Wyndham Standing has a construction firm and a pretty wife, Grace Darmond. He also has a pretty secretary, Derelys Perdue, who's a fine office manager. Standing is devoted to his business and his wife. Miss Perdue is dedicated to Mr. Standing's business and Mickey McBan, the child of the janitor of the building she lives in. Miss Darmond is devoted to enjoying all the money she thinks Mr. Standing has; in reality his current project has him stretched very thin, and he needs to bring in his current project under budget and schedule or declare bankruptcy.
It is, in short, one of those wife-versus-secretary movies, in which the wife comes off poorly. In the hands of a great director with a good budget and top performers, this can be a very entertaining movie that has something to say about the decay of marriage. Alas, Emile Chautard is no Demille, the screenwriters are more interested in stacking the deck in Miss Perdue's favor, the budget is a step above Gower Gulch, and the performers, while always competent, have no noticeable star power. There is no Demille extravaganza, no real humor, and no subtlety. It's the sort of movie that was never intended to play the movie palaces, but would be expected to make its money in the small towns.
That may well be a little harsh, but the final, reel, in which the situations are resolved, is missing in its entirety. That lack of an ending may lower my opinion of what survives, but it looks like it can go one of two ways, both of them utterly conventional I'd rather look at a Demille extravaganza for a third or fourth time.
It is, in short, one of those wife-versus-secretary movies, in which the wife comes off poorly. In the hands of a great director with a good budget and top performers, this can be a very entertaining movie that has something to say about the decay of marriage. Alas, Emile Chautard is no Demille, the screenwriters are more interested in stacking the deck in Miss Perdue's favor, the budget is a step above Gower Gulch, and the performers, while always competent, have no noticeable star power. There is no Demille extravaganza, no real humor, and no subtlety. It's the sort of movie that was never intended to play the movie palaces, but would be expected to make its money in the small towns.
That may well be a little harsh, but the final, reel, in which the situations are resolved, is missing in its entirety. That lack of an ending may lower my opinion of what survives, but it looks like it can go one of two ways, both of them utterly conventional I'd rather look at a Demille extravaganza for a third or fourth time.
