Miss Grant Takes Richmond

1949 "She was never so insulted in all her life...and it was wonderful!"
6.6| 1h27m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 20 October 1949 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A bookie uses a phony real estate business as a front for his betting parlor. To further keep up the sham, he hires dim-witted Ellen Grant as his secretary figuring she won't suspect any criminal goings-on. When Ellen learns of some friends who are about to lose their homes, she unwittingly drafts her boss into developing a new low-cost housing development.

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Reviews

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.
Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
mark.waltz When the brains behind a bookie racketeers the worst secretary in the world, you know he's up to something. "I'll take that girl!", determined William Holden tells curmudgeon secretarial school professor Charles Lane who is perplexed but fooled. Lucille Ball is the clumsy secretary who ruins typewriters like she was skeet shooting. Ribbons pop off their axles, the carriage shoots off like a champagne cork, and her waste basket is never empty. So in other words, she's perfect for the job of front for Holden's gambling operation.With tough talking James Gleason and perpetually confused Frank McHugh as Holden's staff and Janis Carter as Holden's jealous girlfriend, Lucy doesn't realize what she's up against which is why she ends up doing better than anybody suspected she would. Of course, it doesn't hurt that her a uncle (George Cleveland) is a prominent judge and one of her suitors (Stephen Dunne) is the assistant D.A.As Ball turns Bill upside down with her interference in his operation, he plots to get her to quit only to make her more determined, even though she does briefly quit after he makes a pass. This wasn't Lucy's first opportunity for wacky comedy, but the three farce comedies she made at Columbia showed the creation of Lucy Ricardo, Carmichael and Carter. Gleason and Carter get some really good lines, while it's ironic to see Lucy with Lane (who appeared on a majority of her sitcoms) and Holden who was memorable as himself on one of "I Love Lucy's" most notable episodes. This rates A+ as a smart comedy about corruption, with city slickers of tough attitudes deliciously taken down several notches thanks to "that girl".
Emaisie39 Lucille Ball starred in many films from the late 30's until she entered TV in 1951. Many of these films are forgotten but were highly popular at the time. WHile no classic this charming comedy gives Lucy a chance to shine in a tailor- made role that allows her to show real chemistry with a very handsome young William Holden who would along with Lucy become one of the very biggest superstars of the 1950's and 1960's. She plays a somewhat scatterbrained secretary for secret bookie Holden. Although some have said this is a B-film they are wrong. This was a major Columbia picture at the time. The glossy production values prove it. Definitely *** out of ****. For the best Lucy movie comedy check out the superior Technicolor MGM smash "The Long Long Trailor(1954).
edwagreen Some funny antics are shown in this 1949 comedy with Lucille Ball and William Holden.Ball immediately showed her comedic gifts as a dimwitted secretary hired by a bookie (Holden) to watch over the office.Trouble is that she is the niece of a judge. Thinking that Holden is in real estate, she begins to bring prospective customers and builders to him. Frank McHugh and James Gleason co-star and do well as comic foils.Some of the scenes are hilarious where Ball shows her "stupidity" and other happenings. Holden is young, adept at comedy but was chain smoking throughout the film.This movie was a definite pre-test for Lucy Ricardo. Too bad Vivian Vance and Bill Frawley weren't in it as well.
Red-125 Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) directed by Lloyd Bacon, stars Lucille Ball as Ellen Grant, probably the worst student the Woodruff Secretarial School has ever graduated. William Holden plays Dick Richmond, a bookie who needs a naive person to lend respectability to his illegal gambling operation. Naturally, he chooses Ellen Grant.The movie is totally predictable, and very much a product of the 1940's. To my knowledge, not a single person of color appears in the film. Bookmakers have a code of professional ethics, to which they scrupulously adhere. When a boss kisses a secretary, she's flattered, not offended, and so on. (Some things in our society have really changed for the better in 56 years!)By 1949, it was obvious that Lucille Ball was no longer starlet material, and the director was intelligent enough to recognize her abilities as a comic actor. Many of the scenes in the movie could have come right out of the "I Love Lucy" show, which began two years later. (Incidentally, co-star William Holden appeared in a memorable episode of "I Love Lucy.")As one reviewer has already noted, this film is for Lucy fans only. However, if you *are* a Lucy fan, the video is worth finding and seeing.