Miss Grant Takes Richmond

Buy This Item Miss Grant Takes Richmond by Sony Pictures  Available from Amazon  $19.98  on 9-20-2008     This is the Lucy that the world fell in love with. WACKY. Her and William Holden make a good couple they should of been in more movies together. This must be why he appeared on the I Love Lucy show. Great movie if you love Lucy than you'll love this picture. Reader Reviews Some plot SPOILERS here. In 1949, at 38 years of age and 2 years before her ship came in with I LOVE LUCY, Lucille Ball was still toiling away in Hollywood, trying to make it big. She'd gained a modicum of success as a lower-tiered contracted actress, but she still hadn't achieved superstar status at this stage in her life. Part of the problem was that she was so beautiful that, for the longest time, she was perceived as a Barbie doll, to be dressed up and posed beguilingly in front of a camera. Her lines were meager and most of her movie parts relegated her to playing second fiddle. When she did get top billing, it was usually in a B picture. Heck, most of her films were B pictures. So, on the surface, when MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND came out in 1949, it seemed to be more of the same old, same old. I know that Lucy's MY FAVORITE HUSBAND radio show (1948-1951) was the early incarnation of I LOVE LUCY, but there's so much of the future Lucy Ricardo in this movie's Ellen Grant that lightbulbs must've lit up even brighter over the heads of several bigwigs at television land. Or that's my theory, anyway. Ellen Grant (Lucille Ball) is a maladroit trainee mucking things up at the Woodruff Secretarial School. Nevertheless, she's chosen by Richard Richmond (William Holden) as the new secretary of his real estate firm. Apparently, it wasn't clerical aptitude he was looking for as much as a set of fabulous legs, and Ellen most definitely has those. As Richmond puts it, "We got beauty in the front office and brains in the back office." And, certainly, Ellen is a bit klutzy, ditzy, and oblivious, so it takes her some time to get clued in that the real estate business is actually a cover for a bookie agency. She's goodhearted, though. So, when she makes it her cause to alleviate the city's horrendous housing conditions and summarily involves her new boss, well, Richmond soon regrets hiring glamorous gams over dynamic dictation taking. Although, come to think of it, there just might be easy money in housing project scams... I just saw this on the TCM cable channel and I must say that, while there's plenty of pedestrian humor here, I still found enough to like in this hour and a half of so-so screwball entertainment. This is predominantly a Lucille Ball vehicle, as she gets top billing over William Holden. Throughout her film career, she didn't really have much of a chance to display her comedic gifts (although she was very good in SORROWFUL JONES and Fancy Pants). with MISS GRANT, she gets a chance to let loose and get goofy. The film is rife with what would become Lucy's brand of zaniness and, as I've already touched on, Lucy's Ellen Grant is a pretty good preview of her later, iconic Lucy Ricardo. In this one, Lucy has fun with out-of-control typewriters and jackhammers and with her judicious redeployment of the foundation strings (dunno what else you can call 'em), which then plays havoc with the poor, cement pouring construction staff. Seems to me though that Lucy got the most kick out of repeatedly and hilariously slapping William Holden to the ground in the film's climax. Meanwhile, William Holden isn't exactly free with the zingers, but, let's face it, his forte doesn't lie in comedy, although he's been in several great comedic films (Sabrina, Born Yesterday, and even Stalag 17 (Special Collector's Edition) had its funny moments). Nevertheless, he easily holds his own as the leading man here. No surprises in this area as his character development follows the expected arc, but Holden is talented and likable enough that he makes it worth the watching. James Gleason and Frank McHugh, both of whom made a career in playing humorous sidekicks, are once again dependable as, this time, they play Richmond's henchmen. Meanwhile, in the Who's That? department, Janis Carter looks very enticing as Peggy Donato, Richmond's erstwhile "friend." In the cinematic scheme of things, MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND is a modest picture; I'm not sure if this'll ever make it to dvd. The stars weren't A-listers, at the time. Bill Holden was one year away from breaking out in Sunset Boulevard (Special Collector's Edition). Lucy was 2 years away from making massive noise on television. So, not much was expected of MISS GRANT; thus, it wasn't given the big Hollywood treatment. But, if you're a fan of Bill Holden (or if you're not a fan and want to see him get slapped around like some stooge by a dame), you may want to catch this flick. And, if you're a fan of Lucille Ball and her unforgettable television series, then, by all means, catch this flick. Some of the antics herein may be uncannily familiar.

Miss Grant Takes Richmond Available from Amazon Price: $19.98 Updated on 9-20-2008.

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