The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) User Reviews (22)

Lucille Ball At Her Best

[bbrebozo · 8/10 · 28 April 2013]

I'm a big I Love Lucy fan, don't get me wrong. But the slightly younger, slightly prettier, slightly more energetic Lucille Ball of the Fuller Brush Girl may actually have been Lucy at an even higher peak.

In fairness, some of her fence-climbing, bad-guy-fighting, and hurdle-leaping abilities in this film were probably those of a stunt double, which I don't believe she had on the TV show. But she's really engaged, perky, and comes alive in this film in a big way, unlike some of her post-I Love Lucy films, where she appears to be in some kind of a trance.

The scene where she is pushed out onto a burlesque stage, and forced to dance like a stripper, is one of the most hysterically funny Lucy moments I've ever seen, on TV or film.

She is ably supported by Eddie Albert as her lovable but slightly dimwitted husband, and a very capable cast. The plot is not only a comedy, but is also a murder mystery with surprise twists and turns, with as much credibility as a lot of other murder mystery films I've seen. And for fans of The Fuller Brush Man, there's a nice little surprise.

It's great to see Lucy as a young, highly-talented, up-and-coming starlet who is about to make her mark in a big, big way. This film should be required watching for all aspiring actors and actresses, as it shows exactly what Hollywood and the public are looking for -- and found in Lucille Ball.

Funny, Funny, Funny!!!

[michael-248 · 8/10 · 22 November 2000]

This was one of Lucille Ball's last theatrical films prior to the debut of "I Love Lucy", and from the looks of things it was the final primer for her role as Lucy Ricardo. "The Fuller Brush Girl" was filmed in 1950 as a sequel to the very popular "The Fuller Brush Man", which starred Lucille's male counterpart, Red Skelton.

It's the story of a young couple, Sally and Humphrey, who want to get married, buy a house and live happily ever after. But just as they are able to place a down payment on their dream house, Sally causes an electrical fire at the shipping company where she and Humphrey work and loses her job. Undaunted Sally decides to try her hand at door-to-door sales as a Fuller Brush Girl (she actually sells cosmetics, not brushes). Meanwhile back at the shipping company Humphrey is promoted to shipping manager, only he doesn't realize that he is being set-up as the fall guy by a smuggling ring. Through a hilarious set of circumstances the bumbling Fuller Brush Girl and the smuggling ring get mixed-up with each other and all hell breaks loose. In the ensuing tangle, there is murder, talking parrots, police chases, a very funny striptease and some of the funniest sight-gags ever put on film.

The cast includes a very young Eddie Albert as Humphrey, Jeff Donnell as Sally's best friend and a who's Who cast of character actors.

If you are looking for a movie with Lucille Ball at her comical best, this is the one.

As a trivia note, the musical number in the film "Put The Blame On Mame" is the same recording used to dub Rita Hayworth's voice in the film "Gilda".

Lucy's Dress Rehearsal

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 15 December 2008]

The one and only big screen teaming of Lucille Ball and Eddie Albert finds them as a pair of newlyweds wondering how they're going to make the payments on their dream house. Then Lucy gets the bright idea of getting a job as a Fuller Brush Girl. Just to show how good she is, she even takes her friend Jeff Donnell's sales route.

What I'm describing is typical Lucy Ricardo behavior and it brings typical Luc Ricardo results, all kinds of complications for everyone around her and much laughs for an audience.

The Fuller Brush Girl is like a dress rehearsal for I Love Lucy, she gets to try out some material that would become familiar on the small screen very shortly. From the beginning where she blows up a telephone switchboard to a drunk act straight from the classic Vitametavegimen routine, the film pulls out all the stops.

One thing that was different is that Eddie Albert being a different type than Desi Arnaz is far more passive and far more a victim in this film than Desi ever was.

Would you believe that poor Lucy who's just trying to make a little extra money winds up being accused of the murders of Albert's boss Jerome Cowan and his wife Lee Patrick? Frank Tashlin's script glides right into that with no effort. The twenty minute or so final chase scene on a freighter is a scream from start to finish.

Special mention should go to Mel Blanc who provided the voices for a pair of South American parrots who help as well as hinder Albert and Ball and provide a wonderful commentary on the proceedings. The Fuller Brush Girl is a must for fans of Lucy.

If you love Lucy, you'll love Sally

[earlytalkie · 7 June 2012]

The Fuller Brush Girl is one hilarious, light-hearted romp which shows off the comedic abilities of Eddie Albert and especially Lucy, who shows us a kind of dress rehearsal for her later antics on TV. The plot is complicated and full of incident. I can't understand the tepid reviews that this film gets, although Lucy's TV shows did not always get the kind of critical respect that they deserved, either. If you blink, you'll miss Lucy's chum Barbara Pepper as a housewife watching TV with her husband as the principals chase each other across the roof of an apartment building, colliding with the TV antennas and playing hilarious havoc with what is shown on the TV screens. The house that the Simpsons live in that Sally goes to visit is the house from the Hazel TV series, with a different doorway. I can't imagine any Lucy fan not enjoying this film, as it is probably the one film out of the many she did which really prefigures the Lucy TV character. I've read that Lucy suffered several mishaps in the making of this film, like getting powder in her eye from a rigged-up switchboard, and suffering from stomach troubles as the result of imbibing colored water substituting for wine. The trades at the time of this film's release, (1950) seemed to be in favor of this slapstick romp, and it's hard not to believe that the CBS executives didn't take a long look at this before green-lighting I Love Lucy. This is now available from Warner Archive, downloadable as a purchase from Vudu and Amazon, and is being shown on Antenna TV. See it by all means.

The Full Lucy

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

Sally Elliot (Lucille Ball) and boyfriend Humphrey Briggs (Eddie Albert) struggle to make the down payment for their dream home. Humphrey gets a surprise promotion but he's actually being setup as the fall guy by his boss. Sally's friend Jane is a Fuller brush girl selling cosmetics door-to-door. When Sally gets fired for blowing up the switchboard, she tries to join Jane as a Fuller brush girl but it leads to door-to-door misadventures.

Lucy is being the Full Lucy. She's hanging on a line, steamed like a roll, rolled like a wheel, drinking like a fish, and gets real blown up. I like babysitting and bad perms. The whole smuggling premise is convoluted and messy. It does allow her to do all crazy physical comedy. It would be funnier if it all flows directly out of her door-to-door sales. Humphrey is a side character and is almost unnecessary. This is all Lucy. She could have done this solo.

Frantic comedy has many funny moments

[csteidler · 7/10 · 28 July 2019]

Lucille Ball and Eddie Albert would like to get married and buy a model house. They both work for shady boss Jerome Cowan, who has a plan to use Albert for a crooked scheme and then fire him.

When a friend selling cosmetics visits the office, switchboard operator Lucy decides to get started right away selling Fuller products door-to-door herself. Unfortunately she spills powder and lotion all over the switchboard and burns it up--having first splashed the powder all over Cowan. It's not subtle but how can you not laugh?

Lucy's adventures selling door-to-door include a funny cameo by Red Skelton, as well as a hilarious episode selling perms to four bridge ladies, whose hair falls out when a kid next door gets the hair rinse mixed up with his chemistry set.

Meanwhile, boss Cowan's shady deal leads to multiple murders...and the police discover that Lucy is leaving her fingerprints everywhere. Can our heroes get to the bottom of things before the cops catch up with them?

The plot is ridiculous but really of secondary importance; Lucille Ball's antics are the main attraction here, and Lucy does a pretty good job of keeping us watching. While the picture has some dry spells, the funny parts are very funny indeed. Albert's rooftop fight with John Litel is one highlight--they keep bumping into TV antennas and mixing up everybody's TV shows in the apartments below them.

Eventually everybody winds up on a cargo ship full of bananas, wine barrels, and a couple of parrots. (Mel Blanc as a parrot delivers several of the picture's funniest lines.)

Eddie Albert is solid as Lucy's loyal but slightly dopey boyfriend. The rest of the cast is fine but they're really just support. It's no classic but Lucille Ball is certainly fun to watch.

A Lot of Against-Type Casting in this Comedy

[johnaquino · 7/10 · 2 January 2021]

Lucy was meant for the small screen. She had dramatic skills--The Big Street--and comic timing. But she couldn't sing or even dance very well, and MGM didn't know what to do with her. The broader slapstick she later exploited to become a television legend is explored in this film. It's very broad, as a Frank Tashlin script usually is, although her spinning around the rails of the ship as a bar between two tires is over the top. What is exceptional is a very strong supporting cast--Eddie Albert as he love interest; John Litel, who played Nancy Drew's father in the movies, cast against type and surprisingly willing to become involved in the horseplay; Jerome Cowan and Gail Patrick, who appeared in The Maltese Falcon and a host of other Warner Brother mysteries and costume dramas, reunite for this mystery send-up; and Gale Robbins, also cast against type, although beginning to be the unlikeable diva she became in Calamity Jane, and actually singing "Put the Blame on Mame," which Rita Hayworth didn't do in Gilda four years before. Funny a lot of the time.

fuller brush girl

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 7 November 2021]

Did you catch that bit of 50s xenophobia from the LAPD detective when he comes to a house, hears Spanish spoken, and says to his partner, "Sounds like foreigners in there"? If this had been a funnier film I either wouldn't have commented on or noticed it. But in the long intervals between laughs (sorry, lynpalmer1) in this movie one tends to pick up on such noxious social practices that serve to remind us not only that the 50s sucked but that Lucy was a big part of the era.

A Very Funny 'Unknown" Movie

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 17 March 2006]

This was a nice surprise. I didn't know what to expect, but what I got was a lot of laughs. Sure, many of the gags were simple slapstick stuff but it worked. This was truly a funny movie and Lucille Ball and Eddie Albert made a great pair.

This film also was a good preview of what audiences were going to see down the road when Ball became super-famous on television. She plays a similar type of character: a well-meaning ditz who gets into one jam after another. Here, she winds up an innocent victim and has gangsters chasing her and Albert all over town.

I only wish this was out on DVD or even on a good VHS tape in the United States. With only a couple of reviews, apparently most people have never heard of it. It's worth seeing and owning, believe me.

A mishmash of slapstick comedy was Lucy's swansong on film...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 8 November 2006]

The slapstick is so thick you can cut it with a knife in this farce from the '50s, right before Lucy made a mad dash for TV and became America's funniest housewife in the I LOVE LUCY series.

LUCILLE BALL and EDDIE ALBERT play an engaged couple needing money to buy a house before getting married and ending up in a series of misadventures when they get embroiled in a plot that involves thievery and murder.

JEROME COWAN as a crooked boss, JOHN LITEL as the mastermind of murder and theft, and GALE ROBBINS as a burlesque singer (she does "Put the Blame On Mame") put some zest into the frantic plot that spins out of control once the slapstick takes over. (Robbins had a saucy role in MGM's "The Barkleys of Broadway" with Astaire and Rogers as the gal with all the Southern charm).

For the finale, there's a frantic chase aboard an ocean liner involving parrots who talk too much that makes for a funny routine, but nothing seems too far above the half-hour situation comedies that were all the rage in the '50s.

It's wacky low-brow comedies like this that were responsible for Lucille Ball's quick exit from films to try her hand at TV. Good thing for us, but too bad she never found her niche on screen.

Good for a few laughs, but Lucy found better material than this on TV.

Wonderfully Funny Find!

[MCL1150 · 9/10 · 13 November 2006]

Once and a while you're lucky enough to see a film for the very first time that you never heard of before that you simply end up loving. Such is "The Fuller Brush Girl". Costarring Lucille Ball and Eddie Albert, this is one very funny film. It was written by the late/great Frank Tashlin and plays out like a live action cartoon. And no wonder. Tashlin is one of the all-time greats in the field of animated cartoons. While not as prolific as Tex Avery, his cartoons are among some of the best ever made. It was once said that Frank Tashlin directed cartoons like films and made films like cartoons. "The Fuller Brush Girl" is a perfect example. While directed by Lloyd Bacon, the real soul of the movie is Tashlin, who basically comes up with inventive gag after great inventive gag. And all of them are worked out in live action to perfection. Tex Avery once said that it was funnier if something was done in live action. And he was right! Had this been an actual cartoon, it wouldn't have been as satisfying. Ball is her usual hilarious self and Albert is at his best here as her fiancé'. So if you think you've seen every 1940s-50s comedy worth seeing and have yet to see "The Fuller Brush Girl" , then you really have something to look forward to! As they say, don't miss it! Enjoy!

Comic mayhem and misunderstandings, with everyone involved acting silly...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 18 March 2009]

Frantic follow-up to 1948's "The Fuller Brush Man", with that film's star--Red Skelton--making an amusing cameo. Here, Lucille Ball, out of work and needing money to help pay for her and future husband Eddie Albert's new house, auditions to be a door-to-door cosmetics saleslady. She's quite efficient at it, but smart and efficient in a slapstick comedy just won't do, and so writer Frank Tashlin throws in misunderstandings, accusations, exploding switchboards, and the murder of a rich suburban woman who is 'keeping' a shady husband--Ball's former employer. About as funny as it sounds, with rampant silliness. Seen today, the only joy one can get from it is in watching Ball trying out her Lucy Ricardo act before she became a television staple...and from those nifty house-fronts on the Columbia lot. Albert is wasted on stupid material, and the character actors dotting the supporting cast are equally at the mercy of a witless script. *1/2 from ****

Lucy Ricardo & Oliver Wendell Douglas go nutz!

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 9 July 2003]

The first lady of TV comedy (Lucille Ball) and the King of society folk in the country (Eddie Albert of "Green Acres") are the wackiest comedy team since Burns and Allen in this fun farce, one of the most delightful comedys of the 1940's.

Lucy plays Sally Elliott, a recently fired receptionist who is engaged to Eddie Albert's bumbling file clerk, Humphrey Briggs. They want to buy a house but can't afford the monthly payments. Briggs is hired by his crooked boss (Jerome Cowan) as the front for a shipping scam and Lucy takes up selling cosmetics as a Fuller Brush Girl. The two end up involved in a murder investigation when a misunderstanding between Cowan and his wife (Lee Patrick of "Auntie Mame") erupts. Not since Red Skelton's "Whistling" films had murder been so farcial, and Eddie and Lucille deliver the goods.

First of all, Lucy here isn't the same as she was as any of her TV Lucy characters. They were wacky and dimwitted, but Lucy here is more of a victim of circumstance. She is just the epitome of the girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, when pal Jeff Donnell visits Lucy before she is fired, it is not Lucy's stupidity which causes her to get into trouble; It is more a combination of clumsiness and bad timing. Next, when Lucy gives some home perms to a group of ladies who lunch, it is the old switcharoo which causes Lucy to get deeper and deeper into trouble. Of course, these sequences are hysterical and straight out of the farcical moments of "I Love Lucy". Lucy's later show biz desperations of her TV series are perfectly represented here by Sally's entrance into a burlesque show. With hysterically long false eye lashes, overdone makeup, and some hysterically bad dance movements, Lucy's well-performed "untalent" is guaranteed to leave the audience exhausted from laughing so much. The finale chase sequence aboard a ship is also full of laughs. As a result, this classic comedy is guaranteed to provide the audience with more than the usual number of laughs.

Gale Robbins, a vixen of the late 40's and early 50's, is good as the bad girl, while Jeff Donnell (later Quartermain housekeeper Stella on "General Hospital"), Lee Patrick, Jerome Cowan, and a whole slew of famous character faces whose names we don't know, do good as well in smaller parts. Even Fuller Brush Man Red Skelton makes an appearance here, reuniting Lucy with her leading man from 1943's MGM classic "DuBarry Was a Lady" where Lucy first showed off her flaming red hair.

This is a classic not-to-miss comedy not only for fans of Lucy but for movie buffs who want to see what classic comedy really is.

Hilarious and clever from beginning to end

[artqua · 10/10 · 5 September 2020]

I am so glad I decided to give this one a try. I was ready for some laughs, and I surely did laugh! There is an undercurrent of suspense which surprised me. The stunts are never-ending, too. Good, clean fun.

Invite this Fuller Brush Girl In! Inane Hilarity ***1/2

[edwagreen · 9/10 · 9 November 2006]

Absolute side-splitting comedy dealing with the incomparable Lucille Ball losing her switchboard job and trying to work for the Fuller Brush Company. The situations that she soon finds herself in are hilarious at best to describe. Curling 4 women with a chemical-laced product by one of the latter's children causes the women to lose their hair. Walking in on a murder and then dodging the police with boyfriend, an adept at comedy Eddie Albert, provides further laughter. Albert is soon accused of murder as well. Jerome Cowan and Lee Patrick appear as the murder victims.

The scene on board the boat with the mayhem created by the crooks chasing Sally (Ball) and Humphrey (Albert) is filled with non-stop lasts.

This movie provided Lucille Ball the material she needed to show her ability in comedy.

While many will find this silly, when you need a good laugh, see this screwball film. It's fun at its best.

Comedy was her niche!

[misctidsandbits · 1 October 2011]

Ah, this is fun. I've heard that in this movie, Ms. Ball was the closest to her future TV hit persona. It still was not "Lucy unleashed" as we later experienced on TV, but the action is unleashed. They may just have unrolled some new hijinks in this movie. Haven't seen the likes of some of it. The action got so rough at times that I understand Ms. Ball sustained several injuries, with ongoing effects. That tells me she did her own stuff. It was pret-ty wild ... She did a comedy with a young William Holden, "Miss Grant Takes Richmond," before this. But it was this Fuller Brush Girl movie that was used in discussions with CBS for her own TV show, to demonstrate that she could do comedy.

I didn't see Ms. Ball's early films until several years ago, and found it a novelty seeing her in them. She was mostly in drama, only doing comedy toward the end of her early film career, and there were only a few. It was very interesting to see her in high fashion 40's clothes and hair. She was very glamorous in most of them, often a show girl, then a sophisticated, haughty type. The personality was so different - nothing like her upcoming "Lucy." She was called the "Queen of B pictures," which could be said about some others also. She did a lot of bit and small parts before moving into leads. One of the weightier ones was "Lured" with George Sanders and Cedric Hardwicke. She also co-starred with a young Henry Fonda in "The Big Street." They dated for a while. He thought she was gorgeous, and she is - a very attractive woman. It was when she started doing the comedies that she knew she had found her niche, and the Ricardos started working on the idea of a TV show.

Hers is a hard work, good luck story with a happy ending. After toiling in the trenches for so many years, she came out way on top with her own show, which was a solid success for decades. As everyone knows, her reruns are still in demand. She's a legend. What if she had quit or been unwilling to strike out into the new media (at that time)? She went on to do other films, such as "Mame" with Robert Preston. Hey, I think she broke out of B movies!! Don't cry for Lucy. She came into her dream. Can't put her down either. She just kept popping up and up and up.

I think most comedy fans will enjoy this movie. It has the wonderful Eddie Albert, who definitely plays second fiddle to Lucy, but with vigor. Ha! Try it; I think you'll like it.

Just like I Love Lucy

[ddave1952-609-939427 · 9/10 · 30 June 2015]

This movie is like watching one of the best episodes of I Love Lucy. This is definitely a slapstick movie with a lot of sight gags and funny predicaments. From the hair removal scene early in the the movie to a inadvertent striptease later in the movie, to the hilarious chase scene on the ship at the end of the movie, this movie will leave you laughing out loud. Eddie Albert as her boyfriend shares in many of the funny scenes and is great also. Just enjoy this movie and don't think about the implausible story line. The last scene on the ship is the funniest scene in the movie, the humor reminds me a lot of what Buster Keaton might do. Frank Tashlin directed this movie and loves this kind of humor. He also directed another slapstick movie, The Glass Bottom Boat with Doris Day in 1966, another hilarious movie. Sit back and enjoy this movie, the funniest movie Lucy ever did.

Better Than Rated

[dougdoepke · 11 August 2011]

Bacon may have directed, but the sight gags are pure Tashlin. His cartoonish style is perfect for out-and-out slapstick. Note the number of physical exaggerations, right out of storyboard animation. Actually, Tashlin's the perfect spark to get Ball's comedic career in motion, which I gather this movie did.

The plot line itself is patterned after the many occupational comedies of the time—The Good Humor Man (!950), The Yellow Cab Man (1950), etc.-- as Sally (Ball) and Humphrey (Albert) get hilariously mixed up with cops and crooks. Red Skelton even puts in an amusing cameo from his Fuller Brush Man (1948).

The gags fly fast and furious maybe too much so, along with an overlong climax. Still, the set-ups are consistently inventive, while Ball gets to show a lot of sex appeal along with the clowning. Albert strives manfully to keep up, but it's Ball who gets the close-ups and the spotlight. Catch her versatility, for example, as she moves effortlessly into her amusing nightclub act.

I don't know why the pro's consistently downgrade the film—TCM giving it only two stars out of four. True, the slapstick gets a little frenetic at times, but the results remain pretty darn funny and provide a great early glimpse of TV's top comedienne in the making.

The Accidental Sales Lady

[lugonian · 8/10 · 15 November 2021]

THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL (Columbia, 1950), directed by Lloyd Bacon, was the studio's answer to its earlier comedy success to THE FULLER BRUSH MAN (1948) starring Red Skelton. Coming off in a similar fashion to the Skelton comedy, this sequel by title-relation only stars Lucille Ball in possibly her funniest comedy thus far, following her previous outing as MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND (Columbia, 1949). Though she had done comedy several times before, few where she wasn't very funny, THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL takes full advantage of Lucille Ball's talents in slapstick fashion, a sort of dress rehearsal to her future years on television, namely on "I Love Lucy" (1951-1957) opposite Desi Arnaz. Eddie Albert, who also had a successful career on television as well, particularly as Oliver Wendall Douglas in "Green Acres," (1966-1971), offers fine support as Ball's straight man involved in enough antics to classify this movie to television fans of viewing Oliver Wendall Douglas and Lucy McGillicuddy before their marriage to their television spouses to Hungarian born Lisa (Eva Gabor) and Cuban bandleader, Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz).

After a very funny montage opening superimposed during the opening credits, the story introduces Sally Elliott (Lucille Ball), engaged for three years to Humphrey Briggs (Eddie Albert), wishing him to earn enough money to buy their happy home at Fairview Hills. Sally works as a switchboard operator for Harvey Simpson (Jerome Cowan) at the Maritime Steamship Company as Humphrey, for the same company, earns his living as a file clerk. Because there is a job opening with a higher salary involved, Sally has Humphrey go to Mr. Simpson inquiring about that job, which he gets without asking for it, which causes some suspicion. After Sally gets fired from her job, her friend, Jane Bixby (Jeff Donnell) talks her into selling cosmetics for the Fuller Brush Company. Hoping to prove herself a good saleslady, Sally's luck becomes anything but successful. Because Clare Simpson (Lee Patrick) suspects her husband of being involved with another woman due to a perfume smell on his suit, the only one who can straighten out his situation is Sally. Simpson asks Humphrey to locate Sally and have her explain the accidental spilling of the cosmetic on his suit to his wife. Humphrey agrees but on his terms. Problems arise when Sally comes to the Simpson home to find Mrs. Simpson murdered. Humphrey, who believes Sally murdered her, goes to Mr. Simpson for help, only to find him dead as well. Both then venture out and clear their names to musing results.

Others in the cast are Carl Bento Reid (Mr. Christy); Gale Robbins (Ruby Rawlins); John Litel (Mr. Watkins); Arthur Space (Inspector Rodgers) and Sid Tomack (Banks). Look quickly for a cameo appearance and inside humor provided by Red Skelton himself. Song segments set at Gaity Burlesque include "Ladies of the Chorus" and "Put the Blame on Mame."

THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL is a fun movie from start to finish. Compared to THE FULLER BRUSH MAN where some of the Skelton gags seem quite lengthy before reaching its punchline, the Lucille Ball edition, containing some similar or same actions, come off better and funnier. Aside from Lucy's involvement by becoming an accidental baby sitter and later with a scientific child with a chemical set, Lucy strikes home with her imitation of a burlesque queen and having to go on stage to avoid getting captured by the killers. A wild chase on a ship highlights the story ending with two talking parrots getting in the last words. Lucy's drunkenness and her saying "I've got an idea" comes off quite close to her future television episodes showing the birth of Lucy and what is to become.

Formerly available on video cassette in 1998 and later DVD format, THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL has played on cable television's Turner Classic Movies since 2006. Fans or even non-fans of Lucy will definitely enjoy this 84 minutes of non-stop entertainment. (***)

Laugh till it hurts funny.

[lynpalmer1 · 9/10 · 27 October 2021]

Overall funny from start to finish but some parts are laugh out loud hilarious. I actually had tears during the burlesque scene and the shipboard chase. You can definitely see the beginnings of Lucy Ricardo here. Silly, frantic and thoroughly enjoyable.

Madcap Lucille Ball right before "I Love Lucy" TV series.

[TxMike · 2 July 2022]

I managed to find this movie on a TV channel that specializes in older movies. Lucille Ball was in her late 30s, Eddie Albert who plays her boyfriend was in his mid 40s. Black and white.

This movie came out right before the TV series "I Love Lucy" started in 1951. Her character here is very similar to the dimwitted Lucy character she plays in the series. She and Albert are fine together, this is not a meaningful movie other than its position in Ball's career, it is standard slapstick.

Moderately enjoyable period farce

[dugan49 · 6 August 2011]

What this movie really needed was Bob Hope. This is the kind of hectic farce, complete with mistaken identities and dead bodies, that Hope specialized in during this time period. Ball is fine as a working girl caught up in murder schemes and crazy plots, but Eddie Albert just is no substitute for the wise cracking male presence that this type of farce needs. Ball and Hope would have been a riot.

Another thing is that the slapstick wears out it's welcome before the end, as it becomes increasingly sillier. All in all, not a bad example of mid 20th century American farce, but not a standout either. Lucille Ball went on to be much funnier in a TV series, as did Eddie Albert on a lesser level.