Ann Sothern Movies
Born Harriet Lake, the name under which she was billed until 1933, Sothern debuted onscreen in 1929 in a bit part, and went on to play small roles in several other films before leaving Hollywood for Broadway. She soon began landing leads, bringing another invitation from Hollywood. She signed a screen contract and changed her name, then began a very busy film career as the light-hearted heroine of B-movies. In 1939, Sothern switched studios and achieved greater popularity as the star of the "Maisie" comedy-adventure series; she appeared as the energetic, scatterbrained Maisie in ten films during the next eight years. She also appeared in musicals, in which her good voice and comedic talents were displayed. Never a major screen star, she became most popular after switching to TV; she starred in the TV series Private Secretary and The Ann Sothern Show. She went on to tour with stage musicals, then returned to the screen in occasional character roles after 1964. For her work in The Whales of August (1987), her most recent film to date, she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. From 1936-42 she was married to actor Roger Pryor and from 1943-49 she was married to actor Robert Sterling. Her daughter is actress Tisha Sterling, with whom she appeared in Crazy Mama (1975) and The Whales of August (1987); in the latter, Sterling played Sothern's character as a young woman. ~ All Movie Guide- 1940
The 1922 George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly play Dulcy was based on a delightful character created by columnist Franklin P. Adams: Archetypal "dumb wife" Dulcinea, who continually spouted cliches like "There's never a policeman around when you need one" and "Don't take any wooden nickels." Lynn Fontanne created the role of Dulcy on stage, followed in 1923 by Constance Talmadge in the first screen version, then by Marion Davies in 1929's Not So Dumb, the first talkie version of the Kaufman-Connelly comedy. This 1940 remake stars Ann Sothern as dizzy Dulcy, who hopes to improve her aviator boyfriend Gordon Daly's (Ian Hunter) business prospects by holding a fancy dinner party. The result is a disaster, but the introduction into the plotline of a Chinese war orphan (intended as a timely touch) solves everyone's problems. Like the original play, the film is stolen by Dulcy's ex-con butler, here played by "Big Boy" Williams. A very young Hans Conried has a cute running gag as a saturnine author, whose ongoing efforts to find solitude in a canoe are continually (and literally) scuttled by the zany Dulcy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Ian Hunter, (more)
- 1940
This third installment in MGM's "Maisie" series finds eternally stranded showgirl Maisie Revere (Ann Sothern) stuck in a deserted mining camp. Here she links up with Davises, an impoverished migrant family which hopes to strike gold somewhere in the neighboring hills. Their efforts are resisted by hard-hearted local rancher Bill Anders (Lee Bowman), who orders the family off his property. With Maisie's assistance, the Davises are offered the opportunity to launch a cooperative farming project, with Anders' blessing. Evidently inspired by The Grapes of Wrath, Gold Rush Maisie is hardly in the same league, but it passes the time painlessly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Lee Bowman, (more)
- 1939
In this romance, a young woman journeys from Syracuse to New York to see her sweetheart, a prominent architect. She is bitterly disappointed to discover that he has lost interest in her. The residents of the women's hotel at which she stays offer the heartbroken lass words of encouragement. They tell her to take a stand and to show him what he is missing. She takes their advice and becomes a renowned fashion model. Naturally this piques the designer's interest and he wishes to court her anew. Of course, she by then has many suitors, so he must really work to win her back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell, (more)
- 1939
Maisie stars Ann Sothern as a worldly showgirl stranded in Wyoming when her show fails. She accepts a job at a carnival shooting gallery, where she meets the handsome foreman (Robert Young) of a lavish ranch -- and is promptly accused of picking the man's pocket. Despite this rocky beginning, Maisie grows fond of the foreman, clearing him of a murder charge (she proves that the victim committed suicide). The wisecracking, street-smart Maisie is on the verge of settling down on the Wyoming ranch at fade-out time. She must have had a change of heart, since Maisie was the first of ten MGM B-pictures featuring Ann Sothern as Maisie Ravier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1939
This Damon Runyon yarn features William Gargan and Ann Sothern as Brooklynites Joe and Ethel Turp. The Turps are up in arms when their faithful old mailman (Walter Brennan) is fired. Unable to get satisfaction on a municipal level, Joe and Ethel plead their mailman's case to the President himself--not Roosevelt, of course, but MGM's idea of a president, as played by Lewis "Judge Hardy" Stone. Joe Turp gilds the lily by giving the President some Brooklynese advice on how to deal with certain foreign dictators. Joe and Ethel Turp Call on The President is at its best in its flashback sequences, depicting the aged Walter Brennan as a handsome young man (with teeth!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Walter Brennan, (more)
- 1939
Harry Kurnitz' fictional book-dealer/detectives Joel and Garda Sloane appeared in three MGM "B"s of the late 1930s, each with different stars in the leads. Fast and Furious, the last of the mini-series, featured Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern as the Sloanes. The couple attends a seaside beauty contest, where a murder occurs. As Joel Sloane tries to solve the mystery, he is hindered by Garda, who isn't too keen on the many bathing belles present. Unlike the previous Sloane mysteries, no rare books are involved in the crime, and the film more closely resembles a pocket-edition Thin Man. Fast and Furious was directed by none other than Busby Berkeley, proving he was just as adept with corpses as with chorus girls. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1938
Joan Bennett plays a young woman who believes she's killed bigtime crook Sidney Blackmer. She changes her hair color from blonde to brunette and escapes from San Francisco to parts unknown. Police detective Fredric March is hired to track down Bennett, which he does in the company of two assistants, wisecracking Ann Sothern and dimwitted Ralph Bellamy. March's chase takes him all over the world (courtesy of back-projected shots of Tay Garnett's recent worldwide vacation); when he catches up with Bennett, he falls in love with her. Still, when they reach Frisco again, March turns Bennett in to the authorities, convincing Bellamy and Sothern that their boss is a no-good rat. But it's actually a clever ploy by March to bring the real murderer out in the open. Trade Winds was produced by Joan Bennett's future husband Walter Wanger, who noted the popularity of Bennett's new brunette status and advised her to stay that way...which she did. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fredric March, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1938
In this comedy, a woman is left destitute after her father dies. To make ends meet, she begins working as a secretary to a wealthy fellow. Soon the two fall in love and begin planning their wedding, much to the delight of the woman's creditors. When her fiancé learns that she is deeply in debt, he begins questioning her true motives for marrying him. He ends up putting off the union. The plucky lass then becomes determined to prove that she does indeed love him for himself. Mayhem ensues, but romance prevails. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1937
Super Sleuth stars Jack Oakie as an egotistical movie actor who specializes in detective roles. Despite the gentle remonstrations of his girl friend (Ann Sothern), Oakie fancies himself a genuine master sleuth, and in this capacity offers his services to the law in helping to solve a recent series of "poison pen" murders. In truth, Oakie is so dense that he can't figure out that the seemingly benign criminologist (Eduardo Cianelli), who supplies him technical information on his film roles, is the actual murderer. Edgar Kennedy, the real detective on the case, solves the mystery himself, but not before Oakie is nearly bumped off in the criminologist's "chamber of horrors." Super Sleuth was ineptly remade in 1946 as Genius at Work, a vehicle for RKO's prefabricated comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1937
The Dangerous Number of the title is madcap showgirl Elinor (Ann Sothern). Notorious throughout Manhattan for her zany antics, Elinor is also quite a handful for her conservative husband Hank (Robert Young). In addition, Hank must contend with the heroine's flamboyant ex-burlesque queen mother Gypsey (Cora Witherspoon). Not that Hank's family is anything to write home about; the most eccentric member of his clan is cousin William (Reginald Owen), who has lost one girlfriend after another because he refuses to shave off his beard. Trying very, very hard to qualify as a "screwball" comedy, Dangerous Number succeeds about three-fourths of the time. PS: This was Ann Sothern's first starring assignment at MGM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Young, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1937
Don Ameche is called upon to testify in his married friends' divorce case. Unwilling to take sides, he skips town and hides out at a country inn. A young girl (Ann Sothern) stumbles into Ameche's rural hideaway; she thinks he's an escaped gangster, while he thinks she's a process server. The local sheriff (John Qualen), who also believes Ameche is a gangster, converges on the inn during a snowstorm. Trapped inside by the snow and by the deputies, Ameche and Sothern fall in love. The real gangster (Douglas Fowley) is captured and there's smiles all around at "The End" time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1937
In this screwball comedy, a fresh-out-of-college fellow heads for the gold fields of Alaska to find his fortune. He is gone for a long time. He returns to marry his girl friend and is dismayed to discover that she is no longer interested him. When her mother learns that the fellow has struck it rich, she changes her daughter's mind. Unfortunately, the young man has become enamored of the girl's little sister. Catastrophic sibling rivalry ensues as the women vie for the young man's affection. Meanwhile, the fellow's prospector friend tries to mediate and calm things down. In the end, the young man gets the best woman and happiness ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith, (more)
- 1937
In this comedy, the shady editor of a newspaper does all he can to keep his best reporter from marrying a journalist from a rival paper. In spite of the editor, the wedding day finally comes. The happy couple is at the alter when suddenly the woman gets news of a big scoop. Without a backward glance she leaves her groom to get the story first. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1937
An airy screwball comedy, Danger--Love at Work explores the lives of a wealthy but wacky family. Ann Sothern plays the daughter, the only remotely "normal" member of the clan. Poor Jack Haley enters the scene as a feckless attorney who tries to get the family to finalize an important land deal. Sothern falls for Haley, and through the machinations of her looney parents the timorous lawyer winds up the object of a "shotgun wedding." The amusing but inconsequential Danger--Love at Work was the second American film of director Otto Preminger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Jack Haley, (more)
- 1936
Hell-Ship Morgan (George Bancroft) is the brawny skipper of a small fishing schooner. Supplying fish for a San Francisco cannery, Morgan works hard and relaxes even harder, boasting not one but several girls in every port. Our hero's roving days come to an end when he marries Mary (Ann Sothern), who agrees to a honeymoon on Morgan's schooner. Once on the high seas, Mary can't help but fall in love with Morgan's first mate Jim (Victor Jory), but before Morgan can take retaliatory action, the tiny vessel is hit by a hurricane. In trying to save his crew from drowning, Morgan is crippled for life. Realizing now that he will never be a "complete" husband to Mary, he obligingly removes himself from the scene in a startlingly abrupt and permanent manner. A mainstay of early television, Hell-Ship Morgan is one of a handful of Columbia programmers currently available on the public-domain videocassette market. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Bancroft, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1936
In this drama, an honest gambler tries to go straight. Although the gambling house he runs is illegal, the man insists that all house games be on the up-and-up. Trouble ensues when his wife demands he shut down the house to protect the good name of their newborn baby. He gives in and sells the house. Unfortunately he is soon conned out of his cash by an investment swindler. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Bruce Cabot, (more)
- 1936
Ann Sothern essays the title role in My American Wife. The story opens in Smelter City, Arizona, where the richest man in town is grizzled old Indian fighter Lafe Cantillon (Fred Stone). Lafe's social-climbing sister-in-law (Billie Burke) insists that her daughter Mary wed a titled European, Count Ferdinand (Francis Lederer). Much to Lafe's delight, Mary isn't assimilated into Continental high society; instead, she instructs Count Ferdinand in the virtues of good, old-fashioned American democracy. And, of, course, the Count and Lafe become great chums when the "furriner" proves that he can ride a bucking bronco with the best of 'em. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Lederer, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1936
Ann Sothern is a magazine model looking for a rich husband. Wealthy Gene Raymond attends a photo shoot; Sothern mistakes him for a male model and resists his advances. Eventually she falls for Raymond and decides to cease her search for quick wealth. The story resolves itself in a fast-moving hotel lobby climax, with misunderstandings piling up like dirty laundry. Smartest Girl in Town was one of Ann Sothern's shortest vehicles, zipping along at a mere 57 minutes but still getting top-of-the-bill bookings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, (more)
- 1936
In this musical comedy, a strong-willed young woman hires a student to impersonate a boorish French count and brings him home to meet her parents. She wants him to be as appalling as possible so they will hate him and allow her to date the man she really loves who has recently been divorced. Romantic mayhem ensues as she finds herself really falling for the student. Songs include: "Cabin on a Hilltop" (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby), "Let's Make a Wish," and "My Heart Wants to Dance" (Kalmar, Ruby, Sid Silvers). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1936
Gangster boss Beau Gardner (Douglass Dumbrille) isn't happy about the things being said about him on the radio station owned by J. J. Held (Berton Churchill). Using his influence, Gardner is able to shut down Held's operation, but he can't wipe out an entire radio network. Thus, he uses hot-shot broadcast engineer Neil Bennett (Lloyd Nolan) as an innocent dupe in a scheme to jam all radio transmissions within shouting distance. Bennett finally manages to enlist the aid of the U.S. Navy to strike a blow for freedom of the airwaves. And how does Ann Sothern fit into all this? Simple: she plays Bennett's sweetheart Fay Stevens, who happens to be a singer at Garner's nightclub. You May Be Next was also released as Panic on the Air, Calling All G-Men and Trapped by Wireless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Lloyd Nolan, (more)
- 1935
Insurance investigator Tom Fletcher (Edmund Lowe) is hot on the trail of an arsonist (please excuse the pun). He is helped along by his dedicated assistant John Grayson (Onslow Stevens), and to a lesser extent by Fire Chief Mulligan (Robert Middlemass). Because Fletcher always demands a huge fee for his services, he finds himself one of the suspects in this latest rash of deliberate fires. A surprise plot-twist puts Fletcher and heroine Adrienne Martin (Ann Sothern) on the scent of the real firebug. This modest Columbia production was distinguished by several spectacular conflagrations, all of which quickly found their way into the studio's stock-footage files. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1935
Steamship captain Steve Andrews (Ralph Bellamy) is demoted to second officer when Marge Walker (Ann Sothern), daughter of Steve's boss, insists that her boyfriend Roy Dale (John Buckler) be put in charge of the ship. Dale's first assignment is to deliver a valuable cargo to Shanghai within a designated date. Marge stows away on board to be nearer to Dale, which earns her the unbridled scorn of the embittered Steve. During a violent storm at sea, Dale panics and leaves his post, obliging Steve to take over command of the ship. As a result, it is Steve who guides the vessel safely to Shanghai -- and instead of being brought up on charges of mutiny, he wins the love of Marge at fade-out time. Here as elsewhere, Ralph Bellamy and Ann Sothern work so well together that one might assume they were married in real life (which they weren't). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1935
Ann Sothern and Jack Haley star in this inconsequential little musical. Haley is a struggling playwright of minimal talent, whose latest play is miraculously selected for a Broadway berth by producer Roger Pryor. The problem: Pryor isn't a producer at all, but an out-of-work actor anxious to get into anyone's play, even Haley's. After several ups and downs, the play actually makes it to Broadway, where it is regarded as the ultimate in ridiculous comedy and becomes a success! It would be stretching things to suggest that this was the inspiration for Mel Brooks' similarly plotted The Producers, since the backstage legend of a flop play becoming an accidental hit is as old as the Theatre itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Jack Haley, (more)
- 1935
This French-language version of the 1935 Hollywood musical Folies Bergere retains the original star (Maurice Chevalier) and director (Roy Del Ruth) and Busby Berkeley's big-scale production numbers. It also follows substantially the same plot: A nightclub entertainer (Chevalier), is hired to pose as his look-alike (also Chevalier), a prominent aviation tycoon. The masquerade causes consternation for the entertainer's girlfriend, who of course has no idea what's going on, and for the tycoon's wife, who can't understand why her cold-fish husband has suddenly become so warm and demonstrative. Beyond the obvious language change, the major differences between the two Folies Bergeres are found in their supporting casts: for example, Natalie Paley plays the tycoon's spouse role originally essayed by Merle Oberon, while Sim Viva, as the girlfriend, fills the dancing shoes of the English-language version's Ann Sothern. Folies Bergere served as the basis for two future 20th Century-Fox musicals, That Night in Rio and On the Riviera, neither of which were released in French versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Chevalier, Ann Sothern, (more)
- 1935
Obviously filmed on a tight budget, RKO Radio's Hooray for Love nevertheless has as much sheer entertainment value as any high-priced Busby Berkeley spectacular. Gene Raymond plays Doug, a college boy who aspires to become a Broadway producer. With reluctant songstress Pat (Ann Sothern) as his star, Doug stages a big-time revue, financed by Pat's father, a seedy con artist known as the Commodore (Thurston Hall). When it turns out that The Commoder hasn't a cent to his name, Doug is tossed into jail, but salvation is at hand in the form of a wealthy widow (Georgia Caine) who's set her cap for Pat's reprobate father. Lionel Stander has several choice moments as a temperamental Russian orchestra leader, as does Pert Kelton as a talentless soubrette, but the film's strongest selling card is the presence of the matchless Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fats Waller. The musical highlight is Robinson's "I'm Living in a Great Big Way," accompanied by Waller and Jeni Le Gon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, (more)
