Nathanael West, who once worked in a newspaper office, wrote the novel Miss Lonelyhearts, which was published in 1933. His story served as the basis for Daryl Zanuck’s ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN starring Lee Tracy, as a hotshot journalist who is reigned in by a boss after overstepping his bounds and is assigned a lonely hearts column under a female pseudonym. Tracy was an expert at playing newshounds, even ones who faced a loss of prestige on the beat.
The following year, Warner Brothers decided to come up with its own version and produced HI NELLIE! which put Paul Muni in a similar role, though Muni was a tad miscast compared to Lee Tracy. In HI NELLIE!, Muni is involved with Glenda Farrell who helps him work on an important criminal case on the side, while doling out advice to the masses.
In most versions of this story, the guy working as a female advice columnist gets caught up in the job of helping others solve their problems. Mostly because he has a Savior complex and thinks he can straighten out the issues of the world, or at least the issues of those who read the paper.
Like ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN, HI NELLIE! was a hit with audiences. In fact, the bosses at Warners were so taken with its success that they quickly remade it as a B film with Ronald Reagan a few years later. Then the studio remade it in 1942, back to an A film with George Brent. And by the late 1940s, this version occurred, which is not exactly a B, but not really an A either. Filmed in the summer of 1948, though not released until September of 1949, it featured Wayne Morris.
Morris had been with the studio since 1936, and this would be his last film under his long-term contract at Warner Brothers. He would start freelancing, with a series of western B flicks at Monogram/Allied Artists, then dabble in television…and he’d later return to Warners for a supporting role in a Randolph Scott western. He died in 1959 at the relatively young age of 45, ten years after THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET was released. Morris was gone too soon.
One thing that always impresses me about Morris’ on-screen persona is how kind he seems to be to his costars. There is zero ego with him in his roles. He comes across as gracious and helpful to his costars, such a likable fellow, which is probably why Warners kept him on the payroll so long, even if he never reached the ranks of the Cagneys, Bogarts or Flynns.
In this production, he has several very nice moments alongside leading lady Janis Paige, who was also wrapping up her contract at the studio, and had appeared with Morris in the western THE YOUNGER BROTHERS. Playing an editor who is demoted to the bewildered hearts section of the paper by a frenemy boss (Alan Hale Sr.), Morris isn’t happy at first…but then rolls with the punches and takes his loss of status in stride. Of course, the main part of the plot involves Morris and Paige hunkering down to catch a gangster (Bruce Bennett) who has thus far evaded justice.
Into the mix we have a notable turn by Alex Gerry as Bennett’s crafty attorney. And James Mitchell as one of Bennett’s cronies, who ultimately fears for his life and confides in Morris about Bennett’s illegal activities. His statements provide evidence for a conviction.
It’s not a profound story. Several aspects of the original version have been softened. Once again, Warners is trotting out its gangster flick formula and melding it with a newspaper drama. It’s hardly earth shattering, but it is still an acceptable time passer with pleasing stars who make it enjoyable motion picture entertainment.
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