Mary Astor had started in silent films, and was probably best known for "Maltese Falcon". It was refreshing to see a woman of that time not use the annoying baby voice to trick men into getting her things, as many of the films of the time did. At the office, she supports her boss, and knows that some day he will be the president, and she can be the power behind the throne. They finally do go on a date, but then things get complicated. Co-stars Ricardo Cortez and Robert Ames. Ames only made a couple more films and drank himself to death. This one is pretty good. Directed by Melville Brown for RKO. Shows on Epix channel.

.....especially if she is surrounded by such dim witted men!!!! First of all there's Ronnie Wales (Ricardo Cortez) - he is attracted to Mary but will never divorce his wealthy wife as she controls the money. Then there is the man Mary (Mary Astor) really loves - Jim Duneen (Robert Ames) an idiot par excellence. He's crass, vulgar, always drunk and attracted to dopey flappers - which is why he is not interested in Mary. She is a super efficient girl Friday for Ritter and Co. and Jim is their top salesman. When their boss retires, due to ill health, he takes on board Mary's suggestion that Jim will be perfect to fill his place. He more than fulfills the faith Mary has in him - but does he really??? Although he takes all the credit, it is really Mary's efficiency and business sense that keeps the company at the top. She also teaches him how to talk and how to dress until he catches the eye of Ellen (Catherine Dale Owen), a wealthy society woman.Was Catherine Dale Owen the worst actress of that time - or was there another one!!! She said her lines as though she was playing in a 1929 talkie - not one from 1931!! Slowly, deliberately and enunciating every word. There was a scene between her and Mary Astor (one of the best actresses) - Mary was her beautiful, natural self but Catherine was all "Grand Dame". As John Springer once wrote - "Perhaps it wasn't John Gilbert's fault that he seemed ludicrous in his first talkie, after all, his leading lady was Catherine Dale Owen"!!!Ellen finds out that Mary loves Jim and forces her to leave the company - of course the place falls apart. The secretary that Jim has installed (Edna Murphy), one of his flings, almost burns his house down by falling asleep with a lighted cigarette!!! The ending is very disappointing but apart from that, the movie has lots of pre-code moments. When Mary rings Jim at midnight, they both happen to be "entertaining" and when Mary goes to Atlantic City with Ronnie, the complete casualness, as they both lounge about in peignoirs and smoking jackets!! There is one scene that makes the movie worthwhile - it is when Mary resigns and finally sees her path in life clearly (or so she thinks). She puts all her energy into this one little speech and she is just great!!!I like Mary Astor so much. In a sea of platinum blondes she stood out like a beacon with her calm dark beauty and poise. That's why the ending was so silly - Mary was far too smart to make the decision she did. Leaving her "damsel in distress" period with the silents, she entered the thirties with a variety of roles. She was always perfect as the quiet dependable wife, friend and secretary with ripples of sensuality just below the surface. Robert Ames, who seemed to excel a bit too much as the "boozey boss", was an actor that Radio Pictures had a lot of faith in, but in real life he was a hopeless alcoholic who died the same year (1931) of the D.T.s.Recommended.

Terrific little film that stars Mary Astor as a go-getter who works her way up as a struggling paper company, but when the owner has to sell for health reasons, she comes up with a scheme for the employees to buy the company with a jerk salesman (Robert Ames) as the "front" even though she is the brains.Of course he becomes a big success and she becomes his executive secretary, basically still running everything and teaching him class. She loves the dope, but he never catches on as he fools around with a string of bimbos. She is chased by a married but separated man, Ricardo Cortez, who isn't free. But when a society gal catches Ames, everything goes to hell.Astor is just wonderful as the too-smart woman who almost makes a huge mistake after she loses her man. Ames is good as the jerk (but what does she see in him?), and Cortez is good but doesn't have much to do. Kitty Kelly is good as the sidekick, Dolores. Charles Sellon is the original owner, Cather Dale Owen is the society babe, and Edna Murphy is funny as Daisy.Worth a look.

This pre-code film is not quite as daring as other precode Hollywood movies, but it holds up very well today and is quite enjoyable.Mary Astor plays a receptionsit at a paper mill company. She has her eye on Robert Ames, a young salesman with the company. When the boss is forced to retire, Mary Astor pushes for Robert Ames to take the job, and when he does, Mary is promoted to being his secretary. She is secretly in love with him, only he never seems to notice. As he rises in the company Mary Astor is constantly by his side, giving good business advice as well as advice in his personal life. When Ames marries someone else, Astor is so upset he quits, and the company begins to fall apart.Mary Astor, I feel, has never quite gotten her due in film history. She is a wonderful actress, and watching her in a film role, you are assured you will get a natural performance that will hold up as well as if it had been shot yesterday.Robert Ames, a former stage actor, is quite good in the role. Ames died shortly after this film. His death was thought at first to have been caused by foul play, but it was determined he had died from too much drinking.