Meet the Missus

This movie is actually a satire of the Miss America Pageant, although it's rather heavily disguised, especially at the beginning.

Victor Moore has the lead in this movie, a situation I don't think I've ever encountered before. He is the perfect model of a henpecked husband. In addition to providing for his wife and daughter in his job as a barber, he must do all the cooking and housework while his wife spends all her time entering contests and sweepstakes.

She finally hits pay dirt when the Happy Noodle Company selects her as a finalist in its Mrs. America contest. She and Otis must go to Atlantic City for the finals. The irony is that she can't cook or even make a bed, but the contest is determined by how well the contestants can do these things. So of course the unwilling Otis has to bail her out, time and time again.

I wouldn't exactly call them plot twists, but a lot of unexpected things happen as Emma heads towards victory and Otis grows more and more resentful, finally actually becoming assertive! (I wonder if Elmer Fudd was inspired by this character?)

The parodying of Miss America intensifies towards the end, culminating in Moore prancing around in an old-fashioned striped one-piece bathing suit! That one scene is worth the price of admission.

There is actual comedic "chemistry" between Moore and the acerbic harridan played by Helen Broderick. They play very well off each other, trading off which is the "straight man" at the moment.

The romantic subplot is handled better than such things usually are by Anne Shirley and Alan Bruce.

Needless to say, everything comes out right in the end, although not for the reason you would expect. A harmless, enjoyable and rather mindless way to spend an hour.