Smartest Girl in Town (1936) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A girl in search of a rich husband mistakes a millionaire for a male model.

Cast & Crew

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Joseph Santley

Gene Raymond

Richard "Dick" Smith

Ann Sothern

Frances "Cookie" Cooke

Helen Broderick

Eric Blore

Erik Rhodes

Baron Enrico Torene

Film Details

Also Known As

Million Dollar Profile

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Nov 27, 1936

Premiere Information

Brooklyn (New York) opening: 20 Nov 1936

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

58m

Sound

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

6 reels

Synopsis

Frances "Cookie" Cooke, a fashion model who has sworn to herself and to her sister Gwen to "marry rich," mistakes millionaire playboy Richard "Dick" Smith for a male model when he appears unexpectedly at his yacht, which has been surreptitiously rented out for a photo session by his valet, Philbean. Taken with the coy Cookie, Dick pretends to be the model, confident that he can win her heart without revealing his wealthy status. Cookie, however, rejects his initial overtures, assuming that as a model, his earning power is limited. Instead she dates Baron Enrico Torene, a rich, bird-crazy Italian, who, while devoted to Cookie, moves with the romantic speed of a turkey. To outdo his rival, a resourceful Dick coerces Philbean into posing as the president of an advertising agency, which offers Cookie modeling jobs that pair her with Dick. In spite of herself, Cookie grows fond of her persistent admirer, a development that worries the ever-practical Gwen, who warns her sister that Dick will be wanting her first to "mother" him and then to marry him. Against this warning, Cookie invites Dick over to her apartment, where after shampooing his hair for him, he comments that he enjoys her "mothering." Suddenly terrified by her emotions, Cookie throws Dick out, just as Torene shows up with Gwen and a diamond engagement ring. Dick, confused by this turnaround but still determined, makes Philbean telephone Cookie and tell her that he has just attempted suicide at the Vandevere Hotel. Cookie rushes to the hotel one step behind Dick and finds him "dying" in a hotel bed. With Philbean's help, Dick marries Cookie in his "deathbed," after which his ruse happily is exposed.

Director

Joseph Santley

Cast

Gene Raymond

Richard "Dick" Smith

Ann Sothern

Frances "Cookie" Cooke

Helen Broderick

Eric Blore

Erik Rhodes

Baron Enrico Torene

Harry Jans

Frank Jenks

Alan Curtis

Edward Price

Rolfe Sedan

Crew

Samuel J. Briskin

Executive Producer

Al Herman

Art Director Associate

Jack Hively

J. Roy Hunt

Edward Kaufman

H. S. Kraft

Bernard Newman

Van Nest Polglase

Clem Portman

Gene Raymond

Muriel Scheck

Nathaniel Shilkret

Viola Brothers Shore

Darrell Silvera

Ivan Thomas

Assistant Director

Vernon Walker

Special Effects

Film Details

Also Known As

Million Dollar Profile

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

Nov 27, 1936

Premiere Information

Brooklyn (New York) opening: 20 Nov 1936

Production Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Distribution Company

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

58m

Sound

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

6 reels

Articles

The Smartest Girl in Town

November 19, 2007

Clocking in at a mere 57 minutes, the breezy RKO comedy The Smartest Girl in Town (1936) is one of the shortest features in which Ann Sothern starred. Sothern, cast as usual as a smart cookie, is actually called "Cookie" in this one. A beautiful magazine model on the lookout for a rich husband, she initially shuns a wealthy yacht owner (Gene Raymond) because she has mistaken him for a fellow model. After a series of misunderstandings, Cookie decides to marry for love only to discover that she's getting a fortune to boot.

The Smartest Girl in Town is one of five movies of the mid-1930s in which Sothern and Raymond are romantic partners; the others are Hooray for Love (1935), Walking on Air (1936), There Goes My Girl (1937) and She's Got Everything (1937). Three decades later, both were cast in the political drama The Best Man (1964). According to film historian David Shipman, the pair didn't get along at all and actively disliked working together. Raymond wrote the song "Will You?" for The Smartest Girl in Town and sings it in the film to Sothern whose answer, by the way, is "No." In another tart exchange, Raymond asks if he may smoke and Sothern snaps, "Go ahead, if you think you're so hot."

Sothern, once dubbed "Queen of the B's," lent her sparkle to many modestly budgeted movies of the 1930s. Two years after The Smartest Girl in Town, she found her career faltering and was reduced to playing the second lead to Joan Bennett in United Artists' Trade Winds (1938). But she stole the film playing a Sadie Thompson-like tart with a heart of gold, and her performance convinced MGM that she would be perfect for an upcoming series of Maisie movies, once planned for Jean Harlow. Maisie (1939) set Sothern on a new career path that would include a seven-year MGM contract, some plum movie roles and two highly successful television sitcoms.

Producer: Edward Kaufman, Samuel J. Briskin (Executive Producer, uncredited)
Director: Joseph Santley
Screenplay: Viola Brothers Shore, from story by Muriel Scheck and H. S. Kraft
Art Direction: Van Nest Polglase, Al Herman (Associate)
Cinematography: J. Roy Hunt
Costume Design: Bernard Newman
Editing: Jack Hively
Original Music: Gene Raymond (song)
Principal Cast: Ann Sothern (Frances "Cookie" Cooke), Gene Raymond (Dick Smith), Helen Broderick (Gwen), Eric Blore (Lucius Philbean), Erik Rhodes (Baron Torine), Harry Jans (Terry).
BW-58m.

by Roger Fristoe

The Smartest Girl In Town

The Smartest Girl in Town

Clocking in at a mere 57 minutes, the breezy RKO comedy The Smartest Girl in Town (1936) is one of the shortest features in which Ann Sothern starred. Sothern, cast as usual as a smart cookie, is actually called "Cookie" in this one. A beautiful magazine model on the lookout for a rich husband, she initially shuns a wealthy yacht owner (Gene Raymond) because she has mistaken him for a fellow model. After a series of misunderstandings, Cookie decides to marry for love only to discover that she's getting a fortune to boot. The Smartest Girl in Town is one of five movies of the mid-1930s in which Sothern and Raymond are romantic partners; the others are Hooray for Love (1935), Walking on Air (1936), There Goes My Girl (1937) and She's Got Everything (1937). Three decades later, both were cast in the political drama The Best Man (1964). According to film historian David Shipman, the pair didn't get along at all and actively disliked working together. Raymond wrote the song "Will You?" for The Smartest Girl in Town and sings it in the film to Sothern whose answer, by the way, is "No." In another tart exchange, Raymond asks if he may smoke and Sothern snaps, "Go ahead, if you think you're so hot." Sothern, once dubbed "Queen of the B's," lent her sparkle to many modestly budgeted movies of the 1930s. Two years after The Smartest Girl in Town, she found her career faltering and was reduced to playing the second lead to Joan Bennett in United Artists' Trade Winds (1938). But she stole the film playing a Sadie Thompson-like tart with a heart of gold, and her performance convinced MGM that she would be perfect for an upcoming series of Maisie movies, once planned for Jean Harlow. Maisie (1939) set Sothern on a new career path that would include a seven-year MGM contract, some plum movie roles and two highly successful television sitcoms. Producer: Edward Kaufman, Samuel J. Briskin (Executive Producer, uncredited) Director: Joseph Santley Screenplay: Viola Brothers Shore, from story by Muriel Scheck and H. S. Kraft Art Direction: Van Nest Polglase, Al Herman (Associate) Cinematography: J. Roy Hunt Costume Design: Bernard Newman Editing: Jack Hively Original Music: Gene Raymond (song) Principal Cast: Ann Sothern (Frances "Cookie" Cooke), Gene Raymond (Dick Smith), Helen Broderick (Gwen), Eric Blore (Lucius Philbean), Erik Rhodes (Baron Torine), Harry Jans (Terry). BW-58m. by Roger Fristoe

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

What's the matter with her? She's too ritzy for chili?
- Young model

I don't know, maybe it's too chilly for the Ritz.
- Gwen

All right if I smoke now?
- Dick Smith

Go ahead, if you think you're so hot.
- Frances 'Cookie' Cooke

Glad to know you. My name's Smith.
- Dick Smith

I knew there was something different about you.
- Gwen

I'll let you in on a secret. I use Honeysuckle Mouthwash, that kissable preparation.
- Dick Smith

What an optimist.
- Gwen

Well, that's all for today, Sonny. You can either go through the door or the window. 'Course, the window has its points. You get a little glimpse of the Hudson as you pass the 39th floor.
- Gwen

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this film was Million Dollar Profile.

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