Kirk Douglas’ Servant, er, Secretary

A wary Laraine Day takes dictation from Kirk Douglas. Image: YouTube

There’s some uncomfortable business in the 1948 comedy My Dear Secretary.

It’s a film with plenty of witty lines and delightfully outlandish characters, as portrayed by Kirk Douglas, Laraine Day and a scene-stealing Keenan Wynn.

My Dear Secretary is about a celebrity author named Owen Waterbury (Douglas), who regularly hires secretaries to whom he dictates his books. He’s hired many, many secretaries through the years because he seduces, and is later dumped by, these women.

Our novelist is a busy fellow. Aside from his adventures in romance, a number of people gallop through his day, including his sharp-tongued maid (Irene Ryan), his exasperated landlady (Florence Bates), and his next-door neighbour/best friend (the aforementioned Wynn).

There’s also an ex-secretary (Gale Robbins) who muscles her way through his apartment, demanding the return…