Product Details

• Actors: Ann Sothern, Don Porter
• Directors: Various
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Alpha Video
• DVD Release Date: May 31, 2005
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00082ZR76
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,455 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Private Secretary:Vol 1 TV Series" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Platform:  DVD MOVIE Publisher:  ALPHA VIDEO Packaging:  DVD STYLE BOX Ann Sothern is Susie private secretary to talent agent Peter Sands (Don Porter) in this delightful series of comic adventures that ran on TV Sunday nights from 1953 to 1957. Susie with long-suffering receptionist Vi Praskins (Ann Tyrrell) keeps the office of International Artists humming in the world of insecure actors snobby writers and big-shot producers while continuing to prove that the employees are often smarter than their employer! "Private Secretary" (AKA "Susie") was nominated for five Emmy Awards and continues to enchant all who come under Susie's lively secretarial spell.What Every Secretary Knows: Peter desperately wants to make a deal for two of his rising singing stars with an opera impresario. Susie and the maestro's wife plot to get the two bigheaded big shots together. How To Handle a Boss: Susie busts her writer's block when she asks a reporter friend to "ghost write" an article for her in a magazine. The result lands her in hot water with everybody in the office! Not Quite Paradise: Vi's Aunt Martha gets the crazy idea that her niece and Peter are engaged to be married - and that Susie is the competition that must be eliminated! Three's A Crowd: Susie finds herself in the role of "leading lady" in a love triangle with a new eager-to-please playwright and a slick Broadway producer.Starring: Ann Sothern Don Porter & Ann TyrrellProduced by: Jack ChertokDirected by: Oscar Rudolph DVD Details: Run Time: 104 minutesNumber of Discs: 1Originally Released in 1953Black & WhiteNo region encoding; For global distribution.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars delightful sitcom, July 10, 2005

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Private Secretary:Vol 1 TV Series (DVD)

When Ann Sothern's Hollywood career started to stall, the lovely star focused her attention on television. She appeared in several shows as well as a lavish TV production of Kurt Weill's LADY IN THE DARK, and THE ANN SOTHERN SHOW. She also played the nosey Susie Camille MacNamara in the wonderful sitcom PRIVATE SECRETARY...

The sitcom PRIVATE SECRETARY featured Ann Sothern as Susie, the secretary to New York talent mogul Peter Sands (Don Porter). However, Susie often gets confused as to the limitations of her job and gets frequently entangled in the lives of Peter and his clients. Snappy dialogue and great comic support is provided by Ann Tyrrell as Susie's workmate Vi Praskins. When the series later went into syndication, the title of the show was inexplicably changed to SUSIE.

This DVD from Alpha contains 4 great episodes (presented under the SUSIE title):

"What Every Secretary Knows" - Susie gets embroiled with an opera bigwig when Peter tries to clinch a deal for two of his rising stars.

"How to Handle a Boss" - Susie arranges for her journalist-boyfriend to act as her ghostwriter when she has to submit an important article for a magazine.

"Not Quite Paradise" - Vi's aunt (guest star ZaSu Pitts) becomes convinced that Vi and Peter are engaged...and that Susie is the 'Other Woman'!

"Three's a Crowd" - Susie finds herself sandwiched in a love triangle, comprising of a young playwright and a gunho Broadway producer.

Hopefully Alpha may release some more eps from this often-neglected sitcom in the future.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Show Badly Served in Transfer, December 15, 2005

By 

Lawrence R. Holben (Mt. Shata, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Secretary:Vol 1 TV Series (DVD)

Those of us who remember Ann Sothern's terrific performances in "Private Secretary" (later dubbed "Susie" in syndication) back in the 50s, and the stylish, glamorous New York celebrity life that was implied (though rarely directly shown) in the series can only be grateful that a handful of these classic TV comedies have been released on DVD. Watching them is pure delight, and not just for nostalgic purposes. The writing and acting are funny and sharp and the series -- despite its dated perspective on how a smart woman can handle a sometimes egotistical, always somewhat obstuse, male -- holds up remarkably well.

That's the good news. The bad news is the transfer to DVD is pretty dreadful. The sound quality is especially bad: whenever there's music, the pitch wavers like a drunken burglar alarm. It's actually painful to listen to. In one of the episodes, a floating dark bar (rogue splicing tape?) dances through a scene or two. In short, the whole product screams "on the cheap."

But the shows themselves are gems and it's a real treat to see Sothern and her superb supporting cast go through their paces once again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love Ann Southern, April 2, 2008

By 

John R. Bolton "just john" (on the move) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Secretary:Vol 1 TV Series (DVD)

The film is clear and just like I remembered. Acting? Just like the 50's
Miss Southern was great as she was in the movies and if you like Miss Southern you will not go wrong with buying the gem.

John Ga, usa