Beauty for the Asking
Beauty for the Asking is a 1939 film drama produced by RKO Pictures, and starring Lucille Ball and Patric Knowles.
| Beauty for the Asking | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Glenn Tryon |
| Written by | Doris Anderson and Paul Jarrico (screenplay) Edmund L. Hartmann (story) Grace Norton and Adele Buffington (idea) |
| Produced by | B. P. Fineman |
| Starring | Lucille Ball Patric Knowles Donald Woods Frieda Inescort |
| Cinematography | Frank Redman |
| Edited by | George Crone |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 68 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
It tells the story of Jean Russell (Ball), a beautician who is jilted by her boyfriend (Knowles) so he can marry an older but wealthy woman. Russell invents a new facial cream, and with the financial backing of her former boyfriend's wife (Frieda Inescort), starts a business that makes her a millionaire.
Reception
RKO's pre-release publicity claimed that the film was to be an "exposé of the beauty racket" but reviewers of the day concluded that it was a standard "romantic love triangle".[1]
Recently Leonard Maltin has written favorably of the film, suggesting that the film offered an unusual feminist viewpoint for its time, and acknowledging that Ball delivered a strong performance.[2]
Cast
- Lucille Ball as Jean Russell
- Patric Knowles as Denny Williams
- Donald Woods as Jeffrey Martin
- Frieda Inescort as Flora Barton-Williams
- Inez Courtney as Gwen Morrison
- Leona Maricle as Eve Harrington
- Frances Mercer as Patricia Wharton
- Whitney Bourne as Peggy Ponsby
- George Beranger as Cyril (as George Andre Beranger)
- Kay Sutton as Miss Whitman, Jean's Secretary
- Ann Evers as Lois Peabody
Notes
- Jewell and Harbin, p. 128
- Maltin, p. 93
References
External links
- Beauty for the Asking at IMDb
- Beauty for the Asking at the TCM Movie Database
- Beauty for the Asking at AllMovie
- Beauty for the Asking at the American Film Institute Catalog