Government Girl (1943)

 

Government Girl - 1943

Coming up next we have 1943's "Government Girl", a film about a man who comes to Washington to do a job nobody knows how to do.  He's aided in this endeavor by a woman who hates him: his secretary.

The film's cast includes Olivia de Havilland, Sonny Tufts, Anne Shirley, Jess Barker, James Dunn, Paul Stewart, Agnes Moorehead, Harry Davenport, Una O'Connor, Sig Ruman, Jane Darwell, and Warren Hymer.

Elizabeth "Smokey" Allard is upset.  She's just found out that the room she's booked for a friend's wedding night is occupied.  When told the circumstances, the man won't vacate, and she is furious at his lack of consideration.

And she's definitely not happy the next morning when the only way for her to get to work is by motorcycle.  Not knowing how to operate one, she asks around.  To her dismay, the man from the previous evening volunteers.  Not knowing his way around Washington D.C., he asks her to give him directions as they go along.

What happens next is a wild ride through the streets of Washington D.C.

When they arrive at their destination, the War Construction Board, Smokey is fit to be tied, and she hopes never to see the man again.

It turns out that the man is Ed Browne.  He's being tasked by the government to supervise the building of bomber aircraft.

Smokey is completely shocked and dismayed when she finds out that she will be Mr. Browne's secretary.

Mr. Browne begins to tell Smokey his plan for producing the bombers.  He's going to double the number produced, as well as make the factories more effective.  Smokey cautions him about straying too far from government recommendations.

Smokey finds out during a lunch with a friend that the powerful Senator MacVickers is running an investigative committee about goings on in Washington.

Finding herself coming around to Mr. Browne, Smokey starts trying to educate him in the way that Washington works.

He is invited to a reception by society hostess Mrs. Adele Wright.  There, Mr. Browne and Smokey rub shoulders with Washington elite, including Senator MacVickers.  Mr. Browne says, "I can't find out how to get things done in Washington."  The senator smiles and says, "I've been trying to find that out for the last thirty years."

Things get touch for Mr. Browne.  He's accused of cutting corners with his bombers, and some among the Washington elite are looking for a scapegoat.  They actively plot his downfall.

Mr. Browne, however, has other things on his mind.  He's fallen for Smokey, and he is looking for ways to make himself better husband material.

Smokey has fallen for him, too...in a big way.  She even burns evidence that could hurt Mr. Browne in front of Senator MacVickers' committee.

She and her friend are asked by the government to help uncover a spy.  They are successful, and Smokey is able to return some files that Mr. Browne has been "accused" of stealing.

Still, Mr. Browne must face the senator's committee.  Things aren't going well at first, but then Smokey arrives on the scene.  She tells the senator that she's been deliberately kept from the proceedings by the prosecutor.  She gives an impassioned speech, and leaves the meeting.

Naturally, things turn out all right.  When Smokey sees him afterwards, she exclaims, "Oh, Mr. Browne!"  He responds, "Listen, if you ever call me Mr. Browne again, I'm gonna grab ya...and....and kiss ya."  Smokey smiles and exclaims again, "Oh, Mr. Browne!"  They fall into each other's arms.

Cast rundown:

   Olivia de Havilland......................Elizabeth "Smokey" Allard

   Sonny Tufts................................Ed Browne

   Anne Shirley...............................Mary Harness Blake

   Jess Barker.................................Dana McGuire

   James Dunn...............................Sergeant Joe Blake

   Paul Stewart...............................Branch Owens

   Agnes Moorehead........................Mrs. Adele Wright

   Harry Davenport..........................Senator MacVickers

   Una O'Connor..............................Mrs. Harris

   Sig Ruman.................................Ambassador

   Jane Darwell...............................Miss Trask

   Warren Hymer.............................Military Police Sergeant

And that's all for Government Girl.  Both Barbara Stanwyck and Ginger Rogers turned down the role of Smokey before it was assigned to Olivia de Havilland.  In the midst of legal disputes that resulted in the "de Havilland law", Olivia stated that she felt she was being punished and did not enjoy the role.

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