Government Girl (1943)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Sadly Over-hyped

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Uggghhh! This film simply irritated me, as the wonderful and Oscar-winning Olivia de Havilland was forced to appear in this movie that was simply beneath her talents. And, considering that she battled the big-wigs at Warner Brothers for better roles, this loan-out to RKO is ample evidence that she was right to sue to be released from her contract! Quite simply, this is a poorly written film where Miss de Havilland was paired with a lumbering 'actor' who had all the charisma and charm of a log!The film is set in DC during the Second World War. De Havilland is secretary to a guy who comes off as an idiot. Perhaps it was the writing or perhaps this was the best Sonny Tufts could do, but he seemed to be ill-at-ease in his role as a manufacturing expert brought to the Capital to increase production. However, the plot really involves Tufts and de Havilland eventually falling in love--interspersed with some 'kooky' adventures--and kooky really seemed to poorly suit the sophisticated de Havilland. Of particular note was the ultra-kooky motorcycle scene--which came off as something you might expect from an Abbott & Costello or Three Stooges film! Poorly rear-projected and zany, I cringed during this entire unnecessary sequence. And, as far as cringing goes, this early scene was just one of many that just irritated me (another awful one was the crying scene where I just wanted de Havilland to shut up!). The film was just poorly written and dumb. This is clearly among the actress' worst films and, sadly, probably among the best performances by Tufts! Simply awful and clearly a B-movie in every way--despite an A-level star in the title role. I think I'm gonna throw up! To think the star from "The Heiress", "To Each His Own" and "The Snake Pit" was put into this drivel!!

Olivia de Havilland is Smokey, a "Government Girl" in this 1943 look at wartime Washington. We clearly see the role of the working woman, the housing crisis, the problems getting a hotel room, and the bureaucracy. de Havilland plays a young woman with no plans to get married, because she has her career - a prevailing attitude in those days.While at a wedding of her friend/roommate May (Ann Shirley) and her soon to be husband (James Dunn) in the lobby of a Washington hotel because their suite was given away, she encounters one Mr. Ed Browne (Sonny Tufts). He has the aforementioned suite, and Smokey can't get it away from him. Later she finds out that he's her new boss. As unpleasantly as their relationship started, she sees that he knows how to cut corners to get bombers built and get things done.This is a forced comedy which proves that even the remarkable acting and presence of Olivia de Havilland can't save the sinking ship named Sonny Tufts. If it hadn't been for the war, this man would never have landed in front of a camera, but let's face it, Hollywood was desperate! And he's proof of it.The rest of the cast is very good, and "Government Girl" certainly gives us an interesting look of the U.S. in wartime. De Havilland works hard, perhaps too hard, overcoming the deficiencies in the production. Or perhaps I should say, the deficiency.

For over a decade, I have been favorably impressed by the work of Olivia de Havilland. That said, I had no high hopes for this film; I wanted to watch this film just to say I had, and to see de Havilland in a comedic role. I was pleasantly surprised, and I found myself rather taken in by the humor. Having seen Miss de Havilland in her Academy Award winning performances and many other dramatic roles, I was impressed by her comedic timing, facial expressions, and sharp sarcasm, which is also very prominent in her portrayal of Amy Lind in THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. I by no means consider this film one of Hollywood's best, but it isn't all that bad and is definitely worth a watch - particularly if you want to see de Havilland in a different kind of role.

I used to think that Olivia DeHavilland could do no wrong. I'd only seen her in good films, where she was usually perfect. Remember her incredible performances in "Gone With The Wind", "Robin Hood", "The Heiress", "Captain Blood", and even in "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte"?Little did I know the kind of scenery-chewing she's capable of when left without a script or a leading man!This could never have been anything but a formulaic yawner, a didactically patriotic wartime comedy about a dynamic Young Bureaucrat and His Girl Friday would have been deadly even if they had cast Tracy and Hepburn. But in the hands this bad it becomes almost worth watching!