Professional Sweetheart

Ginger Rodgers shines in a role that might have been written for Jean Harlow. She cracks wise, hurls insults, and dances around in her underwear. Zazu Pitts is priceless as the gushing and gullible small town reporter. Franklin Pangborn is more blatantly gay here than we normally get to see him. This movie touches on many aspects of celebrity that remain true to this day. The manipulation of a public image and the team of professionals that that requires. The all important "product", the selling of which is the reason for everything. This movie is also amazingly tolerant and socially progressive for it's time. The attractive black housekeeper's character is more of a friend to Ginger, who's footloose lifestyle she envies. Pangborn's character as one of her handlers is made obviously gay without degradation or judgement. Don't expect "Dinner at Eight", but "Professional Sweetheart" is sparkling and breezy pre-code fun!

Considering that this was Ginger Rogers' first film at RKO you'd have expected something better. Merian Cooper had just taken charge of RKO and consequently this film does have the art deco look and feel of that studio's subsequent output during his tenure such as the Fred and Ginger musicals. It might look ok and it actually starts off quite well but after about half an hour you realise that this is rubbish!

We're used to silly stories in these types of films but this one is so ridiculous with ridiculously one dimensional unrealistic characters, it just becomes annoying. Ginger Rogers' character is almost as unbelievable as the absurd management team who are almost as unbelievable as the stupid hillbilly (bizzarely called an Anglo-Saxon, even though he doesn't seem to be a Germanic tribesman?) Such shallow characters make it difficult to develop any empathy for any of them.

So the story is stupid, the characters are badly written but for some reason it's still reasonably amusing and entertaining. Logically you shouldn't watch this nonsense but once you start you inexplicably get hooked.

Lovely Romantic /Pre~Code Comedy. Watching Ginger dance in her lingerie was a sweet pre~code treat. Run time 69 min. Excellent cast features: Ginger Rogers, Norman Foster, ZaSu Pitts, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, Edgar Kennedy.A fun movie. I definitely recommend.Enjoy

... and by that I mean that from its beginnings, radio was very strict about the public persona of its radio stars, regardless of what they did in private. The year this film was made - 1933 - was the last full year in Hollywood where anything goes, although these films look like family fare by today's standards.

In this environment, Ginger Rogers is given a dynamite role that really shows her flair for comedy. She plays Glory Eden, "The Purity Girl", the face - and voice - of the Ipsy-Wipsy Wash Cloth radio show. However, in private, the purity girl is the last thing she wants to be. Glory wants to go to Harlem night clubs, smoke, drink, eat rich food, and most of all have some male companionship. So the sponsors decide to appease her and meet her half way. They start a contest looking for the "ideal Anglo Saxon" - the film's words, not mine. They come up with a real naïve hayseed (Norman Foster as Jim Davey). He's a farmer from Kentucky who actually believes Glory's public image is real. He returns to New York with the show's sponsor and now Glory can go out to more public places since she has an "official" male escort.

The one drawback to the film is you never see any real relationship form between the two. It's just suddenly there. Jim just asks Glory to marry him, she agrees - obviously from the heart, because she gives him a passionate kiss. Ipsy Wipsy head Samuel 'Sam' Ipswich claims he'll wait until after the wedding and as a PR stunt have Glory sign her new contract.

But things run amok. After the wedding Jim sees Glory's true colors and they are scarlet not pure white. He decides to kidnap her and take her back to Kentucky to make a "good woman" out of her. There is an absolutely hilarious wedding night scene once Jim has her back in Kentucky that I will just let you watch. Let's just say that these two are absolutely perfect together in this scene that could have not been possible after the production code a year later.

So now two competitors are looking for Glory - they think she's been kidnapped - and both want her to sign with them. At first they don't know where she's gone. How does this work out? I'll let you watch and find out.

This film would have been good with just Norman Foster and Ginger Rogers. It is made great by all of the character actors running around busily in the background. Zasu Pitts is a dizzy reporter, Gregory Ratoff as Samuel Ipswich was born to play the over excited boss who is destined to die of a heart attack and loves firing people, Allen Jenkins and Frank McHugh are the assistants to their frantic bosses, and Edgar Kennedy is Ipswich's competition, trying to track down Glory so he can sign her to his own radio program.

Best line of the film goes to Jim - "Please God, don't let her die! She's wicked, but I love her." Questions never resolved - Will Glory's maid get her own radio career? And what DID happen between Franklin Pangborn's character and Zasu Pitts when she found him in the closet without his pants? Enjoy this little piece of RKO zaniness. I know I did.

Count me with michaelprescott below in observing that the gurgling sound you hear 'bout a third of the way through this film is the pre code comic energy going down the proverbial drain. I would only add that the fact it occurs just as rather stolid leading man Norman Foster arrives on the scene is, in my opinion, no coincidence. Give it a C.