Film

Maisie

Name: Maisie
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1939
Cast: Robert Young, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey, Ian Hunter, Cliff Edwards

Drama

A wisecracking showgirl stranded in Wyoming becomes an unexpected maid at a troubled ranch, where her irreverent charm and street smarts gradually win over everyone around her. It's a brisk, warm comedy-drama that moves at theatrical pace, full of snappy dialogue and genuine affection for its characters. Made for anyone who enjoys screwball energy tempered with real heart—a film about how kindness and humor can matter more than breeding or money.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like snappy, wisecracking banter where a sharp-tongued heroine talks her way through a tangle of romantic misunderstandings on a Wyoming ranch.

Skip it if you want a modern picture; this is a lively 1930s studio programmer with stock characters and a plot that leans on coincidence and convenient contrivance.

What it asks of you: Only 75 minutes, and a light touch throughout; it moves briskly and asks you to enjoy the chatter rather than sink into any deep feeling.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

It Happened One Night1934

The template for romantic comedies: a runaway heiress and a cynical reporter, banter that crackles, and a structure so perfect it's been copied ever since. Gable and Colbert have unstoppable chemistry.

But It moves fast in a way that can feel thin if you're not attuned to 1930s dialogue comedy; some of the gender politics read as dated.

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly—a woman living by her wits in New York, charming and evasive and self-invented. The spiritual great-granddaughter of Maisie: a woman refusing to fit into anyone else's life.

But The second half pivots into romance in ways some find saccharine; the racial caricature is egregious and jarring.

Bringing Up Baby1938

Pure screwball mayhem. Cary Grant as a paleontologist pursued by Katharine Hepburn and a leopard. Witty, physical, anarchic—dialogue so fast you might miss half of it the first time, but who cares.

But The pace and volume can exhaust; some find it relies too much on broad comedy and not enough on character.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Maisie

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Phantom Lady1944

Both are stories of women using intelligence and charm as survival tools in a world that doesn't owe them anything, but the register is opposite—one is comedy, one is suspense.

A woman with no official status—a secretary, a nobody—becomes a detective to save her wrongly accused boss. It's a noir with a female lead who schemes, lies, and charms her way forward like Maisie, but shot through with shadows and dread.

But It's considerably darker and grittier than Maisie; some find the sexual threat overwhelming.

The Philadelphia Story1940

Hepburn at her sharpest, juggling two exes and a journalist, with Stewart and Grant in support. Sophisticated without being cold, funny without being mean-spirited. A masterwork of romantic comedy.

But It's primarily about the wealthy; the morality can feel a little convenient by the end.

Ball of Fire1941

Barbara Stanwyck as a nightclub singer hiding out with seven professors. Fast, flirty, unexpectedly touching. Stanwyck has Maisie's swagger and warmth; the film shares her spirit entirely.

But The premise is silly in ways the film doesn't quite wink at; some of the humor lands differently now.

His Girl Friday1940

Rosalind Russell as a reporter caught between her job and remarriage, trading overlapping dialogue with Cary Grant so clever you'll want to rewind. Snappy, energetic, genuinely wise about work and love.

But The rapid-fire overlapping dialogue can feel gimmicky; it privileges performance over naturalism.

How to Marry a Millionaire1953

Three women—Monroe, Bacall, Grahame—scheme and charm their way through New York. Technicolor glamour, genuine laughs, and a sweetness underneath the scheming that recalls Maisie's core.

But It's slighter than it appears; some of the humor depends on attitudes about women that the film doesn't interrogate.

Singin' in the Rain1952

Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in a love letter to show business, with genuine pathos under the spectacle. Pure joy. The Hollywood musical at its most assured and generous-hearted.

But The length and spectacle can feel exhausting rather than exhilarating; it's almost too confident in its own charm.

Ninotchka1939

Greta Garbo as a Soviet commissar thawed by Paris and Melvyn Douglas. A woman who doesn't belong learning to belong. The wit is sophisticated; the sentiment is genuine.

But It's more cerebral than physical; the political satire can feel thin and strange now.

7th Heaven1927

Both assert that ordinary people and people on the margins deserve love and dignity; both use humor and warmth to make that case, though one whispers and one speaks aloud.

A street urchin and a Parisian policeman find love in a tiny apartment during WWI. It's a silent film, so the sentiment is earned through gesture and performance. Deeply sentimental but never cheap—it believes in goodness and small happinesses.

But Silent film requires patience; the pacing is glacial by modern standards. The romance is subordinate to mood.