mark.waltz When the brains behind a bookie racketeers the worst secretary in the world, you know he's up to something. "I'll take that girl!", determined William Holden tells curmudgeon secretarial school professor Charles Lane who is perplexed but fooled. Lucille Ball is the clumsy secretary who ruins typewriters like she was skeet shooting. Ribbons pop off their axles, the carriage shoots off like a champagne cork, and her waste basket is never empty. So in other words, she's perfect for the job of front for Holden's gambling operation.With tough talking James Gleason and perpetually confused Frank McHugh as Holden's staff and Janis Carter as Holden's jealous girlfriend, Lucy doesn't realize what she's up against which is why she ends up doing better than anybody suspected she would. Of course, it doesn't hurt that her a uncle (George Cleveland) is a prominent judge and one of her suitors (Stephen Dunne) is the assistant D.A.As Ball turns Bill upside down with her interference in his operation, he plots to get her to quit only to make her more determined, even though she does briefly quit after he makes a pass. This wasn't Lucy's first opportunity for wacky comedy, but the three farce comedies she made at Columbia showed the creation of Lucy Ricardo, Carmichael and Carter. Gleason and Carter get some really good lines, while it's ironic to see Lucy with Lane (who appeared on a majority of her sitcoms) and Holden who was memorable as himself on one of "I Love Lucy's" most notable episodes. This rates A+ as a smart comedy about corruption, with city slickers of tough attitudes deliciously taken down several notches thanks to "that girl".

RanchoTuVu A small comedy with a nicely paced story about a bookie played by William Holden who tries to hide his operation behind the front of a real estate office that he opens in a medium sized town. He hires a secretary played by Lucille Ball who can't even type. To his consternation, she attracts interested first-time home buyers, WW2 vets and their wives and children. It almost has, at times, the feeling of George Bailey in Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, building homes for the emerging middle class. Taking us out to the construction site, Lucy is nearly crushed under tons of earth in a rather incredible scene, while Holden and his associates (who are given many funny lines) are reluctantly led by the positive goodness of the buyers into being pioneers in real estate development and early suburban sprawl.

raskimono Before Lucille Ball would become forever famous as the star of the beloved TV series "I love Lucy" and William Holden would become one of the biggest stars, if not the biggest star of the fifties, they were both dependable leading man and lady respectively in fluffy comedies for the studio system. Movies that were not very deep, did not charm the critics but did well at the box office as this one did. This is more Lucille's show than Holden who was already growing into his craggy, weary, doggerel expression that would serve him well in later years. Plot must be a twist on a popular fifties phenomenon of hard to find affordable housing in Washington DC and the scam artists who bilk the people desperate for affordable prices. Lucille is a dumb red-head who wants to do good things while being inept and dyslexic. Holden needs a not too bright secretary who won't ask questions and will not catch on to the underground shenanigans of his front real estate business. Lucille proves to be more headache than bargain, and gets Holden into a tight spot. He tries to fire her in a funny and unsuccessful attempt. She learns the truth, hates him, loves him and an ending comes. There is also another girl involved. You know it already it's a romantic comedy, Hollywood style. That said, the first two-thirds of the movie is very funny and sharp as the two of them grate each other's nerves, well it's Holden doing all the gritting. But the last third is very weak and not very intelligent, especially the final scene. So it's good but not quite there. Passable entertainment for the house-wife or loved one.

robertcicco3035 Miss Grant Takes Richmond is an OK comedy starring Lucille Ball as a somewhat dizzy secretary who is hired by Mr. Richmond, a bookie using a phony real estate business as a front. Lucy, of course, doesn't know this, and she believes that he will build low-cost homes for her friends. This film is, unfortunately, not very funny. There are a couple of humorous sequences, but overall it should have been funnier. There's also very little slapstick, which is strange considering that Lucy was so adept at it. She and Holden do have some chemistry, though, and the supporting cast is good. A 5 out of 10.