Ann Sothern was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920s in bit parts in films. In 1930, she made her Broadway stage debut and soon worked her way up to starring roles. In 1939, MGM cast her as Maisie Ravier, a brash yet lovable Brooklyn showgirl. The character, based on the Maisie short stories by Nell Martin, proved to be popular and spawned a successful film series and a network radio series.
Jean Rogers was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for playing Dale Arden in the science-fiction serials Flash Gordon (1936) and Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938).
Gay Hamilton is a British actress, most notable for her roles in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and Ridley Scott's The Duellists.
The Adventures of Maisie was a radio comedy series starring Ann Sothern as underemployed entertainer Maisie Ravier and a spin-off of Sothern's successful 1939–1947 Maisie movie series, based on a character created by Wilson Collison.) The series was broadcast on CBS Radio, NBC Radio, the Mutual Radio Network, and Mutual flagship radio station WHN in New York City.
Maisie Ravier is a fictional character, the leading character of ten films (1939–1947) and the radio show The Adventures of Maisie. She was played by actress Ann Sothern (1909–2001). Eight of the ten Maisie films were written by Mary C. McCall Jr. Unusually, there was no continuity from one picture to the next. For example, the first film ends with her marrying the leading man and inheriting a ranch, but in the next one she is single and footloose again.
Maisie is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin based on the 1935 novel Dark Dame by Wilson Collison. The rights to the novel were originally purchased by MGM for a Jean Harlow film, but Harlow died in 1937 before a shooting script could be completed. The project was put on hold until 1939, when Ann Sothern was hired to star in the film with Robert Young as leading man. It was the first of 10 films starring Sothern as Maisie Ravier. In Mary C. McCall, Jr.'s screenplay, Maisie is stranded penniless in a small Wyoming town, takes a job at a ranch, and gets caught in a web of romantic entanglements.
Nella Walker was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s.
Gold Rush Maisie is a 1940 drama film, the third of ten films starring Ann Sothern as Maisie Ravier, a showgirl with a heart of gold. In this entry in the series, she joins a gold rush to a ghost town. The film was directed by Edwin L. Marin.
Mary C. McCall Jr. was an American writer best known for her screenwriting. She was a charter member and the first woman president of the Writers Guild of America, serving from 1942–44 and 1951–52.
Let's Fall in Love is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic musical film starring Edmund Lowe and Ann Sothern. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film was directed by David Burton and written by Herbert Fields.
Wilson Collison was a writer and playwright.
Maisie Was a Lady is a 1941 American comedy-drama film directed by Edwin L. Marin and is the fourth in a series of ten films starring Ann Sothern as good-hearted showgirl Maisie Ravier.
Maisie Gets Her Man is a 1942 film directed by Roy Del Ruth. It stars Ann Sothern and Red Skelton in this the sixth of the ten-film Maisie series.
Ringside Maisie is a 1941 film directed by Edwin L. Marin. It stars Ann Sothern, Robert Sterling and George Murphy. It is the fifth of ten pictures in the Maisie series. This was Sothern and future husband Sterling's only film together.
Swing Shift Maisie is a 1943 romantic comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod. It is the seventh in a series of 10 films starring Ann Sothern as Maisie, preceded by Maisie Gets Her Man (1942) and followed by Maisie Goes to Reno (1944). Her co-stars are James Craig and Jean Rogers.
Up Goes Maisie is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is the ninth of 10 films starring Ann Sothern as ex-showgirl Maisie Ravier, characterized as "that double trouble doll with the sassy chassis." At nearly 40 years old, it was clear that both Sothern and the series was "winding down". In this series entry, Maisie, "the peppery lady with a golden heart" goes to work for an inventor and helicopter operator played by George Murphy.
Maisie Goes to Reno is the eighth film starring Ann Sothern as Maisie Ravier, preceded by Swing Shift Maisie and followed by Up Goes Maisie. John Hodiak plays her love interest in this 1944 romantic comedy.
Everett G. Brown was an American actor.
Undercover Maisie is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Ann Sothern, Barry Nelson, and Mark Daniels. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the final film of the ten film Maisie series starring Ann Sothern as ex-showgirl Maisie Ravier. In this series entry, Maisie Ravier decides to join the Los Angeles police force. The previous film was Up Goes Maisie.
Melody in Spring is a 1934 American pre-Code musical film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and written by Benn W. Levy, Frank Leon Smith, and Jane Storm. The film stars Lanny Ross, Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Ann Sothern, George Meeker, and Herman Bing. The film was released on April 20, 1934, by Paramount Pictures.
