Maisie (1939) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A Brooklyn showgirl tries to clear a ranch foreman of murder charges.

Cast & Crew

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Edwin L. Marin

Robert Young

Ann Sothern

Ruth Hussey

Ian Hunter

Cliff Edwards

Photos & Videos

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Maisie (1939) -- (Movie Clip) The Chiffon Girl

Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- Maisie (1939)

Maisie - (Original Trailer)

Film Details

Also Known As

Broadway to Wyoming, Maisie Was a Lady

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Jun 22, 1939

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Distribution Company

Loew's Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Chatsworth, California, United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the novel Dark Dame by Wilson Collison (New York, 1935).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 14m

Sound

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Synopsis

Maisie Ravier, a spitfire from the vaudeville circuit, is stranded, penniless, in a small Wyoming town where she meets "Slim" Martin, the manager of a ranch owned by Clifford Ames. Slim, who distrusts all women because of the pain one caused him, rejects Maisie's flirtations and orders her to leave town. At the railroad station, Maisie meets Ames and his adulterous wife Sybil, who have come West to patch up their marriage, and tells them that Slim has hired her to be Sybil's maid. While Maisie befriends the lonely Ames, Sybil, who has married Ames for his money, sends for her lover, Richard Raymond. When Ames is involved in an accident that leaves him trapped in his car, Maisie goes for help and finds Sybil with her lover. That night, Maisie and Slim declare their love for each other and decide to marry, and Maisie, troubled by Sybil's infidelity, insists upon leaving the ranch. Before leaving, Maisie confronts Sybil about her treatment of Ames, and Sybil turns the tables on Maisie by telling Slim that Maisie is in love with Ames. Sybil's lies trigger a fight between Maisie and Slim, and Maisie leaves the ranch in anger. Meanwhile, a despondent Ames has realized that his wife is cheating on him and, after mailing a letter to his lawyer, kills himself. When Maisie learns that Slim is on trial for killing Ames, she rushes to the courtroom. There Ames's lawyer finds her and presents her with a letter from Ames. The letter is a suicide note that clears Slim and wills the ranch to Maisie. All ends happily as Slim and Maisie plan to marry and live together on the ranch.

Director

Edwin L. Marin

Cast

Robert Young

Ann Sothern

Ruth Hussey

Ian Hunter

Cliff Edwards

Anthony Allan

Richard Raymond

Art Mix

George Tobias

Richard Carle

Roger Bannerman

Minor Watson

Prosecuting attorney

Harlan Briggs

Paul Everton

Joseph Crehan

Frank Puglia

Willie Fung

Emmett Vogan

Mary Foy

Frank Darien

Clem Bevans

Charles Coleman

Robert Middlemass

Robert Winkler

Marty Faust

Roy Seager

Don Roberts

Frank Mills

Buck Mack

Charles Dorety

Ralph Mccullough

Eddie Randolph

C. L. Sherwood

Crew

Malcolm Brown

Art Director Associate

Cedric Gibbons

Robert Golden

Assistant Director

Mary Mccall Jr.

J. Walter Ruben

Douglas Shearer

Recording Director

Frederick Y. Smith

Leonard Smith

Dolly Tree

Women's Wardrobe

Valles

Edward Ward

Edwin B. Willis

Photo Collections

Videos

Maisie (1939) -- (Movie Clip) The Chiffon Girl The first scene in the first picture in the series of ten from MGM, Ann Sothern is the title character, getting bad news (from Frank Darien as Pops) about her showbiz gig in Big Horn, Wyoming, from a script first written for Jean Harlow, opening Maisie, 1939, co-starring Robert Young.

Maisie - (Original Trailer) In the first of the popular "Maisie" series, Maisie (Ann Sothern) tries to clear a ranch foreman of murder charges.

Intro Aired: May 2018

Ben Mankiewicz Intro -- Maisie (1939) Ben Mankiewicz introduces Maisie, 1939.

Film Details

Also Known As

Broadway to Wyoming, Maisie Was a Lady

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Jun 22, 1939

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Distribution Company

Loew's Inc.

Country

United States

Location

Chatsworth, California, United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the novel Dark Dame by Wilson Collison (New York, 1935).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 14m

Sound

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Articles

Maisie

July 30, 2006

By 1937, Ann Sothern had made more than two dozen films in four years, and still hadn't gotten beyond B-pictures, first at Columbia, then at RKO. So she walked out on her RKO contract, to wait for the role that would get her where she wanted to go. Finally, she was cast in Trade Winds (1938), in what would later become known as "the Ann Sothern part" - as a sassy, manipulative secretary.

Meanwhile, at MGM producer J. Walter Ruben was looking for a Jean Harlow type - blonde, sexy, somewhat vulgar, definitely sassy. He had a script that had been intended for Harlow, which had been shelved after the actress's untimely death in 1937. Ruben saw Trade Winds, and decided Ann Sothern would be perfect for the lead in Maisie (1939).

Maisie Ravier is a small-time showgirl, a "honky-tonk chorine with a heart of spun sugar," in the words of film historians James Robert Parish and Ronald L. Bowers, "traveling to every part of the globe as conceived by the set decorators." In this - the first of what would ultimately become a 10-film series over a period of eight years - Maisie travels to Ian Hunter's ranch, straightens out his marital problems, has a romance of her own with Robert Young, and solves a murder. It's a modest little programmer, just 72 minutes long. But as Sothern would later say, "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her." The public did, too - she was one of them. Maisie, and Ann Sothern, were a huge hit. MGM immediately signed Sothern to a 10-year contract. The series was so popular that mail addressed to "Maisie, U.S.A." reached Sothern at MGM. The Maisie films may have been B-pictures, but Ann Sothern was queen of the B's.

The series made Sothern - and also stifled her. MGM chief Louis B. Mayer was happy to cast her in an occasional prestige film, like Panama Hattie (1942) and Cry Havoc (1943), but he made it clear that Maisie was the studio's bread and butter, and Sothern's priority. "Your pictures pay for our mistakes," Mayer told her. "And you'll just keep making Maisies as long as you do that."

Ultimately, Maisie did not take Ann Sothern where she wanted to go. Sothern herself would admit she was "a Hollywood princess, not a Hollywood queen." But the series made her known and loved the world over.

Director: Edwin L. Marin
Producer: J. Walter Ruben
Screenplay: Mary C. McCall, Jr., based on the novel Dark Dame, by Wilson Collison
Editor: Fredrick Y. Smith
Cinematography: Leonard Smith
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown
Costume Design: Dolly Tree, Valles
Cast: Ann Sothern (Maisie Ravier), Robert Young (Slim Martin), Ruth Hussey (Sybil Ames), Ian Hunter (Clifford Ames), Cliff Edwards (Shorty).
BW-75m. Closed captioning.

by Margarita Landazuri

Maisie

Maisie

By 1937, Ann Sothern had made more than two dozen films in four years, and still hadn't gotten beyond B-pictures, first at Columbia, then at RKO. So she walked out on her RKO contract, to wait for the role that would get her where she wanted to go. Finally, she was cast in Trade Winds (1938), in what would later become known as "the Ann Sothern part" - as a sassy, manipulative secretary. Meanwhile, at MGM producer J. Walter Ruben was looking for a Jean Harlow type - blonde, sexy, somewhat vulgar, definitely sassy. He had a script that had been intended for Harlow, which had been shelved after the actress's untimely death in 1937. Ruben saw Trade Winds, and decided Ann Sothern would be perfect for the lead in Maisie (1939). Maisie Ravier is a small-time showgirl, a "honky-tonk chorine with a heart of spun sugar," in the words of film historians James Robert Parish and Ronald L. Bowers, "traveling to every part of the globe as conceived by the set decorators." In this - the first of what would ultimately become a 10-film series over a period of eight years - Maisie travels to Ian Hunter's ranch, straightens out his marital problems, has a romance of her own with Robert Young, and solves a murder. It's a modest little programmer, just 72 minutes long. But as Sothern would later say, "Maisie and I were just together - I just understood her." The public did, too - she was one of them. Maisie, and Ann Sothern, were a huge hit. MGM immediately signed Sothern to a 10-year contract. The series was so popular that mail addressed to "Maisie, U.S.A." reached Sothern at MGM. The Maisie films may have been B-pictures, but Ann Sothern was queen of the B's. The series made Sothern - and also stifled her. MGM chief Louis B. Mayer was happy to cast her in an occasional prestige film, like Panama Hattie (1942) and Cry Havoc (1943), but he made it clear that Maisie was the studio's bread and butter, and Sothern's priority. "Your pictures pay for our mistakes," Mayer told her. "And you'll just keep making Maisies as long as you do that." Ultimately, Maisie did not take Ann Sothern where she wanted to go. Sothern herself would admit she was "a Hollywood princess, not a Hollywood queen." But the series made her known and loved the world over. Director: Edwin L. Marin Producer: J. Walter Ruben Screenplay: Mary C. McCall, Jr., based on the novel Dark Dame, by Wilson Collison Editor: Fredrick Y. Smith Cinematography: Leonard Smith Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm Brown Costume Design: Dolly Tree, Valles Cast: Ann Sothern (Maisie Ravier), Robert Young (Slim Martin), Ruth Hussey (Sybil Ames), Ian Hunter (Clifford Ames), Cliff Edwards (Shorty). BW-75m. Closed captioning. by Margarita Landazuri

TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern

April 27, 2001

Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.

TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern

Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.

Quotes

Trivia

Story was originally purchased for Jean Harlow

Notes

The working titles of this picture were Maisie Was A Lady and Broadway to Wyoming. A news item in Hollywood Reporter notes that the picture was shot on location near Chatsworth, CA. This was the first picture in M-G-M's "Maisie" series. The series, based on a character created by Wilson Collison and starring Ann Sothern as a brassy showgirl, consisted of ten films produced by M-G-M from 1939-1947. The last film in the series was Undercover Maisie. Sothern also starred in the CBS radio series Maisie, which began in 1945. For additional information about the series, consult the Series Index.

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