Theresa Harris

(On Cable TV, September 2022) Even if Pre-Code romantic comedy Professional Sweetheart isn’t much of a movie, there’s something charming in its depiction of radio stardom, corporate sponsors and the urban/rural divide that makes it feel more expansive than it is in a mere 72 minutes. Ginger Rogers, in one of her earliest starring roles, plays a radio singer with naughtiness on her mind whose public image needs a squeaky-clean makeover (timeless story there). So, the sponsors go out of their way to find her a clean-cut “Anglo-Saxon” partner (the film’s words, not mine) in her geographically-itemized fan mail… except that the chosen man isn’t too comfortable with the speedy arrangement and has a talent of his own. It escalates steadily until they retreat to Kentucky, and one or the other threatens to walk away from the sponsored show. It ends with several mergers and unions as a comedy should, even if the initial bite of the film gets steadily softened throughout the narrative in order to end on a note that will make everyone happy. Still—Rogers is not bad, Norman Foster plays the aw-suck archetype (with a penchant for poetry) rather well, and Zasu Pitts has a turn as an obnoxious radio reporter. There’s also Theresa Harris in a short but likable turn as a maid, sadly uncredited because black actresses at the time were not often credited even when playing roles with narrative importance. (Harris’ biography is quite interesting—small roles in a few well-known movies from the 1930s–1940s and she knew what game she was playing, eventually retiring comfortably from her investments.)  In many ways, Professional Sweetheart feels like a typical Hollywood romantic comedy—mismatched protagonists, false romantic pretenses, steadily generic storyline and all—but its satirical setting in the 1930 radio industry is still distinctive enough to set it slightly apart.