Tell It To The Judge (1949)

A messy divorce from her husband (Robert Cummings) threatens the appointment of a judge (Rosalind Russell) to the federal bench. Things only get more complicated when a playboy (Gig Young) makes a play for the recent divorcee. Directed by Norman Foster (WOMAN ON THE RUN). Originally intended as a vehicle for Lucille Ball and Fred MacMurray, this screwball comedy is a pale imitation of its more illustrious predecessors. Thank heavens for Russell! She can't do anything to elevate the script but being the pro she is, she occasionally manages to make a lame line seem amusing! The same can't be said for Cummings who flounders throughout. It's the usual comedic mixture of misunderstood or mistaken situations that cause a marriage to fall apart but it's also the usual 1940s scenario that treats career women as freaks until they throw their careers away in order to be the dutiful housewife nature intended them to be. It was movies like this that began to dim Russell's movie stardom and eventually caused her to go to Broadway where she revitalized her career with smash hits like WONDERFUL TOWN and AUNTIE MAME. With Gig Young, Marie McDonald, Harry Davenport, Douglass Dumbrille, Fay Baker and Katherine Warren.