Lucille Ball and John Hodiak star in Two Smart People (1946)

 

Movie Review: Two Smart People (1946)

starring Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, and Lloyd Nolan

a blog post written for my We Love Lucy Blogathon

My Summary of Two Smart People

Two Smart People is what happens when two con artists try to pull a con on the same person and then manage to cheat each other of their mark. Ricki Woodner (Lucille Ball) and Ace Connors (John Hodiak) are quite a pair. Connors is on the run with stolen bonds glued into the binding of an ordinary cooking book while Ricki is always on the lookout for her next victim, yet somehow, fate has brought them together.

Fly Feletti, Connors' partner in the bond heist wants his share, but Connors isn't paying up, so as an old acquaintance of Ricki, he spills that Connors has a fortune in bonds stashed on him somewhere in the hopes that Ricki might be able to squeeze them out of him. Ricki pretends indifference, but in reality, she immediately sets Connors up as her new mark (just not partnered with Fly), a dangerous game to play with a man who's as equally clever as herself and can recognize when he's being played.

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Movie Review: The Harvey Girls (1946) starring Judy Garland and John Hodiak

The Harvey Girls (1946)

starring Judy Garland, John Hodiak, and Angela Lansbury

co-starring Ray Bolger, Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, Kenny Baker, and Cyd Charisse

I remember LOVING The Harvey Girls the first time I saw it, so naturally I was curious to see if that emotion had staying power since I hadn't seen the movie in over a decade. As it happens, yes, I still love it, and with good reason.

I've never minded mail-order bride stories, and that's how this one begins, with young Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) headed west to marry a man who she's only corresponded with, but never met. Full of hope and light, a tad bit hungry, she encounters a group of young women also headed west, known as the Harvey Girls. They are employed by Fred Harvey to open a Harvey House restaurant that brings culture and refinement to western towns. Enthralled with the young ladies in this group, Susan immediately befriends them, especially since her stop and theirs is the same one.

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