''Professional Sweetheart'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

romantic comedy directed by

William A. Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senne ...

from a screenplay by Maurine Watkins. It stars

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

in her first film for RKO Radio Pictures, with

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

and

Frank McHugh Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor. Early years Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents, Edward A. ...

. The film is a satire of the radio industry.

Plot

Glory Eden is the "Purity Girl" of the ''Ippsie Wippsie Hour'' radio program. The show's sponsor, Sam Ipswich, discovered the orphan and made her a star in three months. He needs her public image to match her pure radio persona to promote Ippsie Wippsie, "the washcloth of queens." However, Glory longs to be a party girl who frequents nightclubs where she can drink, dance and meet men. She listens with envy as her black maid Vera describes the nightlife in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. Ipswich is eager for her to sign a new contract, but she throws a tantrum and refuses because it explicitly prohibits all the things that she wants to do. Along with everything else that Glory has missed, she wants a sweetheart. Speed Dennis, Ipswich's press agent, considers this a great idea and thinks the man should be Anglo-Saxon (to appeal to the

corn belt The Corn Belt is a region of the Midwestern United States that, since the 1850s, has dominated corn production in the United States. In the United States, ''corn'' is the common word for maize. More generally, the concept of the Corn Belt con ...

), and Herbert, Glory's dressmaker, insists that he should be under 25. Ipswich's secretary tells them that the "purest Anglo-Saxons" hail from the hills of Kentucky, so Glory chooses a fan letter at random from those written by young Kentucky men. Her selection is 23-year-old Jim Davy and she likes his photo. Ipswich, Speed and Herbert want her to choose someone else, but when "

sob sister Sob sister was an American term in the early 20th century for reporters (usually women) who specialized in newspaper articles (often called "sob stories") with emphasis on the human interest angle using language of sentimentality. The derogatory la ...

" reporter Elmerada de Leon comes to interview Glory, she spots the photo, so they must play along. Speed visits Kentucky to persuade the bashful Jim to accept a 10-day stay in New York. When Jim arrives in New York, the press expects him to marry Glory, so Speed prompts him to romance her. The wedding is conducted on the air. Tim Kelsey assigns O'Connor to steal Glory for his own radio program. O'Connor offers to help Jim and Glory sneak away for a private honeymoon in Atlantic City, away from the press. Jim is stunned to discover O'Connor's motive and that the marriage is merely a publicity stunt. At first, Jim insists that Glory wants to retire from showbusiness and settle down, but when she learns that the Kelsey contract has no restrictions on her lifestyle, she is eager to sign. Jim takes Glory to his home in rural Kentucky. As Jim and Glory are settling into country life, Speed arrives and unsuccessfully attempts to persuade Glory to return to New York. He then hatches a plan for Ipswich to let Vera sing as the Purity Girl that night, but the idea backfires. Glory becomes jealous, as he intended, but O'Connor is present and she signs his contract. When the couple return to New York, Jim refuses to let his wife perform without him. Speed has hired him for Ippsie Wippsie as a poet. To solve the problem, the two sponsors merge their companies to form Ippsie-Kelsey Clothies and they have Jim and Glory perform together.

Cast

as Glory Eden *

as Jim Davy *

as Elmerada de Leon *

as Speed Dennis *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 190 ...

as O'Connor *

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

as Sam Ipswich *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Herbert Childress *

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

as Announcer d*

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

as Tim Kelsey *

Frank Darien Frank Darien (March 18, 1876 – October 20, 1955) was an American actor. He appeared in 225 films and between 1915 and 1951. Filmography References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darien, Frank 1876 births 1955 deaths American ...

as Appleby *

Sterling Holloway Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in ''Dumbo'', Ad ...

as Stu *

June Brewster June Brewster (August 8, 1913 – November 2, 1995) was an American film actress of the 1930s. Selected filmography * ''The Sport Parade'' (1932) * ''Goldie Gets Along'' (1933) * ''Meet the Baron'' (1933) * ''Headline Shooter'' (1933) * '' ...

as Telephone Operator (uncredited) *

Theresa Harris Theresa Harris (December 31, 1906 – October 8, 1985) was an American television and film actress, singer and dancer. Early life Harris was born on New Year's Eve 1906 (some sources indicate 1909) in Houston, Texas, to Isaiah and Mable Harris ...

as Vera (uncredited) *

Betty Furness Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. Early years Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...

as Blonde Reporter (uncredited) (Cast list as per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database)

Production

Several industry publications of the time incorrectly attributed the screenplay to

Jane Murfin Jane Murfin (October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The author of several successful plays, she wrote some of them with actress Jane Cowl—most notably '' Smilin' Through'' (1919), which was adapted ...

, an RKO staple of the era, instead of Maurine Watkins. One of the working titles for the film was ''Careless'' before being changed to ''Professional Sweetheart'' in May 1933. The film's only song "Imaginary Sweetheart", with words and music by

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Edward Eliscu Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films. Life Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in ...

, was credited to Rogers. However, Rogers' singing voice was dubbed by

Etta Moten Etta Moten Barnett (November 5, 1901 – January 2, 2004) was an American actress and contralto vocalist, who was identified with her signature role of "Bess" in ''Porgy and Bess''. She created new roles for African-American women on stage ...

. Rogers wrote in her autobiography ''Ginger: My Story'' many years later, "I was amazed and annoyed. I had been singing professionally on the stage and screen for years and thought it ridiculous to hear someone else's voice coming out of my mouth."

Reception

The film received mixed to good reviews and Ginger Rogers received many positive notices for her performance. ''Variety'' wrote: "Had the pace of ''Professional Sweetheart''s early moments been sustained throughout the picture, its success rating would have been much more decisive. As is, it has just about enough comedy to cover up the later deficiencies..." ''

Screenland ''Screenland'' was a monthly U.S. magazine about movies, published between September 1920 and June 1971,Motion Picture Magazine ''Motion Picture'' was an American monthly fan magazine about film, published from 1911 to 1977.Fuller, Kathryn H. “Motion Picture Story Magazine and the Gendered Construction of the Movie Fan.” ''At the Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences a ...

'' called it a "wholesomely insane satire of the life of a radio queen," and ''

Modern Screen ''Modern Screen'' was an American fan magazine that for over 50 years featured articles, pictorials and interviews with film stars (and later television and music personalities). Founding ''Modern Screen'' magazine debuted on November 3, 193 ...

'' called it a "good comedy," complimenting the acting of the principal performers. Reviewer

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated that RKO "merits a vote of thanks for an entertaining comedy" and concluded that Rogers "has rarely been more entertaining." However, not every critic reviewed the film positively. ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' critic wrote that it "failed to impress with choppy story and mechanical treatment and situations."

References

External links

* * * * {{AFI film, id=5587, title=Professional Sweetheart
"Showmen's Reviews: ''Professional Sweetheart''"
''Motion Picture Herald''
Variety, Film Reviews: ''Professional Sweetheart''
archive.org 1933 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films Films about radio Films set in Kentucky Films set in New York City RKO Pictures films 1933 films Films directed by William A. Seiter 1930s American films