Carol Baldwin (Jean Arthur) and her friend Helen (Ruth Donnelly) run a secretarial school, and it seems that for many of their students, the school---and their subsequent secretarial work---is a means to getting a man. When a former student pops by for a visit and shares the news of her recent engagement to a man she had gone to work for, Miss Baldwin begins to believe there is a bit of truth in the girls' thoughts.
One of the school's clients, Fred Gilbert (George Brent), goes through secretaries faster than the speed of light. Publisher of the magazine Body & Brain, Mr. Gilbert is always dissatisfied with and complaining about the secretaries the school sends to him. Irritated by this and wanting to find out why the man is so difficult to please, Carol makes a trip to his office.
Mistaking her for the latest secretary the school promised to send, Mr. Gilbert assumes Carol has come to work for him, and finding him attractive, Carol doesn't tell him she is more than a secretary---instead, she goes to work for him. With her creative ideas, Carol manages to increase circulation of the magazine---something Gilbert had been having difficulty doing.
Very much into health and fitness, Mr. Gilbert runs his magazine rather like a health spa; regular exercise times are included in the work day, as is a lunch of buttermilk and a bran muffin.
Declaring it unhealthy, the man does not eat meat; therefore, when he takes his new secretary to dinner and she orders a steak, she is shocked to discover that it is nothing of the animal kingdom on her plate. Despite the man's quirks, though, Carol has completely fallen for Fred and entertains high hopes that he will soon feel the same way towards her.
Just as Fred is developing an interest in Carol, his friend Bill (Reginald Denny) requests that he take beautiful but ditzy secretary Maisy (Dorothea Kent) off his hands.
With his wife returning from a European vacation, and knowing that she would be jealous, Bob needs to get Maisy out of his office; since he doesn't want to leave her high and dry without a job, he requests that Fred use her skills. Smitten by the woman, Fred does just that, only in order to give Maisy Carol's job, he must first promote Carol to aother position.
Having instructed Maisy at the secretarial school, Carol knows the girl is completely scatter-brained; in fact, since she has no clerical ability at all, Carol knows exactly why Mr. Gilbert has hired her. As Fred spends more and more time with Maisy and less and less time working on his magazine, Carol, who has had enough, walks out.
More Than a Secretary is pure delight. Yes, it's predictable and quite corny, but isn't that the essence of screwball comedy?! George Brent is so dashing and handsome here. I just love him in this role. Jean Arthur is her adorable, loveable self, and I thought she and Mr. Brent were terrific together. Beyond the leads, though, is the supporting cast. Every single one of them is completely perfect. Lionel Stander was a scream, especially when he is leading exercises and when he gives a workout to Charles Halton. Let me tell you, I was feeling the pain of that workout.
Dorothea Kent was sensational as the "ditzy" blond, who was not quite as clueless as everyone thought she was. Oh, sure, she couldn't type and she didn't know how to spell...but she did know Jean was her rival for Mr. Gilbert's affections. I really got a huge kick out of her.
Charles Halton was quite adorable as the advanced-in-years magazine owner, who is thrilled to pieces to see a woman as lovely and desirable as Maisy working in his company.
At one point in the film, Mr. Brent's character is complaining about Jean's plan to put a swimsuit-clad girl on the cover of the magazine. Saying he "wasn't putting out a sex magazine" and that "semi-nude women on the cover" would be offensive, the magazine publisher refused her ideas. I thought that was hysterical! Wonder what he would think of the trashy magazine covers of today!?
This film is out on DVD as part of the Jean Arthur Comedy Collection; I do hope you can track it down, as it isn't often on the TCM schedule---in the last four years, I've only noticed them airing it one time. If you are a fan of screwball comedy, Jean Arthur, George Brent, or any of the supporting players, I feel sure you will enjoy this fun, lighthearted film.
Happy viewing!!
