Overrated and overhyped

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Lucille Ball worked for RKO in 1941. She was considered a "B" Actress, not a comedian for the studio that produced such films as King Kong and Gunga Din was working at trying to stay in business and make money on a shoe string. This is one of the better of those.Edmund O'Brien, who is rarely thought of as a comedy actor is actually pretty good here as the boss who falls in love with his secretary despite being best friends with her fiancé and being married himself. The comedy in this one is more physical than verbal. At one point Lucy puts some wrestling moves on her boss O'Brien(Stephen Herrick).She wants to marry a sailor, Coffee Cup (George Murphy). Coffee Cup is the unlucky guy who even if it appears things are going to work out right somehow runs into bad luck. The only luck he seems to have is when he is in the Navy. That and his little black book of 100 ladies.Dot (Lucille Ball) thinks she wants to marry Coffee Cup, but is torn between the 2 guys by late in the movie for many reasons. This movie is a lot fun, and Franklin Pangburn is a character bonus as a shop owner victimized in his encounters with Coffee Cup. Lucy is not doing a lot of comedy yet and comes off as pleasant. Later she and another RKO player, Desi, would buy the studio.

HAROLD LLOYD produced this alleged comedy. Whatever he did right in the Silent Era and in his fine comedies of the 1930s' he must of forgotten in this production. This film telegraph's its entire plot within the first fifth-teen (15) minutes. It is as predictable as sand running through a 'Egg-Timer' and the 'timer' is more interesting.A GIRL (Lucille Ball), A GUY (Edmond O'Brien) AND A GOB (George Murphy) form the 'love triangle'. Each wanting to do what they think is in each others best interests. All are wrong and in the end, who you thought should be together, end up together. Like we did not know that from the get go! The supporting cast also just punches their clock and collects their checks. No doubt being grateful for a short shoot! Realizing how 'unfunny' this film really is.For some reason RKO kept featuring Mr. O'Brien in a series of mediocre comedies. Fortunetly after WWII he found his true niche as a character actor. Finally rewarded with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954). He continued his professionalism too the end of his career. Like-wise Mr. Murphy after success, mostly at M.G.M. also did alright, in the U.S. Senate. Ms. Ball, never a real front rank Star in Cinema, found the accomplishment and $$$ she craved in the new medium of Television. Which was more forgiving of her rather ordinary looks and slap-stick style of humor. In the 1950s' with limited competition and few channels to select from, you could be great or just the lessor of other evils too be popular.

Lucille Ball was much more restrained in this 1941 comedy with Edmond O'Brien and George Murphy.O'Brien appears so young and dashing in this film. He plays an upper class businessman who meets and finds love with secretary Ball. Murphy plays her sailor boyfriend. To me, the biggest question in the film was who would Murphy wind up with?The comedy here is tedious. O'Brien has a snobbish girlfriend with a high society mother to the bargain.Ball comes from a real common family where the brother finds opera tickets that belong to O'Brien. By the next scene, Ball is going to apply for a job where O'Brien is the owner. How coincidental can we get?

I can't believe I missed this flick after taping about 350 TCM movies for my bedridden aunt last year. Read previous posts for plot line. George Murphy as "Coffee-cup" shines in this role.He is surprisingly tender towards Lucille Ball in many scenes:(the scene where they share ice cream, the pre-wedding scene). The trait I admire the most in the characters in movies of the 30's and 40's is their nobility, self sacrifice, and humility. Coffee-cup recognizes that his betrothed (Lucille Ball) is slowly falling in love with Edmund Obrien's character and nobly steps down.Then Obrien acts similarly by doing everything he can in a chase scene identical to earlier Harold Loyd films.I laughed throughout the entire movie at Skittles parents, the sailors, and the discomfort of Obrien each time he was caught "cheating" on his betrothed.