It's funny, but for a movie made back in 'the good old days', it's amazingly sleazy--filled with sexual innuendo from start to finish. When the film begins, you learn that Claire (Loretta Young) and Johnny (Frank Albertson) have been 'playing house' (an old euphemism for living together). Now that they are finishing up in college, he has a job offer to take the band to Paris and she wants to stay home and be a career girl. At first, it's tough going for Claire--after all, it's the Depression and jobs are scarce. Eventually, however, she gets a job as a secretary and does quite well. In fact, she's soon made an executive at the advertising agency--partly because of talent and partly because her boss, Mr. Clayton (Ricardo Cortez) thinks she has nice legs! Once in this high-paying position, Claire seems to spend most of her time avoiding going to bed with Clayton--as Clayton is the ultimate horn-dog and CONSTANTLY sexually harasses her.
Johnny arrives home early from Paris and is shocked to see his girl is a business woman. However, they both get off on the wrong foot and soon they are arguing about pretty much everything. Clayton uses this as an excuse to butt in--and he really starts putting a lot of pressure on Claire to either sleep with him or marry him (quite the romantic, isn't he?!). What's next? See it and find out for yourself.
It's interesting that although the film is jam-packed with sexuality, nice girl Claire manages to remain rather pure (other than living with Johnny when the film began). In other words, it's a case of the old expression 'all tease, no please'--as the film seems pretty dirty but nothing especially ever happens. There are lots of folks who think adultery is a new national sport and the film seems to think the subject is quite funny. And, the adultery scenes with Joan Blondell (playing a VERY unusual small part in the film) at the end are pretty funny at that! All in all, a rather salacious film--the sort of thing that was pretty popular in the early 1930s before the toughened Production Code was enacted in 1934. Thereafter, a film such as "Big Business Girl" would either have to be heavily re-written and cleaned up or simply not made at all. An odd little curio that is mildly interesting but not sleazy enough to make it a must-see (such as Loretta's "Platinum Blonde").
Johnny arrives home early from Paris and is shocked to see his girl is a business woman. However, they both get off on the wrong foot and soon they are arguing about pretty much everything. Clayton uses this as an excuse to butt in--and he really starts putting a lot of pressure on Claire to either sleep with him or marry him (quite the romantic, isn't he?!). What's next? See it and find out for yourself.
It's interesting that although the film is jam-packed with sexuality, nice girl Claire manages to remain rather pure (other than living with Johnny when the film began). In other words, it's a case of the old expression 'all tease, no please'--as the film seems pretty dirty but nothing especially ever happens. There are lots of folks who think adultery is a new national sport and the film seems to think the subject is quite funny. And, the adultery scenes with Joan Blondell (playing a VERY unusual small part in the film) at the end are pretty funny at that! All in all, a rather salacious film--the sort of thing that was pretty popular in the early 1930s before the toughened Production Code was enacted in 1934. Thereafter, a film such as "Big Business Girl" would either have to be heavily re-written and cleaned up or simply not made at all. An odd little curio that is mildly interesting but not sleazy enough to make it a must-see (such as Loretta's "Platinum Blonde").