Members of a well-to-do small community become worried when it is revealed that one of their maids is writing a telling exposé.Members of a well-to-do small community become worried when it is revealed that one of their maids is writing a telling exposé.Members of a well-to-do small community become worried when it is revealed that one of their maids is writing a telling exposé.
Norman Abbott
- Newsboy
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film was not successful at the box office, resulting in a loss of $42,000 ($744,000 in 2023) according to studio records.
- GoofsWhen Martha is drawing a face on the soaped window, in the long shot of her doing so it is quite simple, but in the next closeup shot the figure is much more complicated and complete as she's looking through it.
- Quotes
Mrs. McKessic: Well, bust my britches!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity (2015)
Featured review
I've been tracking down films written by Isobel Lennart, so although I wasn't completely surprised by how charming this film is, most viewers will be since it's so obscure. This brief B-comedy opens with many splendid characters and zany complications, reminiscent of a Preston Sturges film without quite hitting that height. (There's even a "hep" kid sister that reminds me of Diana Lynn in Sturges' masterpiece "Miracle of Morgan's Creek," although I think that came out a couple of years later. In fact, "Martha" even has a drunken overnight marriage!) The comic actors--Spring Byington, Margaret Hamilton, Marjorie Main, etc.--give full-throttle readings in even brief roles, down to glances and gestures. What I perceive as typically Lennart touches: the opening "union" meetings of the maids and the matrons, who each vow to "stick together" ("One for one and all for all!" says the Swedish maid); and the appearance of the lonely, oddly touching and philosophical beach worker (shades of the character Pop in "Skirts Ahoy"). And Martha's motives in writing her book, also typically, are not selfish; she's not writing a scandalous expose as they fear but an expression of how much she likes them. Interesting that it's about a misunderstood woman writer! It's an early script for her and she co-wrote it, which may explain why there are easy stock characters and selfish negative ones (like the fiancee) who are shut out of the community instead of being recuperated.
- michael.e.barrett
- Apr 2, 2001
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
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- Also known as
- Once Upon a Thursday
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Box office
- Budget
- $240,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was The Affairs of Martha (1942) officially released in Canada in English?
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