Sick Product of a Sick System

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of those movies that a person is going to have to make several allowances for in order to enjoy it. First, this movie was very short (60 minutes). Along with that, it seems to be filmed in segments and doesn't flow smoothly from one to the other. Quite choppy. Now, part of the reason for both of these aspects is probably to contain costs. And I fully understand that in lieu of the fact that this movie was produced during the Great Depression. However, these factors really stood out and gave the entire film a rather cheap feeling to it. Fortunately, there are a couple of good things going for this movie too. For one, it has John Wayne ("Richard Wallace") as the leading actor. Granted this is one of his earliest films and he doesn't quite have the screen presence he commanded in his later years. But that's only to be expected. Another good thing was the performance of Evalyn Knapp (as "Marion Hall"). She was really special. Be that as it may, these two ingredients couldn't quite overcome the weaknesses I mentioned earlier. As such, while the movie is definitely cute, I have to give it an average rating.

Before John Wayne found his true genre calling he played a variety of college boys, bored young men about town etc - all like a fish out of water. Just before he began his famous Lone Star series that really put him on the map, he played Dick Wallace, an idle rich kid going to the dogs whose father (Reginald Barlow, who was more at home playing butlers and servants) puts him to work in his office in "His Private Secretary".In exasperation, he sends Dick to Somerville to recover a debt (a round trip of 200 miles) hoping to keep him out of temptation's way but resourceful Dick is able to mix business with pleasure when he gives pretty Marion Hall (Evalyn Knapp) a lift to her grandfathers after telling her the bus has broken down. Unfortunately, it is the grandfather, the Rev. Hall (Alec B. Francis) who he is chasing for a bad debt - the Rev. has given the money that he owes to feed the sick and needy. This is a really nice little movie - of course Dick waives the debt which has the old man fuming and giving him the sack but Dick has already decided to stay in the sleepy little town and trades his up to the minute roadster in exchange for the town's only garage, knowing he will have to meet up with Marian sometime. I know it sounds silly but it is a fun rainy day type of movie.Back in the city and now married, Dick and Marian run into opposition from Dick's dad who thinks she has only married Dick for his money. He has never met her of course but when Marian goes to the office to have it out with him, she comes out with a job - as his private secretary!!!Evalyn Knapp started out as a dewy eyed blonde but when she did have the lead in a talked about picture, "Sinner's Holiday", the only stars talked about were the supporting cast (James Cagney and Joan Blondell). So it was soon on to programmers and by 1933 she looked efficient enough to have the leads in poverty rowers "Air Hostess" and "His Private Secretary".

Nice old movie tho it feels a bit short. My only complaint was not with the movie but the DVD I rented via Netflix. Westlake Enterainment's 2007 DVD shows little if any care was taken for improving the quality of movie during transfer to DVD. The transfer was horrible even considering the age of the film it should have been handled much better and cleaned up both visually and sonically. At times the faces seem almost like glaring white ghosts on screen. Scratches and obvious film damage abound as well.John Wayne out of his boots and six gun was nice to see and he did well here playing the male romantic lead. Seems odd to see the Duke in a movie without gunfights and horse chases. If you want to see Wayne in a better romantic comedy tho I still suggest you watch "The Quiet Man" instead.

A young John Wayne out of the saddle and in a light comedy and he does fine as a man called Dick Wallace with a penchant for a pretty face (or pretty legs as the pencil sharpening scene shows!)who encounters his match in a minister's granddaughter. There are some good lines (on being told to keep quiet by the butler when he comes home intoxicated in case he wakes up his father Wayne whispers he will "Let sleeping dads lie")and the film bobs along nicely.Evalyn Knapp who plays the granddaughter is also very winning as the Private Secretary of the title who helps and soothes Dick Wallace's grumpy father. She is pretty and perky and very charming. Very nice ankles too. The other characters are hardly defined but there is a cheeky boy that one would have liked to have seen more of in the film. Not a classic comedy but sweet without being sugary.