THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA (1942)

A fluffy B-comedy in which rich families in an exclusive community discover that a family maid has written a book, apparently a scandalous expose, and all the families are nervous about who it is and what will be exposed. There's really no suspense about who it is, although the opening minutes, with various families guessing, is the best scene in the movie. Marsha Hunt (with whom I was totally unfamiliar) and Richard Carlson are the leads, and, though I have nothing against either one, it winds up being the supporting cast that really keeps the movie going: Marjorie Main, Spring Byington, Virginia Weidler, Margaret Hamilton, Allyn Joslyn, and Barry Nelson are all lots of fun. I like Carlson, but leads aren't really his forte; I like him best when he's part of the supporting cast in movies like THE LITTLE FOXES, THE GHOST BREAKERS, & WHITE CARGO.

Like many B-films, the plot has ambitions that can't be carried out in the short length or with the cheap budget, although the film's sets look fine. There is too much plot crammed into its 66 minute running time, so the backgrounds of its lead characters, important to the plot, are not fully explored. Still, it's worth watching on a lazy winter afternoon. And my favorite part of the film: the Allyn Joslyn character hides his actual identity behind a wonderful false name, Lafcadio Wooflecooler.