With a den of wolves outside his office door, the aging Charles Winninger remains locked inside, that is until a pretty young architect (Miriam Hopkins) innocently gets rid of all the debt collectors who have been waiting for him to make an appearance. She has a letter of introduction (from herself) but unfortunately, as much as he'd like to, he can't hire her. His son (Joel McCrea) who is off on a cruise with his gold-digging fiancée (Leona Maricle) and the man claiming to be her uncle (Eric Rhodes) whom she really loves. When they get back, McCrea finds Hopkins as the absent Winninger's secretary and Broderick Crawford as a bumbling butler and feisty Ella Logan the cook/maid. He has no idea that Winninger is hiding out, hoping that Hopkins will get McCrea to sign a check so he can go ahead with a real estate project he promises Hopkins can design if she carries out her part of the deal.Oh, did I forget to mention that McCrea's practically a tea-totaler, having only one glass of champagne since more than one drink makes him a free-for-all with his checkbook? Revealing this innocently to both Maricle and Hopkins, this sets a scheme up for the two of them to get their hands on his John Hancock. Mixing both champagne and brandy sets McCrea up for a fall, and before long, he's lounging in a tree with Hopkins as the new servants and the gold diggers try to get to McCrea first. Sort of a reverse in screwball comedy since the heroine is usually the heiress, this shows Hopkins at her screwball best and is just another indication how much she resembled fellow former drama queen Constance Bennett who the same year as this was committing ghostly laughs in "Topper".Once again, McCrea shows his versatility, going from studious and serious to a delightfully seemingly sober drunk who still sees two fingers as three and is willing to buy everybody the world. Winninger is a delightful old codger whom you want to see get everything he desires from his son even if his inventions are wackier than Dick Van Dyke's in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". (Wait until you see the machine that helps you sign five checks at a time!) As for Maricle and Rhodes, the only love they seem to really have is the love of the green. Logan and Broderick are delightfully bumbling as the servants, and it is a great rare opportunity to see Logan who would go on to Broadway history as the originator of the Broadway standard "How are Things in Glocca Mora?" in "Finian's Rainbow".Although rather mild entertainment in the screwball comedy genre, "Woman Chases Man" speeds by at a frantic pace at just over 70 minutes. Even if her character does seem at times to be interested purely in McCrea's money, it is her you want to get it, not the obvious Maricle. When it comes to these classic comedy blonde heroines, all their methods of wacky schemes are worth it, even if nothing is sacred!

I have mixed feelings about this film, and perhaps that can be explained mostly by somewhat of an aversion I have against Miriam Hopkins. Mostly I dislike her performances, although every once in a while she seems to be just right for a part. For example, "These Three", "The Children's' Hour", and some of her films with Bette Davis are the exceptions, when I enjoy her performances. In "Woman Chases Man", I think she did a decent job of playing a scheming woman who is out to bilk a man (Joel McCrea), but also protecting him (out of a growing love) from another woman is attempting to bilk him.Probably because of his preference later in his career to concentrate on Westerns, Joel McCrae is a much underrated actor, and demonstrated here...though this is hardly his best role (watch instead, for example, "Foreign Correspondent").Charles Winninger as the McCrae's father is quite good here, and it's a hoot seeing Broderick Crawford playing a slightly crooked butler.The story -- a former millionaire and his wealthy son have differences about how to spend the family fortune -- is funny, and occasionally a tad silly...but I guess that's what screwball comedies are supposed to be. Some of the dialog is pretty clever, other times it devolves into being foolish, but overall it's a pretty good story.Recommended for a watch, but it probably won't end up on your DVD shelf.

Woman Chases Man (1937) ** (out of 4) Screwball comedy has a father (Charles Winninger) trying to get $100,000 from his son (Joel McCrea) but when the son refuses the father hires a young woman (Miriam Hopkins) to try and lure it from him. This is a rather strange film because it doesn't work as a comedy at all. In fact, I don't recall laughing a single time but the two leads keep things moving along and makes for a great couple but it's a shame the screenplay doesn't do them justice. McCrea comes off a tad bit too straight-forward but this works well against the more free-spirited Hopkins who is incredibly charming in her role. The supporting cast doesn't add too much and the ending is very predictable but fans of the two stars might be interested.

Only faithful fans of MIRIAM HOPKINS or JOEL McCREA could possibly want to sit through this screwball comedy full of impossible situations and banal dialog.Fast talking Hopkins is an architect (c'mon, that's what it says) full of pep talk when she schemes her way into CHARLES WINNINGER's office to sell him on her wonderful housing designs. (How many times has Winninger played a daffy millionaire in '30s endless parade of screwball comedies???).He admits the plans look great--but the hitch is he's no longer a millionaire having lost all his money on crazy schemes. But wait. He's got a son (JOEL McCREA), more sensible than him who's got lots of money. All it's going to take is for someone (like Miriam maybe?) to separate him from it so they can go ahead with her plans to make Hopkins and Winninger rich.That's about it for starters. But it gets even sillier once Winninger takes her to his home (after she's fainted a couple of times because the poor thing hasn't eaten in 49 hours). And once ERIC RHODES, BRODERICK CRAWFORD and ELLA LOGAN enter the scene, it gets sillier and more improbable with each dubious remark.Hopkins is photographed attractively and puts a lot of spirit into playing a ditsy architect, but it's obvious from the start that this is not going to go down as one of the best screwball comedies of the '30s--not by a long stretch.Winninger seems to be doing a warm-up for his other millionaire role in HARD TO GET ('38), again involved with an architect (DICK POWELL) and the scatterbrained daughter (OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND) who wants to get revenge on Powell for his mistreatment of her. He spent a lot of time in the '30s and '40s playing daffy millionaires who ruled over nutsy, filthy rich households.Summing up: Not worth a peek.