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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One Way Passage (1932)

One Way Passage - 1932

Today's film is "One Way Passage" from 1932.  It stars William Powell, a great favorite of mine, and Kay Francis.  The two meet in a bar in Hong Kong, and unbeknownst to each other are traveling on the same liner to San Francisco, with a stopover in Honolulu.  Their love story is instant.  The moment they meet each other nothing else matters.  Powell plays Dan, a condemned murderer on his way to a hangman's noose in San Francisco.  Kay Francis plays Joan, a terminally ill young woman who is fighting to have her last days filled with happiness.

The supporting cast includes Aline MacMahon, Frank McHugh, Warren Hymer, Willie Fung, and Roscoe Karns.

Their first meeting takes place at a bar in Hong Kong, and happens quite by accident.  She accidentally bumps him, causing him to spill his drink.  "There seems to be a few drops left," he says after she apologizes.  "Always the most precious, the last few drops," Joan says.  "That's luck."  They drink while gazing into each other's eyes.

When they finish their drink, they break the glasses and lay the stems on top of each other.  They part company, not knowing that they will soon meet again.

Dan is later arrested for murder by a detective and handcuffed to his side.  He breaks away from the detective by jumping overboard, handcuffed to the detective but aware of where he keeps the key.  He saves the detectives life.  Sgt. Steve Burke is so grateful he lets Dan stay uncuffed for the rest of the cruise.  While in the water, he looks up at the deck of the ship and catches a glimpse of Joan.  He scours the ship looking for her, and when he thinks he's lost his chance at finding her, she taps him on the back and they share a drink.

Once again, they break the glasses, leaving the stems crossed on the bar.

A shipboard romance ensues.  The two spend every moment of the next four weeks together, falling in love.

Dan even dodges his detective and manages to get in some sightseeing in Honolulu.  While there, he makes plans to ditch the ship entirely and books passage on another ship heading the opposite way.  Before he gets the chance to, Joan collapses, and Dan makes the decision to see her to the safety of their ship and her doctor.  Joan's doctor tells Dan that she is very dangerously ill and needs absolute rest if she's to make it to the mainland alive.  Dan comes clean to the doctor about his future, and says he must tell her.  The doctor counsels him not to shock her, for it will kill her.

On the last day of the cruise, they share a farewell drink.  "Remember our first?" Joan asks.  "We thought it was our last," Dan says.  "You never can tell."  

They once again break their glasses and cross the stems.  They part company after saying they want to see in the New Year in Agua Caliente, Mexico, both knowing they will never make it.  Joan overhears a porter talking about how Dan is a murderer and runs to find him.  After saying farewell to him one last time at the gangplank, she collapses into her doctor's arms as Dan is led away by the detective to San Quentin and his eventual execution.

Fast forward a month, and the New Year's celebrations are going strong in Agua Caliente.  The nightclub is crowded with people.  The camera moves to the bar where two bartenders are talking and they hear a crash of glass.

The bartenders turn around to see two cocktail glasses broken and the stems crossed.

A few seconds later, the glasses vanish.

Cast rundown:

   William Powell........................................Dan Hardesty

   Kay Francis............................................Joan Ames

   Aline MacMahon......................................Betty

   Frank McHugh........................................Skippy

   Warren Hymer........................................Sgt. Steve Burke

   Willie Fung.............................................Hong Kong Curio Dealer

   Roscoe Karns.........................................S.S. Maloa Bartender

That's a wrap for One Way Passage.  The film is absolutely beautiful.  From the moment Dan and Joan meet you are drawn in to their love story.  It was given the Academy Award for Best Story, and it is so well-deserved.

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