Maisie Was A Lady (1941)

After being fired from a carnival sideshow, a showgirl (Ann Sothern) temporarily works as a maid in a posh Long Island estate. She becomes involved with the two rich offspring of a neglectful and absent parent (Paul Cavanagh): his alcoholic playboy son (Lew Ayres) and his fragile daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) who's engaged to a fortune hunter (Edward Ashley). Directed by Edwin L. Marin (A CHRISTMAS CAROL), this was the fourth entry in the Maisie series, all starring Ann Sothern. Maisie stands out among the MGM franchises (which included The Thin Man, Dr. Kildare, Andy Hardy) because it has a female protagonist at its center. Sothern's sassy wisecracking showgirl provided a nice contrast to the often dramatic and dark situations she was thrown into. Here, she deals with alcoholism, suicide attempts and low self esteem among other things. Of course, most of the comedy comes from the clash of Sothern's brassy "tell it like it is" persona and the haughty rich with their class snobbery. With C. Aubrey Smith, never more charming as the family butler, Joan Perry and Hillary Brooke.