TWO WISE MAIDS (1937) Alison Skipworth, Polly Moran & Irene Manning | Drama | B&W

Two Wise Maids is a 1937 American drama film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Samuel Ornitz, and starring Alison Skipworth, Polly Moran, Irene Manning, Donald Cook, Jackie Searl, and Lila Lee. It was released on February 15, 1937, by Republic Pictures.Show more

SYNOPSIS
On the day schoolteacher Agatha Stanton, who is called "Old Lady Ironsides" by her pupils, expects to be selected as the new principal of her school, she and her roommate, fellow teacher Prudence Matthews, must retrieve Geraldine "Jerry" Karns, one of Agatha's favorite students, from jail after she has stolen a pair of roller skates. Agatha and Prudence, with Jerry in tow, arrive at the school, and shortly after, Agatha is crushed to find out that Bruce Arnold, a newcomer, has been given the job. Bruce suggests that Agatha should retire, saying that she is too old and inflexible. The other teachers, including new teacher Ellen Southard, a former student of Agatha, are upset about Bruce's appointment, but Agatha vows to keep teaching as she has always done. Some time later, Jerry is stealing some canned food when her classmate, Elliot "Wet Mouth" Braxton, bumps into her and is mistaken for the thief by store owner Nicky Zackorackus. Elliot is captured, but Jerry confesses and explains that she needed the food for her troubled family. Ellen convinces Bruce to help Jerry by telling him that she was also a troublemaker as a youngster, and was saved from a disreputable life by Agatha's attentions. Agatha convinces Sergeant Abbot, also a former pupil, not to arrest Jerry, while Prudence asks school janitor Guili, a friend of Zackorackus, to dissuade the store owner from pressing charges. Everything is settled satisfactorily, and all seems well until one afternoon, as the children are playing in the street after school, a speeding truck injures Jerry after she bravely pushes another child out of its way. Agatha and Prudence organize the local mothers into blockading the street so that the children can play safely, and despite initial interference from the police, the street is designated as a school play area. Later, on the night before a big exam, Elliot is stealing the answers to the test questions when he overhears Bruce and Ellen, who have fallen in love, teasing each other about her terrible past. Elliot falls as he climbs through a transom while trying to escape, and is found by Agatha and Prudence. He tells them that he saw Bruce and Ellen kissing, and misinterprets their joking to mean that Bruce cannot marry Ellen because of her past. Agatha slaps the boy for slandering the couple, then apologizes. Elliot returns home, where his mother becomes hysterical when she sees his injuries from the fall. He lies to her, telling her that Agatha abused him, so she will not know that he was trying to cheat. Mrs. Braxton presses charges against Agatha, and she is temporarily suspended from duty until her hearing before the school board. Agatha refuses to defend herself, but a few hours before the hearing, her loyal students ask prominent community members, such as banker Philip Pierpont, actress Ethel Harriman and boxing champion Max Handler, to attend the hearing and defend their former teacher.

CAST & CREW
Alison Skipworth as Agatha Stanton / Old Lady Ironsides
Polly Moran as Prudence Matthews
Irene Manning as Ellen Southard
Donald Cook as Bruce Arnold
Jackie Searl as Elliot 'Wet Mouth' Braxton
Lila Lee as Ethel Harriman
Luis Alberni as Guili
Maxie Rosenbloom as Max Handler
Marcia Mae Jones as Geraldine 'Jerry' Karns
Harry Burns as Nicky Zackorackus
Clarence Wilson as Twitchell
Selmer Jackson as Dr. MacIntyre
John Hamilton as Grover Wentworth
Teresa Maxwell-Conover as Mrs. Braxton
Raymond Brown as Philip Pierpont
James C. Morton as Sergeant Abbot
Stanley Blystone as Jim Butch
Robert McClung as Harmonica Player

Directed by Phil Rosen
Screenplay by Samuel Ornitz
Story by Endre Bohem
Produced by Nat Levine
Cinematography Ernest Miller
Edited by Ernest J. Nims
Music by Karl Hajos
Production company Republic Pictures
Distributed by Republic Pictures
Release date February 15, 1937
Running time 70 minutes
Country United States
Language English