My Dear Secretary (1948)

An aspiring writer (Laraine Day) takes a job as a secretary to a best selling novelist (Kirk Douglas) in the hopes of learning more about the craft of writing. Instead, she finds he'd rather go to the races, go to Vegas, go to the beach etc., in fact anything but write! Directed by Charles Martin, this romantic comedy is hampered by uncomfortable dated sexist attitudes and two lead actors who aren't particularly good in comedy. I mean when you think of romcoms, is Kirk Douglas the first actor that comes to mind? Laraine Day has proved effective in dramas like THE LOCKET but a comedienne she's not. The movie's attitude of secretaries as sex playthings is so outmoded and no longer amusing. Fortunately, the supporting players are proficient in comedy and Keenan Wynn, Rudy Vallee, Florence Bates, Helen Walker, Alan Mowbray, Grady Sutton and Irene Ryan pick up the slack but not enough to save the movie. With Gale Robbins and Helene Stanley.