Beauty for the Asking

Beauty for the Asking
Directed by	Glenn Tryon
Produced by	B. P. Fineman
Written by	Doris Anderson and Paul Jarrico (screenplay); Edmund L. Hartmann (story); Grace Norton and Adele Buffington (idea)
Starring	Lucille Ball; Patric Knowles; Donald Woods; Frieda Inescort
Music by	Roy Webb
Cinematography	Frank Redman
Edited by	George Crone
Production; company	RKO Pictures
Release date	February 24, 1939;
Running time	68 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Beauty for the Asking is a 1939 film drama produced by RKO Pictures, and starring Lucille Ball and Patric Knowles.

It tells the story of Jean Russell (Ball), a beautician who is jilted by her her boyfriend (Knowles) so he can marry an older but wealthy woman. Russell invents a new facial cream, and with the financial backing of her former boyfriend's wife (Frieda Inescort), starts a business that makes her a millionaire.

Reception

RKO's pre-release publicity claimed that the film was to be an "exposé of the beauty racket" but reviewers of the day concluded that it was a standard "romantic love triangle".[1]

Recently Leonard Maltin has written favorably of the film, suggesting that the film offered an unusual feminist viewpoint for its time, and acknowledging that Ball delivered a strong performance.[2]

Cast

Lucille Ball as Jean Russell
Patric Knowles as Denny Williams
Donald Woods as Jeffrey Martin
Frieda Inescort as Flora Barton-Williams
Inez Courtney as Gwen Morrison
Leona Maricle as Eve Harrington
Frances Mercer as Patricia Wharton
Whitney Bourne as Peggy Ponsby
George Beranger as Cyril (as George Andre Beranger)
Kay Sutton as Miss Whitman, Jean's Secretary
Ann Evers as Lois Peabody

Notes

Jewell and Harbin, p. 128
Maltin, p. 93

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References

Jewell, Richard B. and Harbin, Vernon, The RKO Story, Octopus Books, London, 1982. ISBN 0-7064-1285-0
Maltin, Leonard, Leonard Maltin's 1998 Movie & Video Guide, Signet Books, 1997. ISBN 0-451-19288-5

External links

Beauty for the Asking on IMDb
Beauty for the Asking at the TCM Movie Database
Beauty for the Asking at AllMovie

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[1] Jewell and Harbin, p. 128

[2] Maltin, p. 93