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 proved to be popular and spawned a successful film series and a network radio series.
Ian Hunter was a Cape Colony-born British actor of stage, film and television.
Brother Orchid is a 1940 American crime/comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Donald Crisp, Ralph Bellamy and Allen Jenkins. The screenplay was written by Earl Baldwin, with uncredited contributions from Jerry Wald and Richard Macauley, based on a story by Richard Connell originally published in Collier's Magazine on May 21, 1938. Prior to the creation of the movie version of Connell's story, a stage adaptation was written by playwright/novelist Leo Brady. The script was originally produced at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
Personal Property is a 1937 American romantic comedy film starring Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor and directed by W.S. Van Dyke. It is based on the play The Man in Possession by H. M. Harwood which had previously been made into a film The Man in Possession by MGM. It was the last fully completed film made by Harlow.
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.
I Take This Woman is a 1940 American drama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring Spencer Tracy and Hedy Lamarr. Based on the short story "A New York Cinderella" by Charles MacArthur, the film is about a young woman who attempted suicide in reaction to a failed love affair. The doctor who marries her attempts to get her to love him by abandoning his clinic services to the poor to become a physician to the rich so he can pay for her expensive lifestyle.
Fast and Furious is a 1939 American mystery comedy film directed by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern as Joel and Garda Sloane, a crime-solving married couple who are also rare book dealers. It is the last of a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer trilogy, along with Fast Company (1938) and Fast and Loose (1939). However, different actors played the couple each time.
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.
Not So Dumb is a 1930 pre-Code comedy motion picture starring Marion Davies, directed by King Vidor, and produced for Cosmopolitan Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Dulcy is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by Sidney A. Franklin and starring Constance Talmadge. The film was adapted from the Broadway production of the same name written by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. The play opened in New York in August 1921 and ran for 241 performances.
Singapore is a 1947 American film noir crime romance film directed by John Brahm and starring Fred MacMurray, Ava Gardner and Roland Culver. The film was remade as Istanbul (1957) with the location moved to Turkey, and Errol Flynn and Cornell Borchers in the starring roles.
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.
Call It a Day is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Olivia de Havilland, Ian Hunter, Anita Louise, Alice Brady, Roland Young, and Frieda Inescort. Based on the 1935 play Call It a Day by Dodie Smith, the film is about a day in the life of a middle-class London family whose lives are complicated by the first romantic signs of spring.
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 a 1944 American comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont. It 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.
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.
There Goes the Groom is a 1937 screwball comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Ann Sothern and Burgess Meredith. It was Burgess Meredith's second film and his first screen comedy; his first film, Winterset (1936), was a serious romantic drama.
She's Got Everything is a 1937 American romantic comedy directed by Joseph Santley using a screenplay by Harry Segall and Maxwell Shane, based on a story by Shane and Joseph Hoffman. The film stars Gene Raymond and Ann Sothern, with supporting performances by Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Parkyakarkus, and Billy Gilbert. RKO Radio Pictures produced and distributed the picture, which was released on the final day of 1937.
Roger Pryor was an American film actor.
April Showers is a 1948 American musical film directed by James V. Kern and written by Peter Milne. The film stars Jack Carson, Ann Sothern, Robert Alda, S. Z. Sakall, Robert Ellis and Richard Rober. The film was released by Warner Bros. on March 27, 1948.
