Ladies Should Listen is a messy, fast 1934 comedy with a young Cary Grant

Is it worth the time?

If you like old movies where people talk way too fast and run in and out of doors, you should definitely watch this today. Cary Grant fans will find it interesting because he isn't quite the "Cary Grant" we know yet.

People who hate staged plays turned into movies will probably want to skip it. It feels very small and stuck in one spot.

It's a weird little story about a woman named Anna who works the switchboard in a big apartment building. She listens to everyone's calls. Everyone's.

She is basically stalking Julian (Grant) but the movie treats it like it's super sweet and romantic. 1934 was a different time, I guess. 📞

Julian is trying to get some mineral rights in Chile. He's also trying to dodge a woman who is basically forcing him to marry her.

The plot is a total mess. There are these con artists trying to steal his money, and Anna just keeps plugging herself into his phone lines to hear the drama.

I love the scene where Julian is trying to have a serious talk and you can just tell the operator is breathing on the other end. It makes the whole romance feel slightly creepy but also funny.

Edward Everett Horton shows up as Julian’s friend. He does that nervous, fluttery thing he always does. It’s comforting to see him, like a favorite old sweater.

He gets a lot of the best lines, mostly because he looks like he’s about to have a heart attack the whole time. Bless him.

There’s a lot of business with a pajamas and people hiding in rooms. It reminds me a bit of the energy in This Week of Grace, just that frantic "everything is happening at once" vibe.

Small things I noticed

• The switchboard itself looks like a giant piano made of wires.
• Cary Grant wears a bathrobe for a weirdly long time.
• The way people just walk into each other's apartments without knocking is wild.
• Anna’s headset looks incredibly uncomfortable.

The movie is really short, barely over an hour. It doesn't overstay its welcome, which is nice because the plot is pretty thin.

It feels like a movie made by people who were in a hurry to get to lunch. Some of the cuts are a bit jarring. ✂️

I liked it more than Up the River because the comedy feels more intentional here. It’s not trying to be a big message movie.

There is one moment where a character gets hit with a door and the sound effect is so loud it made me jump. It didn't match the rest of the movie's volume at all.

Frances Drake plays the operator and she’s actually really charming. She has these big eyes that make her look very innocent even when she’s literally breaking the law by eavesdropping.

The ending happens so fast you might blink and miss it. One second they are fighting, the next second... well, you can guess.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s just a silly time with some actors who would go on to do much better things later.

If you're bored on a Sunday afternoon, you could do a lot worse than watching Cary Grant get confused by phones. Anyway, that's what I thought about it.