Before MTM, Ann Sothern Made It After All
She's a young professional in the big city, living on her own and loving her job. She enjoys dating many of the young professional men she meets, but hasn't found anyone worth settling down with yet. The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970? No, this is Private Secretary, starring Ann Sothern, which ran for several years starting in 1953.
Contrary to our revised collective memory, before That Girl and MTM, there were working women on TV. One of my favorite recent discoveries is Honey West, which wasn't aiming for the feminist demographic in 1965 when they put Ann Francis in a catsuit and paired her with Bruce the ocelot, but looking at it now, I'm impressed. She runs her own private detective agency, and although she doesn't live on her own, the aunt she lives with is always just off to the track or returning from a Caribbean holiday. Hardly chaperone material. She saves her handsome employee's hide just as...
Period but still
This period comedy might offend some women today... but if viewed within the context of the times it shows just how smart a woman can be. The story is sweet and humorous with no bawdy sex jokes, or vulgarity. This is NOT 2 Broke Girls for sure. This would be fun even to watch with the sound off in order to see the period furnishings and Ms. Southern's fabulously outrageous hats... too much!
Private Secretary
This is a cute little comedy with a good actress in Ann Sothern playing the title role, but it lacks chemistry with other cast members and doesn't have much of a story line. It's a good idea to keep these comedies around and keep them viewable for audiences to see the history in our TV viewing. -Mark Duncan
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