Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

dougdoepke The movie may not have done much for comedic Maisie, but it' a worthy reflection of Depression era straits. I like the way Maisie's slowly drawn into the Davis family plight. They're a hard-scrabble family who've lost their farm, along with thousands of others, and are now living hand to mouth. The city-bred Maisie meets up with them as they along with other dispossessed farmers are traveling as part of a rumored gold rush. Though separated at first by a cultural contrast, Maisie's drawn into the family by the common humanity their plight represents, especially by winning little Jubie Davis (Weidler). Together, they share their meager money, along with hopes of a gold strike that will lift their fortunes.Though MGM has hired a big crowd of extras and costumed them in appropriately seedy clothes, Maisie still stands out. But what about those tacky exteriors that fairly shout studio sound stage. Why make the costuming so realistic, then background them with such outdoor phoniness. After all, this is MGM. At times, Sothern's a little shrill for my taste, but manages to remain likable, while actor Bowman as the reluctant benefactor makes for a churlish and unusual leading man. Too bad little Weidler is largely forgotten. She made for a charmingly plain-faced youngster, without being cutesy. Anyway, the overall result is a curious combination of Depression era drama and Maisie type spunk minus the series' usual laughs. So, fans of the series may find this entry too pointed for their liking. But I enjoyed it for its strong moral and as a reflection of the desperate times.(In passing-- My dad owned a Colorado gold mine many years ago, and I remember as a boy how eagerly he awaited assay office results so he would know where next to tunnel. In fact, with a few notable exceptions gold in its natural state is unrecognizable. Instead, it's blended into ore that must then be tested for its gold content. So the movie's element of suspense is not fictional.)

mark.waltz Molested by a tumbleweed as the coyotes howl, stranded Maisie faces being stuck in the middle of nowhere as she heads towards a singing job. Unfortunately, she never makes it, her car unfixable and the thought of a nearby gold rush tempting her to stay. Grizzled Lee Bowman gives her a hard time and you know romance may blossom because well, fighting men and women are really lovers in denial, at least in these old MGM comedies, especially when sassy Ann Sothern is involved. As usual, Sothern's Maisie takes over in solving everybody's problems in record time, moving on just like Dorothy after saving Oz from those wicked witches.Sothern plays the role with much empathy as well as humor, showing she can hold her own with Bowman, yet with just a minimal shake of her head shows her sympathy for struggling mother Mary Nash whose daughter Virginia Wiedler she had earlier befriended. It's nice to see Nash in a sympathetic role, having been notoriously cruel to Shirley Temple in "Heidi". That old hound dog, Slim Summerville, plays Biwman's crabby companion, creating laughs simply by being miserable. It's a combination of comedy and drama, the funny scenes classic, and the dramatic elements as forced as those in MGM's other series, that one concerning the Hardy family. Still, there's no beating Maisie, pick in hand, taking a crack at mother earth

bkoganbing Gold Rush Maisie finds Ann Sothern as the good hearted show girl from Brooklyn going out west with a family that looks remarkably like Joads of Oklahoma. All that was missing was Henry Fonda.In fact the subject matter was just like The Grapes Of Wrath. Uprooted farmers moving about the country looking for odd jobs in crop picking. Only here rumors of a gold strike are sending a bunch of them west to the Arizona desert. After a bit of kindness on Maisie's part, she hooks up with the Davis family which consists of parents John F. Hamilton, Mary Nash and kid Virginia Weidler, Scotty Beckett and an infant.All the same problems that John Ford so graphically illustrated and John Steinbeck so graphically wrote about are present in Gold Rush Maisie. Pity that no one with a head as level as Maisie's was around in The Grapes Of Wrath. Many social problems would be solved.Who'd have thought a film of social significance would have come from the Maisie series, but it did.

blanche-2 "Gold Rush Maisie" has Maisie (Ann Sothern) prospecting in this 1940 entry into the series. Maisie's car breaks down, and she becomes stranded and has to ask for help from an isolated, nasty rancher (Lee Bowman) who shares his house with another sourpuss (Slim Somerville). These films all followed the same formula - Maisie's charm, no-nonsense attitude and warmth melt the icebergs she meets. Later on, she meets a family of farmers who have lost their farm and become migrant workers. Now they're on their way to prospect for gold. Maisie is stunned at how little they have and sets out to help them.The atmosphere of "Gold Rush Maisie" is a little more down than usual, and the actions of the rancher played by Lee Bowman are inexplicable. First he's nasty, then he abruptly puts the moves on Maisie, becomes nasty again and later, after she tells him off, he becomes nice. Bowman was Sothern's leading man in the series more than once, as was James Craig - I prefer James Craig, who had more energy and variety in his acting.One does really feel for the family, and that helps to hold one's interest. Sothern does her usual bang-up job. The previous reviewer has it right - she would have been a bigger star in an earlier era. But if huge movie stardom eluded her, she still played some wonderful roles, and her two series are a treasure, as is the actress herself.