. . . (adjusted for inflation) yells at least 17 times. No, this is NOT a review for the latest season of THE APPRENTICE, but of a prophetic 1933 John Wayne flick in which "The Duke" marries himself (the logical next step after Gay Marriage) and his character's dad impersonates our U.S. President-Elect, The Trumpster. In one telling incident from HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY, Trumpenstein clone "Mr. Wallace" tells the title character to short-change his lawyers by 90% on their bill since they lost the case. The only New Yorker Today brassy enough to not only gyp most if not all of his building contractors and most if not all of his hourly employees (right down to his lowliest dishwasher) is that paragon of "New York Values," Donald J. Trump. And the first thing Trump stand-in Wallace Senior says to his secretly-honeymooning\moonlighting as his "private secretary" daughter-in-law is, "Take off your things," as if he's President T. auditioning for Known Wife Number Four. If Marion Mitchell Morrison (Il Duce) can marry "Marion Hall," why NOT toss a hint of incest into the stew, too?

This is a 60 minute low budget grade B comedy in which John Wayne plays second fiddle to Evelyn Napp. The 1933 depression sets and costumes would be considered amateur film making today. The film has never been remastered and has been public domain for so long the current Youtube print is actually clearer than the double feature DVD reissue as which it was last commercially marketed. The story is delightful romantic fantasy in which the illogical sets and costumes & poor home, work to enhance the fun. Wayne is interested in a ministers daughter and is dismissed by his wealthy tycoon dad for refusing to follow up on an unpaid outstanding loan taken by her grandfather. He sets up shop as a garage mechanic to win her then marries her without telling her he is rich. The title scene is played out as the way Napp gets Wayne's dad to accept his son marrying a woman whose family is not on the approved list. Interesting story and acting, poor quality reproduction and budget filmed project.

It would be a long time after this before John Wayne exchanged his cowboy hat for a suit and tie, and a horse for a beautiful woman. This low-budgeted comedy is sometimes difficult to watch because of the poor quality, but for the most part, it is fairly entertaining. Wayne plays a wealthy playboy forced by his domineering father (Reginald Barlow) to go to work, and in the process, he meets, falls in love with, and marries the granddaughter of a poor preacher. Pops doesn't want to meet his new daughter-in-law and disowns Wayne, but the wife (pretty Evelyn Knapp) gets the upper hand by going to work for Barlow as his new secretary. Not realizing who she really is, Barlow comes to depend on her, and actually becomes almost a human being when she is around. But what will happen when he learns the truth? Wayne and Knapp are charming, but Barlow's character is melodramatically stereotypical and one dimensional that the plot seems forced.

During a time when John Wayne was doing some B westerns and appearing in a few other films for Warner Brothers, he was apparently lent out to an independent outfit called Showmen's Pictures where he was the male lead in a comedy called His Private Secretary. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Granted that the film doesn't exactly have the production values that one would have associated with the major studios and it can't get a better rating from me because of that. Still the performances were not bad and the Duke did a fine job in this one.John Wayne plays the young playboy son of banker Reginald Barlow and all he has on his mind is chasing women. He's the despair of dear old dad who would like the Duke to just settle down in the family business. When he agrees to come to work, his first assignment is to get some deadbeat to cough up his loan money or foreclose. Remember this is the Great Depression and a lot of people were in similar circumstances. But in this case the deadbeat is minister Alec B. Francis who has a pretty granddaughter Evelyn Knapp and with the Duke it's always pleasure before business. Because Knapp doesn't immediately fall for his line and shows a serious side he's not seen in many women, Wayne is really taken with her. I think I need not say more because if you've seen thirties type comedies you know where this is heading.The interesting thing to speculate is if this film had been the product of one of the major studios and had been given production values and a distribution level commiserate with same, what kind of turn John Wayne's career might have taken.