Private Number (1936) User Reviews (23)

Loretta Young is beautiful

[overseer-3 · 8/10 · 19 November 2005]

Although Private Number is nowhere near as gritty as Midnight Mary, it is beautifully photographed (Fox Movie Channel's print is lovely), and Loretta Young is almost as gorgeous here as she was in that awesome precode classic, certainly more beautiful than she was in the 1940's favorites The Bishop's Wife and The Farmer's Daughter.

Loretta looks especially beautiful with Robert Taylor in Private Number; they make a gorgeous couple. Did they ever have a romance off screen? They looked perfectly suited to one another physically.

Favorite scenes take place up at a lake in Maine, although I can't understand why Loretta's character leaves her friend the maid's character (played with pizazz by Patsy Kelly) alone naked on the shore (friend had lost bathing suit in the water). Loretta, instead of helping her, takes off with Robert Taylor's character on his boat, abandoning her friend. I'd never do that to my friend!. In fact that was the most annoying thing to me about the film: Patsy Kelly was always supporting Loretta and Loretta never did anything to repay her.

Basil Rathbone was downright scary as the butler. He was colder and more frightening here than he was with Greta Garbo in Anna Karenina, and that's saying a lot! I like the way Loretta shudders in the beginning after she first meets the butler. It made me laugh. Listen to your instincts, girl, leave! But no, she's coaxed into staying by Patsy Kelly's character, Gracie.

Monroe Owsley has a small but impressive role as James Coakley, a weak scoundrel on the make. He was to die only a year later after a car crash. Jane Darwell and Billy Bevan put in appearances as servants. Marjorie Gateson did well in the role of Robert Taylor's mother. Also worthy of note is the beautiful large dog, Prince, played by "Hamlet". I would love to have an affectionate dog like that! I wonder who his trainer was? He was adorable. When he puts his paw up on Loretta at one point to comfort her, I sighed "Awwwwww!" 8 out of 10 stars.

Fine Performances Overcome a Creaky Script

[judithh-1 · 7/10 · 3 January 2014]

"Common Clay," a play by Cleves Kincaid, opened in August of 1915 on Broadway. It was relatively successful and ran for 316 performances. In 1919 a silent film of the stage play was released starring Fannie Ward as Ellen and W. E. Lawrence as Hugh. "Common Clay" was filmed again as a talkie in 1930, starring Constance Bennett and Lew Ayres. Both films were well reviewed with the New York Times commenting on the 1919 film as "the amazing adventures of 'that common clay girl' are still amazing, and Miss Ward and her company first wring and then cheer the hearts of their spectators." (March 3, 1919).

The 1930 version of the film was pre-code and had a number of racy elements. The 1936 version, retitled "Private Number," was cleaned up, slimmed down and simplified. Some of the character names were changed. (The new title is a complete mystery since telephones don't enter into the story at all.) Although Robert Taylor received top billing, the film actually belongs to Loretta Young. Ms. Young portrays a young girl, down on her luck and penniless who becomes a maid for a wealthy family. Basil Rathbone is delightfully slimy as the lecherous and crooked butler for whom Ms. Young works.

Of course, Ms. Young (Ellen) and Mr. Taylor (Dick, the Winfield's son) fall in love. The progress of their romance at the family's summer house in Maine is photographed beautifully. Ms. Young looks gorgeous in a bathing suit, a long gown and her maid's outfit. Mr. Taylor, wearing far too much makeup as he did in those days, is nonetheless affecting as the love-struck college boy. Both stars combine physical beauty with polished performances. Patsy Kelly is always good and she is very good here as Ms. Young's fellow maid and friend. Marjorie Gateson and Paul Harvey are stuffy but sympathetic as Mr. and Mrs. Winfield, Dick's parents. Prince, a Great Dane, is excellent as Hamlet, a Great Dane.

In the earlier versions, Hugh, now Dick, loves Ellen and leaves her high and dry (and pregnant) when he goes back to college. In Private Number they marry and she makes him go back to finish his degree. Although the acting continues to be first rate, as is the direction and cinematography, the script creaks along from one implausibility to another. Probably the worst one is when Ellen is thrown out of the Winfield's home and fetches up immediately in a lovely farmhouse that someone (never specified) has lent her.

It all comes to a climax in a totally unbelievable but nonetheless absorbing trial where evildoers are unmasked and justice triumphs. At the end of the film Ms. Young forgives Mr. Taylor for not trusting her and they go into a final clinch.

Private Number shouldn't be a good movie but it is. The creaky script is more than made up for by the direction by Roy del Ruth, the extraordinary visuals and the thoroughly professional acting.

The Great Loretta Young

[Nubian-3 · 7/10 · 15 January 2005]

I caught this film for the very first time,as I can remember,on Fox Movie Channel.The lead actor was listed as Tyronne Power instead of Robert Taylor.I don't know whether the fault lies with TV Guide or the cable channel.Maybe both.

I enjoyed watching a young Loretta Young,one of my favorites.The storyline deals with a maid who falls in love,marries and has a baby for her employers son.Basil Rathbone,another one of my favs,plays the wicked butler who cooks up a devilish plot to have her arrested and and discredited in the eyes of her employers and fired.

This old black and white charm took me way back to my childhood days watching Ms Young's television show with similar stories.Released way back in the 1930's,it is a jewel of a picture.

Can you believe TV Guide even had it listed as a comedy?

And The Villain Still Pursued Her

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 13 December 2011]

In a film that was primarily a vehicle for Loretta Young, I'm guessing that Darryl Zanuck did not want to use his favorite leading man Tyrone Power in this remake of Common Clay. Power and Young did do several films together in the Thirties, but they were either equal vehicles or Power predominated. So Zanuck got the services of Robert Taylor who was the MGM equivalent of Power for Private Number.

Or it's possible that Power also took a look at the script and realized that the part Basil Rathbone had would be a show stealer. Or that Basil Rathbone would make it one as the villainous and lecherous butler is the kind of role Rathbone could really sink his teeth into.

Certainly the part is out of the Snidely Whiplash tradition of villains. Rathbone is the tyrannical butler who rules the house servants with an iron hand including 20% kickbacks on their salaries of which the clueless masters Paul Harvey and Marjorie Gateson know nothing and for reasons I can't figure out no one is telling them or complaining. The only who raises her voice to Rathbone is cook Jane Darwell.

When Loretta Young arrives looking for work, Rathbone in true stage villain tradition is willing to forget the kickback for other considerations. But Young catches the eye of Robert Taylor as Harvey's and Gateson's son. They marry in secret and Young keeps her pregnancy a secret for as long as she can.

With Rathbone playing Iago as well as Snidely Whiplash to the parents they move for an annulment. It all gets rather messy in court, but of course it all works out for the course of true love.

Young is certainly beautiful and who wouldn't fall for her. Only toward the end is Taylor given anything to do that requires any real acting on his part. Patsy Kelly playing Patsy Kelly is also fine as Young's best friend. But the one you will really remember from Private Number is Basil Rathbone.

Pre-Code? Uh...

[skyvue · 7/10 · 23 June 2003]

This movie has its charms, but it cannot be a "Pre-Code gem," since it came out two years after the Code clampdown kicked in.

It's a little sappy, actually -- it'd have been much better if it HAD been made during the Pre-Code era.

But I do agree that Loretta Young's delightful in it.

Good movie with a twist

[marbleann · 8/10 · 21 February 2005]

I caught this movie on FOX . I love these old flicks. Lorreta Young plays a maid working for the woman of the house. You know there is going to be a problem because in the beginning Young runs into this man and they flirt with each other. It turns out he is the son of her employer. In the meantime we meet the Basil Rathborn character who plays the Butler, the supervisor of the staff. It doesn't take long for us to see what kind of weasel he is. You see he is pocketing part of the checks of the staff. One poor guy asks if he can not take any money out for one week because of a family problem, the weasel tells him no. But as soon as the Lortta Young character comes to get her pay we see he fancies her and is willing to help her. She goes out with a fellow maid played by Patsy Kely the sense and brains of the movie. THey go to meet a date and trouble ensues when one gets in a fight. Lorreta Youngs purse gets swiped and she is without any money to get home. The man who swiped her wallet offers to help her. They end up going to his "grandmas" some house of ill repute. ANother raid happens she gets arrested and calls the weasel to bail her out. He does..BIG MISTAKE. She goes to Maine with the family for the summer and she and the son fall in love and secretly get married. Here lies the problem the weasel is mad because Young rejected him so he has another girlfriend. He finds out about Young being pregnant and tells her employer. They are shocked to find out it is the sons kid. The mother seems pretty cool it is the father that is the real bastard. The mother likes Loreta Young only when the WEASLE tells the secret about him bailing her out does the mother get alarmed. Now the family thinks she is just a floozy looking for money and soon the son believes it too. She has the baby and seems to be doing well until Gracie, her maid friend, who quit when she heard her employers talking bad about Young shows her a newspaper about her being a gold digger. After she gets served with divorce papers. They begin a war now. Fire with Fire. I am not going to tell the end. All Iam going to say is that we get the usual march in time newspaper headlines and there is a trial. This is a good role for Lorreta Young and a very young Robert Taylor as the son. Basil Rathborn plays the perfect weasel and Patsy Kelly plays a friend we all would love to have. She is loyal and even risks her job for her friend. She sticks with her after she has the baby and gets her a lawyer and tells her to fight..her kid is being called bastards now. Patsy brings along her crazy friends for the ride. She is the star of the movie IMHO. Very good movie wish I could get on DVD. Also Lorreta Young is suppose to be 17 she looks around 27 This is a movie made after code but I am very surprised.

Consorting with the help? That won't do

[nomoons11 · 7/10 · 17 November 2012]

This was one of the few Robert Taylor films where he actually does a decent job with the role he's give. This is Loretta Young's film though...with a splash of Patsy Kelly and a huge dog thrown in.

Loretta come comes to the big city to find work and decides to try being a maid at a rich family's home. With the help of Patsy Kelly she gets in he door to talk to the creepy head of the servants...the butler played by Basil Rathbone. He's a scheming sort and goes for her in a big way but she always manages to skirt the issue around him. She finally meets the family's son and that's it. They fall in love and that's it. Well...almost.

This is a decent enough picture. Normally I don't do to well with Robert Taylor but in this he gets by. This along with maybe, Johnny Eager are probably the only films I can swallow with him in it. In this he goes without a mustache and honestly, I think he looks way better. Loretta Young is a fine actress and she always brings you into her innocence in her films. Patsy Kelly is just the same as always. A wisecracker with the best lines in the film. She's a spark plug throughout this. Basil Rathbone really plays the smarmy head butler very well. So well you'll hate him. The dog, a huge great dane, is just a star all the way. Watch all his gestures. Most of the scenes he's in seem so natural and not set up with a trainer. This big sucker had personality.

Throughout, this film was good but towards the end it just gets to be a bit...yeah rightish. There are scenes where if the character would speak up a lot of what happens would work themselves out but they up the snobbery and bossiness to keep it going. The end takes place in a court room to annul the marriage and the groom doesn't even show up until the end of the trial. I mean the guy signs the annulment papers for it to go through and he's not in court the whole time? Come on. The court scenes are actually a laugh. Not really well done but acceptable. His whole family lies to get to point in court and they leave without an aftermath of all this. I mean they blatantly lie and no punishment. I thought lying in court was a crime. Not in this film. They just let it slide without an outcome. Of course this is suppose to be a love story. Working class maid marries the rich son. Perfect for its day and age in the middle of the depression.

Pretty good little film. Grab it and see a really young Loretta Young and Robert Taylor. Stay and watch it for Patsy Kelly and the huge Dog. You'll probably get a kick out of it like I did.

She's completely irresistible...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 17 February 2018]

Ellen (Loretta Young) arrives at a mansion seeking work as a domestic. Although she has no previous experience and normally wouldn't have been hired, the cruel head butler (Basil Rathbone) thinks she's a hot tomato and hires her--presumably so he can one day have his way with her. However, the unexpected happens...the son of the family she now works for soon falls for her. Richard (Robert Taylor) is very persistent and eventually they begin seeing each other on the sly. It becomes serious...so serious that he wants to marry her. But if she does, will the family accept her? And what about the cruel head butler? He's not the sort to just give up...especially when he has something he can blackmail her with should he choose to do so.

This is a very interesting film when you realize how tall Basil Rathbone was in real life. He wasn't a small guy...but here the director must be manipulating perspective to make him look much taller and more menacing. So, while he's only less than two inches taller than Robert Taylor, he towers over him...and everyone else. This was actually a smart move and really made him seem all the more awful!

So is this any good? Well, considering the actors, it couldn't help but be very good. Young and Taylor are very good but Rathbone steals the show with his shear awfulness...he really was a terrific villain. Also, in a small role, Monroe Owsley was AMAZING as a pusilanimous jerk...and his courtroom scene is one of the best I've seen in some time. Too bad Owsley died the following year. Well worth seeing and satisfying all around.

Maid in Heaven

[HarlowMGM · 6/10 · 1 December 2022]

"Private Number" is a nice little romantic picture about love between the haves and have nots. Representing the latter is lovely Loretta Young, a penniless young woman who decides to apply for a job as a maid and on the other side is handsome Robert Taylor, who happens to be the son of the wealthy couple who employ her. Back home from college for the summer, Taylor presumes Loretta is one of the guests for the party welcoming him home but even after discovering her actual status is bewitched enough by her beauty to still pursue her. Looking on with malice is head butler Basil Rathbone who wants Loretta for himself (his creepy demeanor and malevolent running of the house staff cancels any possibility Loretta would want him). Taylor persuades Young to secretly marry him, planning to announce their marriage after graduation. Trouble is Loretta with child while he is away at school, leading a jealous Rathbone scheme to destroy her relations with the family.

Robert Taylor was only a year into his stardom when this film was made in 1936 and he is once again in the type of role he specialized in at the time, the dashing young heir pursuing a young woman in a Cinderella romance but one that has turns with misunderstandings and mistrust. It's almost the same story as "Small Town Girl", a better picture he also made that year. On loanout here to 20th Century-Fox, the MGM hunk was the undisputed heartthrob of the moment and among the top five box office stars (he would have been unrivalled in the late 1930's had Fox not quickly developed their own matinee idol in Tyrone Power later that year.) Taylor's very good but since Loretta Young was a Fox contractee, her character dominates the story. Gentle and graceful, Loretta was a moderately talented actress very capable in light stories like this one.

The supporting cast is hit and miss. Earthy chatterbox Patsy Kelly steals the film as Loretta's best friend, one of the family's other maids, and the excellent, elegant character actress Marjorie Gateson is quite good as Taylor's mother, taking a shine to Loretta early on and making her a personal maid. Basil Rathbone, alas, was always unsubtle when playing a villain and here he's such a creep it's hard to believe the family would ever believe he was looking out for their best interests. Paul Harvey was also a little excessive as Taylor's father. On the other hand, the underrated Monroe Owsley, is a bit of a surprise. Always cast as untrustworthy dalliances for movie queens (Stanwyck, Mae West, etc.) here he comes across a believable nice guy. We (and Loretta!) should have known better! Kane Richmond, a Robert Taylor type for B movies in that era, has a brief role as the family's chauffeur.

The film audaciously has many parallels with Loretta Young's private life, one wonders if the studio had concocted this little story to put some confusion in the public re speculation about her private romances, as if the public hearing the Hollywood whispers might conclude it was all just a movie plot. Unwed Loretta had just given birth to Clark Gable's child which much of Hollywood suspected but it was never acknowledged until the 1990's when Loretta was near the end of her life. In this movie, Loretta has to fight an annulment so that her baby will remain "legitimate". If that's not nervy enough, how about a scene where Patsy Kelly rhapsodizes about Clark Gable's screen sex appeal to which Loretta whole-heartedly agrees!

"Private Number" is basically just a pleasant but unremarkable romantic drama, the screen equivalent to a paperback romance novel but with beautiful stars and a smooth production to hold your interest.

Robert Taylor and Basil Rathbone

[marthawilcox1831 · 4/10 · 6 August 2014]

This is actually quite a good film. It starts off with Loretta Young being interviewed by a butler (Basil Rathbone). He offers her the job even though she has no experience. She thanks him for the offer, walks out and tells the maid that she's not going to take the job because she finds him sleazy. The maid persuades her to take the job and they become friends.

Loretta, however, seems to be a bit dim as she loses her handbag and her money is stolen. After a brawl in a restaurant that her maid friend takes her to, she ends up being arrested in a gambling joint and gets a police record. Rathbone bails her out and uses it against her later on in the film.

Rathbone puts in a good performance as a butler playing a subservient position to Robert Taylor. He presents himself as quite stiff, but the character is well drawn in the writing.

When Taylor strikes up a romance with Young the pace of the film starts to drop off. It is Rathbone's character that makes this film interesting especially his interaction with Young. He may be playing a sleazy character, but that's what the film is about. Not the Taylor-Young romance.

Very enjoyable, beautifully filmed romance

[istara · 10/10 · 9 January 2018]

This is a lovely 1930s film (1936 so not a pre-Code, despite some elements sneaked past the censors), with one of the most beautifully shot romances of cinema in this era.

Both stars - Loretta Young and Robert Taylor - are of course radiant on screen, and the plot is sweet, never getting overly melodramatic. It's also reasonably plausible for film plots of this era (divorce lawyers may have some bones to pick with the court scene, but for a lay audience, it's fine).

At the end of the film it turns out that Loretta Young's character is supposed to be 17. That's possibly the least plausible aspect, since she looks and comes across as far more sophisticated - she was 22/23 when she filmed this.

The supporting cast are wonderful here too: others have commented on Basil Rathbone's sinister and villainous butler, but Patsy Kelly deserves a mention as the sparky friend.

Very enjoyable and lovely to watch.

#me too

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 15 November 2021]

Loretta Young stars with Robert Taylor in "Private Number" from 1936, also featuring Basil Rathbone, Patsy Kelly, Marjorie Gateson, Paul Harvey, Monroe Owsley, and Jane Darwell.

Young plays Ellen, a new employee at the fabulous Winfield mansion, working as a personal maid to Mrs. Winfield (Gateson). She immediately catches the eye of the cruel, lecherous butler Wroxton (Rathbone) who tells her that things will go well for her if she cooperates and is accommodating.

One night, there's a big party going on when who should sweep in but the young man of the house, Richard (Taylor). Hmm...Loretta Young...Robert Taylor. I wonder what happens.

Ellen's best friend on the staff is Gracie (Patsy Kelly). The two of them go out one evening, but Ellen loses all of her money. A man (Owsley) offers her a ride home. He takes her instead to an illegal gambling parlor which is raided. Ellen, who never entered the gambling part, hides behind a door and is caught and arrested. She has to call Wroxton to bail her out. He files that away for future use.

Ellen and Richard find their mutual attraction too strong and start to see one another on the sly. He proposes marriage before he goes away to finish college. She feels him marrying beneath his station is a big mistake for him, and his family will not approve.

Taylor, an MGM actor, must have been on loan to 20th Century Fox. At that point, the studio was still in its infancy - Tyrone Power wouldn't come along until 1936, Richard Greene until 1938, and John Payne even later. I always felt they put too much makeup on Taylor, and he didn't need it. He and Young make a beautiful and sympathetic couple.

Young was simply gorgeous, about 22 years old then. Patsy Kelly to me always yelled her lines. Rathbone was terrific, absolutely hateful, as Wroxton.

Enjoyable.

Talk About Lack of Chemistry!

[Handlinghandel · 5/10 · 6 December 2005]

Loretta Young is hired as a servant. The son of the family for whom she works is Robert Taylor. Of course, they fall in love. But the scenes in which the two kiss do not support this idea: They hug and nuzzle each other's necks. Possibly there is one brief kiss on the mouth. But these two give no sense of being more than cousins -- and cousins who don't like each other much, at that.

The movie, however, is entertaining. It has a superb supporting cast. Basil Rathbone is deliciously evil as the tyrannical butler who has design on Young. Patsy Kelly is fun (albeit rather bland, toned-down fun) as another servant who befriends her.

The title is a puzzle. I may have missed something. But whose number is private?

Dick....Dick...!

[AAdaSC · 6/10 · 18 June 2022]

Dick..!.....Dick!...... Ha ha. Robert Taylor plays a wealthy son called Dick who falls in love with his mother's maid, Loretta Young (Ellen). However, the evil butler Basil Rathbone (Wroxton) also has his eyes on her. And if he can't have her, he is intent on bringing her down. He has a plan to outwit these two lovebirds.....

As has already been mentioned by other reviewers, the first half is better than the second. This is simply because Basil Rathbone has more screen time. He is one severe disciplinarian, the type of teacher you were terrified of at school. An excellent performance.

Unfortunately, the film starts to drift away when Rathbone isn't around and the whole premise is just so stupid. Loretta Young obviously models herself on Joan Collins whilst her friend in-service Patsy Kelly (Gracie) just gets more and more irritating as the film progresses - what a horrible intonation she has.

Still, the film is ok if you look past the ridiculous story - Joan Collins - I mean Loretta Young - would have just been honest about the escapade in the club when she and Taylor hooked up. They also would have come clean to the parents of Taylor. It's obvious. Anyway, listen out for lots of people calling out "Dick!", "Dick!" - ha ha. God knows what the title means.

Solid Performances Elevate Story Holes

[daoldiges · 7/10 · 19 December 2023]

Private Number starts off strong and interesting and remains so until the near ending. It's one of those stories where all kinds of hubris, angst, and courtroom drama unfold simply because the two leads refuse to have a simple 10 minute conversation that could easily and readily clear things up. Yes, I know that is a device to create drama and tension but here it only served to annoy me. Especially when having that very brief conversation could improve your life so completely. Anyway, Young and Taylor are very good as the young lovers and Rathbone is excellent as the bad guy. Despite my issues with the near ending of Private Number it's still fairly entertaining and one worth checking out.

Loretta Young vs. Basil Rathbone: Beauty and the beast.

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 14 August 2018]

It doesn't take long to figure out who is going to be the archvillain. Basil Rathbone frequently played villains. For example, he opposed Errol Flynn in fencing duels in "Captain Blood", and "The Adventures of Robin Hood". Here, he plays the imposing dictatorial Wroxton, who functions as the butler in the mansion of Mr. and Mrs. Winfield. More importantly, he is given the authority to hire and fire other household functionaries, besides which he takes a cut of their salaries to insure his continued approval of their work. He is uncommonly stiff and formal, and treats the staff as a drill sergeant treats his recruits. He reluctantly offers Loretta a job. She doesn't accept right away, and is about to leave, as she can't imagine working under the thumb of the zombie-like Wroxton. However, maid Patsy Kelly, as Gracie, flags her down, and convinces her to give it a try. Patsy becomes her friend throughout the film. The son of the Winfields: Richard)Robert Taylor) is immediately smitten by Loretta's beauty, initially assuming she is a guest, rather than a maid. Soon, he's talking marriage, but she initially objects that a marriage between a scion of a wealthy family and their maid wouldn't be accepted socially. He nixes this objection, and eventually, she gives in, not telling his parents, initially. Meanwhile, evil Wroxton finally makes his move, proposing marriage. She flatly turns him down. Wroxton spends the remainder of the film trying to get Loretta in trouble with the family or the law. He announces to the parents, that one of the staff is going to have a baby, of which Richard is the father. Loretta admits such, but informs them that they are married. Wroxton's major success relates to an incident in which a broke Loretta hesitantly accepts a ride with an unfamiliar man((Monroe Owlsey, as Coakley),who supposedly stops to introduce her to his grandmother(May Beatty, as grandma Gammon), but it turns out to be an illegal gambling den. Unfortunately, the police stage a raid just then, and Loretta winds up at the police station, with no money. Loretta reluctantly calls Wroxton to take a taxi to the police station and pay her fine. This he does. Thus, he finds out about her entrance to the gambling den. When, he tells the Winfields about this, they demand an annulment of the marriage. Richard is not so demanding at first, and refuses to sign the annulment, but after talking to Loretta, he gives in and signs it. However, there has to be a trial. Her lawyer finds Coakley, who agrees to tell about his role in her being found in that gambling den. However, Wroxton pays Coakley to lie, and make it look like Loretta was the sleazy one, which seemed to cook her goose. But, Loretta's lawyer finds out about the dirty deal between Wroxton and Coakley, and tells Richard, who promptly socks Wroxton's jaw, causing him to fall over backwards over a desk: the most satisfying moment in the film! Loretta's lawyer called her to the stand once more, and she testified that she was only 17 at the time, thus underage to be in such an establishment This sealed Richard's mind to withdraw the annulment request........Besides the police raid, there was another episode of pandemonium when a guy who talked like a mobster got fresh with Loretta while she was seated in a nightclub. The big sailor with buck teeth, who hardly talked, got up and socked this guy. In response, his buddies came at the sailor, followed by various sailors coming to his defense. Soon, everybody was fighting, and Loretta's salary was stolen from her purse....... As always, Loretta is extraordinarily beautiful, with many closeups of her face, with those big soulful eyes. Robert Taylor was also in his prime, and made a very handsome groom.

Seventeen is a lucky number.

[ulicknormanowen · 7/10 · 12 January 2021]

This is a nice variation on "Cinderella" , some kind of optimistic "Waterloo bridge" (but whereas Robert Taylor was the handsome noble;Vivien Leigh was a commoner with a racy past ).

Robert Taylor is a Prince Charming every girl dreams of, Loretta Young is a gorgeous Cinderella with bright shiny eyes and teeth which would be ideal for toothpaste advertisements .The nasty stepmother is male : it's the perfidious obnoxious butler ,who rules the servants with a rod of iron;Basil Rathbone is an excellent villain ; and there's the good fairy :Gracie ,the servant with a heart of gold , superbly played by lively Patsy Kelly ( later ,the famous Laura -Louise in "Rosemary's baby " ,with her horrible glasses).

A very fun film featuring Loretta Young's glistening eyes.

[glennstenb · 8/10 · 26 November 2018]

"Private Number" is a most enjoyable film that may be largely unknown among most buffs of older films today. But it has a very pleasing cast , good dialog, beautiful sets and costuming, a dastardly Basil Rathbone, the beautiful voice of a young Robert Taylor, and the gloriously glistening eyes of Miss Loretta Young. How did they do that with her eyes? She was such a fine and watchable actress, her performance here nuanced and anticipatory in her give and take with the troupe, even though the production was likely on a conveyor-belt schedule. It isn't one of the all-time great films, but it is a very good and worthwhile one. The film's subject matter may have even made a lot of those in the 1936 movie audiences a bit uncomfortable.

Flawed dramaturgy

[rockymark-30974 · 7/10 · 29 November 2023]

This would have been a far better film if the motivation and characterizations in some cases were not so melodramatic. Basil Rathbone's character seems straight of strained melodrama or a Charles Dickens novel or maybe Jane Eyre where a character like that would have been more credible.

On the other hand, dissuaded by the reference to the film as trash in some reviews I ignored this film for quite a while. But apart from its flawed dramaturgy in some ways (its strained melodrama and its equally flawed characterizations) it's superbly plotted with more twists than one would expect for the price of a movie. It really picks up in the second half.

Certainly the scene where Robert Taylor, with a single punch, knocks out Basil Rathbone in a superb "he had it coming" moment, is in itself worth a view of the film.

But any film with Loretta Young is worth seeing. For some reason, Young, as it were, has fallen in between the cracks. Maybe because she doesn't fit easily into a single category, such as Katherine Hepburn, Liz Taylor, Monroe, Ava Gardner, Jane Powell, etc. Her roles covered a wide range from the bad girl in an early Cary Grant film, where she basically played a prostitute (though the role was disguised in the film) to the later more dignified roles and especially in her transition as the First Lady of Television in her TV series.

As for Taylor, I can't say much for him since I've never been a fan and to his day he seems nondescript as an actor, usually best featured as a "placeholder" of an escort or inamorato to a beautiful woman (as in Camille with Garbo). But this is only my personal view of Taylor.

Based on the superbly crafted twists and turns of the final third of the film, I would have given this film a higher rating. But otherwise even with a 7 I strongly recommend ignoring its melodramatic dramaturgical elements in the first half until the better part comes.

I suppose I have to say this review contains "spoilers" based on the punch that Rathbone's character receives.

She is young and beautiful, but 17? Hardly.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 10 April 2018]

In today's world, imperious butler Basil Rathbone would be slammed immediately with a ton of sexual harassment suits and all sorts of other charges as he demands a take from the salary packets of each of the servants he hires, and can fire at will. When first seen, Rathbone is berating each of the staff for little things he considers unacceptable, whether it be maid Patsy Kelly's hair, or the condition of cook Jane Darwell's condition. Kelly is busy minding the birds when Loretta Young appears at a side door looking for a job. Rathbone, obviously ogling her from the moment he turns around in his office and sees her, offers her a position with a $15 a month cut, then later makes his intentions clear when he saves her from the advances of a lecherous chauffeur. Young is promoted to the ladies' maid for the gracious mistress of the house (Marjorie Gateson) whose son (Robert Taylor) arrives home from college and is immediately enchanted by Young whom he believes is a party guest. After Rathbone gets Young out of a scrape with the law, Young (along with Kelly) accompanies Gateson and Taylor to the country where a romance blossoms between ladies maid and the wealthy son, leading to potential scandal where Rathbone uses Young's legal past against her.

A light hearted first half turns a bit cold in the last few reels where Young must declare her innocence of any wrong doing, and I found myself losing interest at that point. Up until then, the film had been a mixture of upstairs/downstairs style drawing room comedy (an American version of "Downton Abbey") with some interesting drama, but then after a scene where the master of the house (Paul Harvey) accuses Young of luring his son into marriage, it becomes an overly chatty courtroom mess where all the humor of the first half turned into gushy soap opera. As horrid as his character is, Basil Rathbone is excellent, an example of somebody abusing his power in every way he can. Gateson, who could play society matrons both snobbish and dizzy, makes her character here extremely likable, an understanding woman of conscience who wants to stand up to imperious husband Harvey and support Young but feels trapped under his thumb. Taylor, like Young, seems too old to be believable as a college age student, but I found them an attractive pairing together. As usual, Patsy Kelly gives a raucous and scene stealing performance, with Joe E. Lewis very funny as her date in one scene, bringing along a shy toothy sailor (actor unknown) who can only say hello, but can give a great punch when an intruder makes a pass at Young in front of him. The sequence involving obvious May Beatty seems like something out of another movie, utilized only as leverage for Rathbone to have something on Young. This has a lot going for it, but some twists in the screenplay prevents it from being as satisfying as it could have been.

Another crisp, witty Del Ruth gem

[cphillips5 · 8/10 · 20 August 2000]

Roy Del Ruth delivers another firecracker entertainment. Loretta Young is a gorgeous, working girl along the lines of Ann Sothern's Maisie character. She rightfully wins the love of rich boy Robert Taylor with support from a feisty Patsy Kelly and interference from a deliciously snakey Rathbone. There's a perverse sexual undercurrent in Rathbone's performance that's a joy to watch. A pre-code gem!

Wow! This one was released after the morals clampdown, but the clergy were all asleep!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 11 September 2016]

The first half of this movie is better than the last, though Peverell Marley's photography is always a joy to look at, and Mark- Lee Kirk's sets (decorated by Thomas Little) are always wonderful to behold! And there's also a fine music score by Louis Silvers! The performances are never less than great, and the direction by Roy Del Ruth is always highly commendable. I would regard this entry as his best film. Of course, he did have a marvelous cast to work with! And it's true that the first half of the movie is more enjoyable than the last, because that's when we're introduced to people like Basil Rathbone's delightfully tyrannical butler; to Patsy Kelly's running interference; and to Joe Lewis and his idea of the perfect first date - and a blind one at that! In the first half, director Del Ruth stages a really wonderful brawl, which he caps by a glorious scene in which the GOODY TWO-SHOES HEROINE IS ARRESTED IN A BROTHEL! (I say again: This movie is a product of the moral clamp-down? Who's kidding who here!)

From first to last, Peverell Marley's photography is always a joy to behold. Ditto Mark-Lee Kirk's sets (decorated by Thomas Little). And, joining the fine performances and the highly commendable direction, we must pay tribute to the screenplay concocted by Gene Markey and William Conselman from a story by Cleves Kinkead.

Great love story

[greenheart · 10/10 · 11 November 2019]

A cliche I know, but they don't make them like this any more. A movie where every scene is a delight and moves the plot along at a helathy pace. Loretta Young looked about 30 although she was playing a 17 year old and Robert Taylor was suitably dapper. But Basil Rathbone stole the show for me. With modern slavery rife in modern times, it has been around in different guises for many generations. What a beast Rathbone's charachter is and yet he plays it with a stuck up nose and an authority daring anybody to challenge him. Interesting movie that was just an absolute delight.