What a Woman (1943)

Rosalind Russell is on super form here as "Carol", a literary agent seeking the ideal male actor for a part in her latest acquisition. After searching high and low, she decides that the best man to play the role is the man who wrote it - a rather shy and retiring, though handsome, college professor "Cobb" (Willard Parker). Whilst being pursued for an interview by the persistent "Pepper" (Brian Aherne), she has to use all her wiles and guile to convict the former to take the part and keep the latter at bay. The plot develops along pretty familiar lines, and towards the end sinks a little too much into farce for me, but the star delivers her quick-fire script with confidence and style; Parker is quite effective as the hapless academic and Aherne has a knowingly smug look on his face for much of the latter part of the film as the inevitable romance develops. It's not a great film, but there are strong characterful performances and it flies by for 90 minutes.