Motion Picture Daily (Jul-Sep 1950)

Dear Al: You've got the 'GOODS" on The Admiral Was a Lady n FRO ft LLYWCOD REPORTER "Gives United Artists the dizziest, brightest comedy it has enjoyed in seasons. A sizeable money-maker!" In "The Admiral Was a Lady," producer-director Albert S. Rogell gives United Artists the dizziest, brightest comedy it has enjoyed in seasons. The original screenplay is a gem of a writing job, boasting as it does an offthe-beaten-track plot that builds into hilarious situations and a most charming romance. Rogell casts the piece to near perfection and his directorial finesse shows in the clever bits of business that dot the action and in the fast and furious pacing of the proceedings. To really make "The Admiral Was a Lady" the tip top show its material warrants, Rogell would do well to eliminate some running time from 'he last 20 minutes when the plot begins to wear thin and the proceedings become redundant. "Admiral" is the kind of show audiences will talk about and if given proper bookings and exploitation it will turn into a sizeable money-maker. The story is an account of four members of the 52-20 club whose destinies are presided over by Edmond O'Brien, a glib, resourceful young man with a pronounced aversion to work. Yet he and his cohorts devote nearly all their waking hours to the task of promoting livelihoods without accepting a salary. The kick of the opening seguences is in the adroitness with which O'Brien manages the assignment. Their happy communal life is disturbed with the arrival of Wanda Hendrix on the scene. She is a pretty little ex-Wave from Walla Walla trying to catch up with a boy-friend who evidently has jilted her. As it turns out the missing fiance is in the clutches of Hillary Brooke, the divorced wife of juke box king Rudy Vallee. The business mogul wants Hillary back in order to latch on to some of the fortune he has settled on her. Conseguently by threatening O'Brien with an offer of work which would automatically take him off the unemployment rolls, Vallee is able to insist that the four exsoldiers keep Miss Hendrix from going back to Walla Walla. Vallee reasons that if she's around to claim her betrothed he will have a chance of retrieving Miss Brooke. From here the complications become completely screwy but straighten out in time for the inevitable clinch between Miss Handrix and O'Brien. Edmond O'Brien plays the strategist with verve, charm, and a thorough sense of how to register a laugh. This lad is really catching on as a personality. You like him from the moment he steps on the screen. Wanda Hendrix, pretty and pert, makes much of the jilted girl. Rudy Vallee in one of those fussy men parts he plays so well scores throughout. Johnny Sands brings gracious juvenile talent to the spot of one of the soldiers. Richard Erdman is especially good as the extaxi driver who learns to live the life of a promoter, and Steve Brodie completes the amiable quartette with a sock performance of a former pug. Hillary Brooke registers decisively as the slippery wife of Vallee. Richard Lane, Carry Owen, and Fred Essler FROM HOLLYWOOD VARIETY— "A neatly contrived comedy, played fast and for laughs!'1 "The Admiral Was a Lady" is a neatly contrived comedy, played fast and for laughs. It should get them in its general release. Footage is fluffy but fun as producer-director Albert S. Rogell unreels the broad situation comedy and the cast headed by Edmond O'Brien and Wanda Hendrix make the most of it to insure favorable reaction from ticket buyers. "A light and frothy farce-comedy built for laughs — which it will get in good measure. Amusing and entertaining. An attendance-puller which will get good word-of-mouth publicity. A welcome change from heavy dramas, whodunits, and action for action sake film !" —SHOWMEN'S "The Admiral Was a Lady" is a delightful comedy. There is not a dull moment in the film. Action is fast and laughs come so close together the audience hardly has time to get its breath between them. Direction is right on the ball, too. —LOS ANGELES EXAMINER, Friday, Aug. 4, 1950 "Diverting. Played with spirit for laughs. Well done !" —FILM DAILY "Ranges from gentle farce to unrestrained slapslapstick. A fast, light, pleasant attraction !" — HERALD "The Admiral Was a Lady" launches lots of laughs." — LOS ANGELES MIRROR, Friday, Aug. 4, 1950 FROM WEEKLY VARIETY "Will rate a lot of laughs in its release. Fast pace and geared strictly for fun!" "The Admiral Was a Lady' is a neatly concocted piece of fluff that will rate a lot of laughs in its general release. The pace is fast and geared strictly for fun as handled by Albert S. Rogell and the hard-working cast. All concerned set it up for a favorable reception. It's a boy-meets-girl plot with a nifty trimming of complications and bits of business that keep it continually paying off. Setting is postwar and brings together an ex-WAVE and a group of four vets now making use of the 52-20 Club for an easy living. Basically, it concerns the four males' efforts to find the WAVE's missing boy-friend on threat of being put to work if they fail. Nemesis is a juke-box king whose wife is chasing the boy-friend. There's no doubt that Edmond O'Brien, leader of the 52-20 group, and Wanda Hendrix, the WAVE, will wind up in a clinch before the footage is over, but Rogell's direction, and the original script by Sidney Salkow and John O'Dea keep the development spritely and interesting as the plot works up to the finale. Broad hilarity is the keynote, and among the toppers ALBERT S. ROGELL and JACK M.WARNER presents EDMOND WANDA O'BRIEN • HENDRIX The Admiral Was a Lady with RUDY VALLEE . Johnny Sands Steve Brodie . Richard Erdman Hillary Brooke . Richard Lane Produced-Directed by ALBERT S. ROGELL Co-Producer Edward Lewis A Roxbury Production Released thru United Artists "The Admiral is a breezy, zany comedy." — LOS ANGELES TIMES, Friday, Aug. 4, 1950 Produced and Directed by ALBERT S. ROGELL THE FIRST OF TWO FOR UNITED ARTISTS