wes-connors After refusing to join her family on a summer vacation, spoiled New York heiress Olivia de Havilland (as Margaret "Maggie" Richards) storms out of the house. She stops to get gas, but has no cash to pay singing attendant Dick Powell (as Bill Davis). He doesn't believe de Havilland is rich and makes her work off the $3.48 as a maid in the gasoline station's neighboring "Cozy Cabins". She is furious and vows to get even with Powell, who is an aspiring architect. After their debt is settled, Powell takes de Havilland out to dinner. She sets out to queer Powell's ambitious architectural plans, with help from oil tycoon father Charles Winninger (as Benjamin "Ben" Richards)...The tables get turned, and turned again. Powell and his stunt double get bounced around frequently. Winninger wrestles with enterprising servant Melville Cooper (as Case). The men have a good scene, near the end, on a skyscraper. Powell sings the #1 hit "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" and reprises Al Jolson's "Sonny Boy" in less dignified black-face. De Havilland seems almost entirely out of sorts. Although never as big as her co-stars, brunette maid Penny Singleton (as Hattie) owns the funniest scene. It's when she and de Havilland switch roles. After this film, Ms. Singleton bleached her hair blonde and appeared almost exclusively in the "Blondie" series.***** Hard to Get (11/5/38) Ray Enright ~ Dick Powell, Olivia de Havilland, Charles Winninger, Penny Singleton

utgard14 Spoiled rich girl Olivia de Havilland fills up her car at a gas station where aspiring architect Dick Powell works. She doesn't have any cash to pay for the gas so Powell makes her work off the debt. She sets about trying to get even with Powell by leading him on and tricking him into pitching his dream idea for a chain of auto courts to her father and his friend, who she knows will never give Powell's idea a fair shot. Things change when she inevitably develops feeling for him.Mean-spirited at times but mostly funny screwball comedy. The leads are great. Also, love seeing Bonita Granville, Penny Singleton, and Allen Jenkins. Helps if you haven't seen other, better screwball comedies from the period. If you have, this will definitely have an air of familiarity about it. Still, it's a good one. Powell sings a couple of songs, including "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" and a jarringly out-of-place blackface number. There's one ridiculous part where, as part of a gag by de Havilland's father, Powell is tricked into opening a door that leads onto a ledge several stories up. It's implied this trick has been used before on others. I'm sure we're not supposed to look into this too closely but that part kind of bothered me since Powell very easily could have fallen to his death. Some gag.

MartinHafer When this film begins, you find that Olivia DeHavilland plays a thoroughly obnoxious spoiled brat--too spoiled to be a likable character, as I think they should have toned down her character a bit. Anyway, she stops at a gas station and fills up but has no money. No matter in her mind, as she instructs the attendant (Dick Powell) to 'just charge it'. However, the company does not allow charges and Powell cannot just trust her for the amount, as it will come out of his paycheck should she not return to pay him later. On top of that, she behaves with such a strong sense of entitlement, it's not surprising he won't let her go until she works off her debt! Eventually, Olivia works off the debt and returns to her rich father (Charles Winninger) and insists that Daddy have Powell fired. Instead, Winninger and Olivia eventually decide to spend much of the film toying with Powell and behaving like total jerks in the process. I really think they should have made this family a bit kookier and a lot less mean-spirited and selfish--as it handicapped the film significantly. On the plus side, Powell is excellent--with a few nice songs (I usually hate songs) and seemingly effortless acting. He was at his best here--and DeHavilland, who is usually one of my very favorites, is in a film that is simply beneath her extraordinary talents. No wonder she eventually sued Warner Brothers to get out of her contract!!! The bottom line is that the film has lots of nice moments and is likable at times. But, with such annoying characters to undo the plot, it fails where it SHOULD have been a winner. A simple re-write would have done a world of good with this film.By the way, while I liked Powell in the film, I was shocked to see him do a number in black-face. Uggh!!! The pain!Also, get a load of James Finlayson playing a bit part. It's nice to see him in a role outside of his usual Laurel & Hardy appearances.

Neil Doyle It's hard to believe that this little Warner Bros. comedy was made a year before de Havilland played Melanie in Gone with the Wind. She is such a feisty, saucy little minx that it's no wonder Dick Powell has to tame her. Proof that de Havilland was not just a fluffy ingenue is the fact that three films later she was playing the demure, ladylike Melanie. Makes you wonder why Jack Warner never fully appreciated her talent. Anyway, this is an enjoyable comedy about a brash architect working as a gas station attendant who treats a spoiled heiress rather harshly when she has no money to pay for gas. She decides to turn the tables on him and therein lies the germ of a plot. Charles Winninger and Melville Cooper are delightful in supporting roles, as is Penny Singleton as a dim-witted maid in the wealthy man's household. Too bad this one isn't available on video. Like another early de Havilland comedy, It's Love I'm After, it deserves to be seen by viewers who don't have Turner Classic Movies on their cable stations.