Tonight's Movie: Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952) at the TCM Classic Film Festival

Note: Just one of the things I appreciated about Paddy, aka Patricia Nolan-Hall or Caftan Woman, was our shared taste in films, which made her a great resource for my viewing! We both especially loved BEND OF THE RIVER (1952) -- her review is here -- and the kind of good, solid mid-range film she called "a dandy"; we also often talked about movies we called "Sunday films," perfect viewing for a relaxing weekend afternoon. She wrote about one such "Sunday matinee movie" in her 2018 review of HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL (1952).

I have always made it a point to see new-to-me films recommended by Paddy, as I don't think I've ever been disappointed by one, so when HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL turned up on the TCM Classic Film Festival schedule I made sure to see it. I only wish that Paddy were still here so we could exchange thoughts on the film. This post, along with the above link to her review, is as close as I can now get to doing that, and I'm delighted to share it as my contribution to The Caftan Woman Blogathon being held in Paddy's honor.

Paddy's upbeat presence, enthusiasm, and support will always be greatly missed, by me personally and by the entire online classic film community.

The next-to-last film of the 16 screenings I saw at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival was HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL (1952). It's an early '50s film from Universal Pictures, shot by Clifford Stine in the studio's typical bright candybox colors, and directed by Douglas Sirk.

Ben Mankiewicz interviewed Piper Laurie before the movie, as seen here, and she shared she didn't particularly enjoy making the film, as she didn't like working with Sirk. Sirk had previously directed her opposite Tony Curtis in NO ROOM FOR THE GROOM (1952).

When asked if she saw any glimmers of the type of vision or style Sirk would later become known for when they worked together, Laurie tersely responded "No."

Laurie and Sirk would not work together again after HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL; by contrast, this was the very first of an impressive nine films collaborated on by Sirk and Rock Hudson. Hudson would do some of his best work for the director, including my favorite of their films together, ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (1955).

One certainly can't tell that making the film wasn't a happy experience for Laurie, who gives an upbeat, bouncy performance as Millicent Blaisdell in this story set in the 1920s.

Millicent loves Dan Stebbins (Hudson), who works as a soda jerk in her father's (Larry Gates) drugstore, but her mother Harriet (Lynn Bari) is obsessed with the notion that Millicent should marry money. It seems that Harriet married for love, as did her mother before her, but Harriet doesn't like having to stretch to make ends meet and wants life to be easier for her daughter.

One of the ways the family supplements their budget is by taking in a boarder, John Smith (Charles Coburn), who in actuality is Samuel Fulton. Fulton had wanted to marry Harriet's mother but she spurned him; he went off to make a fortune but has no family. When he considers leaving his fortune to his lost love's surviving family, his lawyer (Frank Ferguson) suggests it would be a good idea if he first checks the Blaisdells out to make sure they deserve it.

The family take to Smith in greater or lesser degrees, and he even takes a job as a soda jerk in the drugstore; he finds new meaning and purpose living an ordinary family life for the first time. But when he anonymously drops a large sum of money in the Blaisdells' lap, all manner of unexpected complications ensue, including roadblocks to Millicent and Dan's romance.

The 88-minute film, written by Joseph Hoffman based on a story by Eleanor Porter (POLLYANNA), is a curious mix of lighthearted family comedy with darker overtones. Indeed, Harriet seems to be having a midlife crisis imported from one of Sirk's later melodramas.

The extent of Harriet Blaisdell's unhappiness becomes disconcerting, to the point that one wonders if her marriage and family relations can recover from the paths she chooses when they have money. The ending seeks to reassure us that "All's well that ends well," but I wonder!

On the other hand I had no worries at all for Millicent and Dan, once Millicent got out from under her overbearing mother's sway. Laurie and Hudson are charming in this, and it's hard to believe Millicent could seriously look at wealthy Carl (Skip Homeier) for one minute. I mean...he's played by Skip Homeier. I associate him with Western villainy, not with being a romantic leading man!  He's just as unpleasant here as he is in some of his other roles.

Gigi Perreau is a delight as Millicent's upbeat little sister Roberta, and she has good rapport with Coburn as Smith. I also liked William Reynolds as Millicent and Harriet's brother, who learns a valuable lesson about both gambling and appreciation thanks to Smith.

All in all, despite the story's more worrisome aspects, this is quite an enjoyable family "Sunday matinee movie," just as my friend Paddy wrote, and I'm very glad I saw it -- very appropriately, on a Sunday! The digital print shown at the festival was lovely.

You know you're watching a movie with the right crowd when a drugstore customer briefly onscreen is recognized by the audience to be James Dean and receives a round of applause!  The cast also included Paul Harvey, Gloria Holden, and Willard Waterman.

HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL is available as a single-title DVD in the Universal Vault Series, as part of the five-film Rock Hudson Screen Legend Collection or in the six-film Rock Hudson Comedy Collection.

2023 Update: HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY GAL will be coming to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.  (Additional Update: The release date for the Blu-ray will be January 9, 2024.)

March 2023 Update: My review of the Kino Lorber Blu-ray is here.

Tweet