Ida Lupino's career is treasured, and in retrospect has gained more and more respect over the years, especially compared to many of her more prominent (at the time) peers. But watching this rather trivial vehicle for her from the "Four Star Playhouse" some 70 years ago is a bit deflating.
That's because the romantic trifle is not merely dated but is almost contradictory to her status as such a breakthrough, feminist artist. It's because the script by Gwen Bagni is so old-fashioned and seems (not surprisingly) to stereotype about a "woman's place" in that era. I like so many shows that Bagni wrote for, ranging from anthology series all the way to "Honey West" and "Wonder Woman", so it's a shame this one is so retrograde.
Ida fits the role of a woman working in a clothing boutique who's making a play to win over a handsome young millionaire businessman working in the same building (Hal March, going through the cliche motions of a typical male chauvinist) and marry him. Her brittle, familiar tough gal style is just what the role calls for, since the story will lead to extreme sentimentality in the final reel when she goes rather mushy over a sweet/pathetic 8th grade boy.
But the social conventions of the time are hard to take nowadays, and Ida's shopgirl doesn't get to really fight against them. It's way too conventional and trite -I would much rather see her playing Rosa Luxemburg or some other great heroine of history.
Other element that disturbed me: Joan Banks' acting is quite good in the Eve Arden role as Ida's co-worker with a sharp tongue -providing solid counterpoint to the star. But she even looks remarkably like Eve Arden -that's really pushing your luck. And I've long been a fan of Joi Lansing, who epitomizes the '50s Blonde Bombshell for me, but it's alarming that her bit role here (no dialogue, just a few seconds on screen as Hal March's arm candy) is now elevated via cult status to up her to co-star status on YouTube for this episode.