She Wrote the Book

The initial premise of this film reminded me of "Nothing Sacred" (1937), with the innocent girl from the sticks, or in this case from a Midwestern college town, coming to Manhattan under false pretenses, where there's a cynical publicity machine waiting to exploit her.

I've always been fond of Joan Davis. Growing up, if I'd had to choose between "I Love Lucy" and "I Married Joan," I'd have picked the latter -- even though now, after seven decades, that show evokes mainly nostalgia.

So for me, the most interesting thing about this film is that Davis, known for being a physical clown, was more appealing, and actually quite attractive, when she was playing it relatively straight -- as she does here in the role of a prim, no-nonsense mathematics professor. And later, temporarily transformed by that creaky plot device, amnesia, into the author of a risqué bestseller, she's still in what was, for her, an unusual role. I suspect she enjoyed making this film because it gave her the chance to play someone who's adult and intelligent, and also someone sexy and glamorous. Presumably the final party scene was designed to give audiences the wilder Joan Davis they'd paid to see, allowing her to really let loose; but personally I was glad when it was over.

All this film's supporting players are perfect. I was surprised to see what low billing Gloria Stuart received, in a role that was small but key. And surprised, too, that the movie's romantic lead, Kirby Grant, went on to play TV's flying cowboy, Sky King.

Joan Davis is Professor Featherstone, a genius who is also very conservative and works for a very conservative small college. A friend approaches her with an unusual proposition...to go to New York and pretend to be the author of "Always Lulu", Lulu Withers. Why? Because this book is apparently very racy and the publisher wants to meet her...but the lady is afraid to go because she's the Dean's wife! So, Featherstone goes and is prepared to just pick up a royalty check and run. But, when she suffers a head injury, her memory is impacted and she now believes she IS Lulu...a worldly lady who has had scores of lovers! What's next? See the story for yourself.

In many ways, this reminds me of the wonderful Jobeth Williams film, "American Dreamer". Both are about a woman who has amnesia and think they are either authors ("She Wrote the Book") or characters from a book ("American Dreamer")...and both are quite clever and fun. A film that is timeless...enjoyable now as it was then.

Joan Davis is a buttoned down professor at an Indiana college. She's on her way to a conference to read her paper on abstruse mathematics, when dean's wife Gloria Stuart explains she wrote a tell-all novel called ALWAYS LULU. She wants the royalties for the college, which is just about broke, but for publicity publisher Thurston Hall and publicity man Jack Oakie want her in New York. They claim she has to sign papers. Miss Stuart asks Miss Davis to pretend to be her. Miss Davis reluctantly agrees, meets nice Texas engineer Kirby Grant and dates him up.... then comes down with total amnesia. Oakie, thinking her the real Lulu, tries to educate her in the ways of the vamp by reading to her from the book.

It's an amusing albeit unlikely comedy set-up. The problem for fans of Miss Davis is that it gives her far too chances for her outsized clowning. Except for a few moments when Jack Oakie is reading the book to her, she seems far too much the mild math professor. The movies always had problems with the level of her clowning: too much in one movie, too little in another, like here, where usually the script rarely gives her a chance to show her comic chops.

It was also the last film for three decades for Miss Stuart. Two more examples of how Hollywood often failed to know what to do with the talent it had.