Hold That Kiss

While watching Hold That Kiss this morning I once again had in mind the famous MGM pecking order. The film was to me obviously something written with Joan Crawford in mind.

But it went to Maureen O'Sullivan for one reason or another and wound up as a B film with her and Dennis O'Keefe. She's a fashion model in a fancy department store and he's a travel agent. They meet at a society wedding and each thinks the other is worth a few bucks. After that they put on quite interesting campaigns to land the other.

Hold That Kiss is a pleasant and amusing comedy from MGM's B picture unit. It's got quite a good list of character actors in support. Most prominent however was Mickey Rooney who next year would be the number one box office male star in the nation. He plays O'Sullivan's younger brother and an eager participant in her schemes.

There's also a nice diverting subplot involving Frank Albertson who's another of O'Sullivan's brothers and Edward Brophy who is O'Keefe's sidekick. Each has an all consuming interest in the sport of kings and not from the society end of owning and improving the breed. I can't really go into too many details, but trust me it's a pip.

I could easily see Hold That Kiss on an MGM double bill at the Loew's theaters around the nation with Boys Town. Imagine that, a double Mickey.