What a Woman!

Carol Ainsley has been nominated for Outstanding Career Woman of the Year. The New York agent has sold the film rights to bestselling romance novel “Whirlwind” to Hollywood. Now all she needs to do is find somebody to play the hero. Her first choice is the book’s author, a dyed-in-the-tweed college professor, but he proves both unwilling and lacking aptitude. When she demonstratively kisses him, however, it awakens unimagined talents in him and, for Carol, unwitting feelings. Meanwhile, star reporter Henry Pepper, who is writing a profile of Carol, follows her predicament with delight. He has ulterior motives for goading the two towards romance … After sporting business suits designed by star costumers such as Adrian and Irene that were not always suited for “everyday wear”, Rosalind Russell appears here for the first time clothed by Carole Lombard’s favored costume designer Travis Banton, who dressed her as a culture sector professional, showing off an unusually glamorous side of Russell. Also unusual for the age was the film’s take on career women. Shot during the war, it recognizes their accomplishments in a comedy in which, in the end, even marriage is a business proposition. (Berlinale)