gonna be stuck on."

Cecelia Reardon, "The train trip always takes so much out of one." Maisie Ravier,, "Yeah. Here's one they took outta the train."

Terry Dolan, "I, uh, guess you're feeling kind of low, huh?" Maisie Ravier, "I could look a snake in the eye if I had a pair of stilts."

Maisie Ravier,, "You know, it sure means a lot meetin' someone like you - just when I was beginning to think the wolves had taken over the world."

Terry Dolan, ,"He may act tough, but he's all heart." Maisie, "Yeah, well maybe an x-ray would change my mind."

Maisie, "You know, lookin' back on it, I don't think I ever told a lie in my life and really got by with it."

Skeets Maguire, "Say, I'd like to see mom, and I wouldn't mind goin' a couple rounds with the Brooklyn bonfire."

Maisie, "Well, I guessed wrong before, but this is an all-time low."

John Duffy, " I would've thrown the fight rather than have this happen." Mrs. Dolan, "Don't reproach yourself, boy. Just say a little prayer for him." Duffy, "Yes. I will, you bet. I've been doing it ever since they told me."

Skeets Maguire, "Well, so long, Maisie. They don't come any better."

Maisie, "Oh, and me kickin' him when he was down. Oh, can you perform a brain operation on me?"

Skeets, on the phone, "My wife? What does she look like?" Maisie, coming in the door, "A yellow-haired mouse." Skeets, "Maisie!"

Ann Sothern is Maisie again in "Ringside Maisie," a 1941 film also starring Robert Sterling and George Murphy. It's possible that this film is where Ms. Sothern met Sterling, her first husband.

The Maisie plots had certain similarities and have to be taken as separate stories, which has always bothered me. It would seem at the end of one film that Maisie had found the man of her dreams, yet in the next film, there would be someone else. Maisie was always the same - a flashy, down in her luck entertainer on her way to a job somewhere, getting stranded, meeting some guy that she hates at first, and then love blooms.

In this entry, the man is George Murphy as Francis, who handles gifted prize fighter Terry Dolan (Sterling). Maisie has a job performing and loses it the same night because she won't sleep with her partner (although obviously that isn't stated). She winds up being a companion to the boxer's mother. Over time, she learns that Dolan wants only to buy a grocery store - he hates fighting and is frightened every time he goes into the ring. With Maisie's encouragement, he confronts Francis, who is also a friend, only to have Francis demand he live up to his contract, with disastrous results.

These movies were, for the most part, very entertaining. Sothern never did anything she didn't shine in, definitely one of the most likable actresses ever - beautiful, warm, funny, always convincing. When her leading woman days were over, she continued her career as a character actress. She was a wonderful star, even if she didn't reach the heights of Jean Harlow or Carole Lombard. She has good support here from the handsome Sterling and the versatile George Murphy.

Good entry into the series.

Struggling showgirl Maisie Ravier (Ann Sothern) gets fired as a taxi dancer. As a train stowaway, she's caught and gets thrown off in the middle of nowhere. While walking to her next job, she is helped by young boxer Terry "O'Hara" Dolan. Skeets Maguire is his manager and Cecelia Reardon is his girlfriend. Dolan would rather not box and buy a grocery store instead.

I still like Maisie but the guys are duds. The girlfriend is a blank. Non of the characters are that compelling although I like Terry for the most part. It's a less than compelling melodrama. The boxing isn't thrilling and quite frankly, I fast forward a lot of that. A grocery store has never sounded more pathetic. I keep thinking that this movie is stuck in mud.

This chapter of the "Maisie" adventures, starring Ann Sothern, opens at a Danceland dance hall. Ed Marin directed four of these, so he was familiar with Sothern and the usual suspects. Maisie (Sothern) gets canned from the dance hall, and calls her agent Vic (Rags Ragland) to see what else she can do for work. She meets up with the boxing mug Terry Dolan (Robert Sterling), and stirs things up. ( Sothern was married to Sterling from 1943 to 1949, and it appears this was the only film they made together. Sothern has an interesting family history, for those who have the time to read her bio....) "Maisie" butts heads with the boxer's manager "Skeets", who is sure she wants to distract Dolan from his boxing. For me, its all about Virginia OBrien - she sings Bird in a Gilded Cage at the night club, and she does her usual deadpan face with small, fun, facial expressions that say so much with so little movement. Written by Wilson Collison & Mary McCall, it appears Collison died young at 47. Sothern would also make six films with Gene Raymond; for those looking for other good Ann Sothern films, my favorites are Smartest Girl in Town, and Walking on Air - tons of fun if you can catch em on Turner Classics.