Ringside Maisie (1941)

You won't be disappointed!

Pretty Good

People are voting emotionally.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Ann Sothern (Maisie Ravier), George Murphy (Skeets Maguire), Robert Sterling (Terry Dolan), Natalie Thompson (Cecelia Reardon), Maxie Rosenbloom (Chotsie), Margaret Moffat (Mrs Dolan), John Indrisano (Peaches), Virginia O'Brien (herself), Eddie Simms (Billy-Boy Duffy), Jack LaRue (Ricky DuPrez), Purnell Pratt (Dr Taylor), May McAvoy (day nurse), Tom Dugan (checker), Jonathan Hale (Dr Kramer), Roy Lester (jitterbug), Oscar O'Shea (conductor), "Rags" Ragland (Vic).Director: EDWIN L. MARIN. Screenplay: Mary C. McCall Jr. Based on the character created by Wilson Collison. Photography: Charles Lawton. Film editor: Fredrick Y. Smith. Music score: David Snell. Supervising art director: Cedric Gibbons. Supervising set decorator: Edwin B. Willis. Costumes: Robert Kalloch. Sound supervisor: Douglas Shearer. Western Electric Sound System. Producer: J. Walter Ruben. Copyright 29 July 1941 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture. New York opening at the Capitol (would you believe?): 31 July 1941. U.S. release: 1 August 1941. Australian release: 4 December 1941. 10 reels. 96 minutes. Cut by at least 100 feet in Australia. U.K. and Australian release title: CASH AND CARRY.SYNOPSIS: This time, Maisie, who performs so many good deeds each day that she should be made an honorary Girl Scout for life, is bringing aid and comfort to a forlorn young prize-fighter who wants to quit before he becomes world's champion and his mother finds out where his money is coming from.NOTES: Number 5 of the nine-picture Maisie series. COMMENT: Title changes are often a sure clue that a movie is in trouble. This one posed an additional difficulty for M-G-M's overseas branch offices in that at 96 minutes it ran far too long for a "B" feature.Maisie's fans were mostly women, who were not likely to be attracted to a boxing yarn — despite the presence of some real fighters like Johnny Indrisano and Eddie Simms. For once I sympathize with the studio, for this entry is a dud in all departments, — script, acting, title, and especially direction.Why was the movie re-titled "Cash and Carry"? Well, you see the hero doesn't want to be a boxer. He wants to open a grocery store.

And the first one's better, a typical Maisie entry where Sothern cracks wise, plays tough, and gets stuck in upstate New York, romancing both prizefighter Robert Sterling (whom she married in real life) and his promoter, a not very likable George Murphy. Sterling's engaged to a weakly written dame who overeats and gets carsick, and the always welcome Virginia O'Brien, given fourth billing, shows up to do a deadpan "Bird in a Gilded Cage" and exits. Then it takes a dark turn as Sterling's blinded in the ring, and the comedy completely vanishes. Maisie and melodrama don't mix, and we're not really rooting for her to end up with either leading man, least of all the one she does end up with. We love Annie, and she does her usual good work here, but the screenplay lets her down.

As usual, Maisie Ravier (Ann Sothern) is broke and trying to get to her next job--but has no money. When she sneaks aboard a train, she is caught and deposited in the middle of no where. However, she soon meets up with an exceptionally nice prize fighter, Terry Dolan (Robert Sterling), and he helps her get on her feet. However, his manager (George Murphy) takes an almost instant dislike for Maisie, as he doesn't want any 'dames' distracting Dolan from becoming champion. In fact, they dislike each other so much that you KNOW they'll eventually fall for each other--a common old Hollywood cliché.As for Terry, although he is a great fighter, he is hiding a secret--a secret he eventually confides with Maisie. It seems that every time he goes into the ring, he's scared to death--scared that he'll hurt the other guy and afraid he'll end up punch-drunk after repeated blows to the head. This is a normal and healthy concern, but he wants to give up the fight business--even though he could become champion. Maisie advises him to tell his manager and quit--and this is sure to impact on her new romance with the manager. So what's to come of all this? Well, considering that Maisie was in ten films and this is only the fifth, you can pretty much assume she WON'T be getting married and settling down to a life of domesticity--at least not yet (even though it sure looks that way at the end)!I appreciated this film, as "Ringside Maisie" did NOT glamorize the fight business. Few other contemporary boxing films talked about the ugly side of it--the brain damage, detached retinas, the wear and tear and the fact that promoters and managers really couldn't care less about the boxers. And, the film did a wonderfully touching scene with Terry and one of his opponents, Jackie, at the hospital. Because of this, the film has a lot more depth than you'd expect from a boxing film or an installment of "Maisie". Because of this, it's one of the best films in the series and is well worth seeing--particularly if you have any family members who has aspirations of going into the ring.By the way, I thought it very strange that they billed Terry as a heavyweight, as he looked amazingly small and undeveloped for such a weight class (or to be a boxer at all). I know they had a lot fewer classes back then, but he sure looked like a middleweight to me--not that this seriously hampered the story.

I have seen many of the Maisie films, and this one was another pleasant entry into the series.When I watched the first Maisie film, I felt like I was watching Jean Harlow. I later learned that the Maisie character was intended for Jean; however I enjoyed Ann Sothern's performance as the sassy character.Ann does a great job showing that a woman could handle herself in every situation and always land on her feet. She is smart, sexy, and savvy.I am so grateful to TCM for showing these films, so that I can get the chance to see them for the first time.