Personal Secretary
Cast & Crew
Otis Garrett
William Gargan
Joy Hodges
Andy Devine
Ruth Donnelly
Samuel S. Hinds
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
During the court trial of Flo Samson, who is accused of poisoning her husband, newspaper reporter Mark Farrell assures his reading public that Flo is guilty, while his rival, the "Comet," whose true identity is unknown, insists that Flo is innocent based on her astrological charts. After Mark declares on the radio that the Comet is full of nonsense, Gale Rogers, who is the Comet, plots revenge and is hired as Mark's secretary. She manages to get his birth date from his mother by posing as a census taker, and then publishes a baby picture of him, pronouncing him to be a "bullheaded" Taurus. The feud continues as Mark sends "Snoop" Lewis to get a picture of the Comet, but then reassigns the mission to Gale, who photographs her co-worker, "Grumpy." Gale's contract is sold to another newspaper, and her new boss, Truesdale, asks her to "scoop" Mark's stories while she works for him. Gale refuses on the grounds that it would be unethical, but then accepts the task so she can prove Flo Samson innocent. After Mark finds a cigarette girl who says she heard Flo threaten her husband, the Comet proves the girl's testimony to be a hoax, and warns Mark that he is sought after by Slim Logan's thugs, for whom the cigarette girl worked. Gale then saves Mark's life by calling the police to arrest Logan just before Mark goes to confront him. Having fallen in love, Mark proposes to Gale, but she does not accept immediately, and Mark goes out of town to find the lover of Flo's husband, June Reese. He brings June with him to testify and finds that the true identity of the Comet has been published, because Gale quit her job with the paper. He is infuriated to find the Comet right under his nose and leaves the office. While he is out, his dog "Typo" licks the stamp attached to an anonymous letter in which the writer had asked to meet Mark regarding the Samson case. "Typo" dies, and Gale sees a connection between the dog's death and the fact that Samson died mailing a letter near Alan Lemke's drugstore. Gale corners Lemke, who had testified during the trial that he had sold poison to Flo, but after Mark crashes in the window of the store where Lemke is keeping Gale captive, police arrest Lemke. Gale reveals that Lemke was trying to keep both Samson and Mark away from his daughter, June Reese, and proves his guilt. The feud no longer exists between Mark and Gale, and she accepts his proposal.
Director
Otis Garrett
Cast
William Gargan
Joy Hodges
Andy Devine
Ruth Donnelly
Samuel S. Hinds
Frances Robinson
Florence Roberts
Kay Linaker
Matty Fain
Selmer Jackson
Louise Stanley
Jack Carr
Marion Martin
Chester Clute
John Hamilton
Wallis Clark
Charles Richman
Franco Corsaro
John Frazer
Ben Taggart
Claire Rochelle
Marvin Stephens
David Gorcey
Hally Chester
James Blaine
Albert Pollet
Hayden Stevenson
Jack Gardner
Ralph Dunn
William George
Gwen Seager
Ken Walters
Crew
Jack Bernhard
Bernard B. Brown
Charles Carroll
Charles H. Clarke
Stanley Cortez
Dan Fish
Fred Frank
Maury Gertsman
Max H. Golden
Charles Grayson
Frank Gross
Edward Jones
Betty Laidlaw
Betty Laidlaw
Robert Lively
Robert Lively
John Mehl
Emily Moore
Jack Otterson
Jack Pierce
George Schuman
Dorothy Wright
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The pre-release title was The Comet. Universal story information notes that the film is based on an original screen story titled "The Comet" by Laidlaw, Lively and Grayson.
