Maisie Gets Her Man (1942)

Maisie Gets Her Man: Directed by Roy Del Ruth. With Ann Sothern, Red Skelton, Leo Gorcey, Allen Jenkins. Parting company with her on-stage partner Professor Orco partly due to the job being potentially hazardous to her health, streetwise but kind-hearted vaudeville performer Maisie Ravier, in Chicago, goes on a search for another job. That search takes her to a commercial building where a talent agency is located. There, she encounters many people that will play a role in her immediate future. The first is Hap Hixby, a young man who is trying to break into show business with a somewhat corny comedy routine. The second is Pappy Goodring, the building manager who has a heart of gold and who has troubles collecting rent from most of the tenants, which irks his boss, the officious Mr. Stickwell. And third is Marshall Denningham, who owns his own bottled water business and who is one of the few tenants in the building who seems to be able to make his rent payments on time. Of the opportunities that come her way, she accepts Hap’s offer to be his on-stage partner, as she would like another performing gig, and she is falling for Hap. What may be obstacles in a Maisie/Hap happy ending are Hap’s abilities or inabilities as a stage performer, Hap getting in over his head with a business venture, and a young woman named Elsie McIntyre, Hap’s girl back home.

“As usual, Maisie is out of work. However, HOW this occurs at the beginning of the film youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself! Following this debacle, Maisie is broke and is taken in by a nice guy u0026#39;Pappyu0026#39; Goodring (Allen Jenkings) and allowed to stay as his apartment building. Unfortunately, Maisie is yet another non-paying tenant and Goodring is in jeopardy of losing the place because he canu0026#39;t pay the mortgage. However, when another tenant, Marshall Denningham, moves in, things begin to look up. And, the more successful Denningham is selling his u0026#39;Sapphire Wateru0026#39;, the better things get between Goodring and the guy who keeps threatening to take the building (Donald Meek). Another huge plot involves an obnoxiously bad comic, u0026#39;Hapu0026#39; Hixby, with stage fright (Red Skelton). Maisie first becomes Hapu0026#39;s stage partner and soon things start to heat up between them off-stage as well. So whyu0026#39;s it called u0026quot;Maisie Gets Her Manu0026quot;? See the film and find out for yourself.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLike the rest of the films in the series, this one is entertaining and well made. Now I am NOT saying itu0026#39;s deep or will change your life–it is just light entertainment. But itu0026#39;s enjoyable and a worth addition to the series.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBy the way, although his role was small, it was sure nice to see Willie Best playing a non-offensive and non-stereotypical sort of role. Fans of old-time movies often would remember him for playing Stepinu0026#39; Fetchit-type roles in many films–the sort of characters that make most folks uncomfortable today. In fact, his character was pretty smart here!”