Government Girl

De Havilland found herself obligated to do GOVERNMENT GIRL when David O. Selznick borrowed her from Warner Bros. (he lent them Ingrid Bergman) and then sold her services to RKO for one picture. She didn't like the script and it looks as though she got her revenge by overacting the title role, which would have been okay if the material itself was funny. But this lame wartime comedy about overcrowded Washington never quite gets off the ground.

Sonny Tufts does what he can with a thankless role as a bungling, naive politician who has to learn the ropes from his pretty secretary. Agnes Moorehead gets in a couple of good quips as a snobbish Washington matron and Jess Barker is likable enough in a secondary romantic lead.

James Dunne and Ann Shirley tend to overplay their roles as a couple of lovestruck newlyweds eager to find lodgings. Despite its obvious flaws, the film was a moderate success for RKO at the box-office and wartime audiences seemed to go for it. De Havilland fans aren't likely to rate this among her best comedies.