Queen for a Day (1951)

Directed by Arthur Lubin Writing credits John Ashworth (story) Faith Baldwin (story)  (more)

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Pure Postwar Americana!, 18 March 2001
Author: Son of Cathode from New England

Three stories reveal how the "Queen for a Day" radio program changed people's lives for the better. What a weird and wonderful curio this is! Right before it hit the TV airwaves to become a long-running cult legend, "Queen for a Day" jumped from radio to the silver screen with this veritable promotional piece, as three highly suspect "stories" reveal how the beloved show changes lives forever. But first, we witness a broadcast of the radio show ("from the Mutual Don Lee Studios in Sunny California!"). Host Jack Bailey is your typical arrogant, fast-talking '50s Emcee, an out-of-control amalgam of cowboy, thespian and used car salesman. His "interviews" of show contestants are patently phony, and of course he gets all sorts of strange answers and predictable howling from the audience. (I was not aware there was so much sexual innuendo and double entendre in the program, but then again, the last time I saw one of the TV shows, I was ten!) Our first story, "Gossamer World", gives us an indelible portrait of post-war America, in the guise of its most precious new crop: the nuclear family. A little boy imagines all kinds of friends, and his mom and pop (Darren McGavin!) love him to death, until illness visits him and... oh well, you know the rest. The second story, "High Dive", is as silly as they get, about a teenager who wants to earn money for college by becoming a high-diver at the carnival. Good thing one of his pals is Leonard Nimoy! This segment contains some of the decade's worst racial stereotyping, bar none. The third, and by far most shocking story is "Horsie" (by Dorothy Parker!), is about a wet nurse who is teased by a TV producer and his wife because (get this) she's UGLY! Every time we see her in close-up, we hear a horse's whinny! Needless to say, this scary, brutal mini-drama wouldn't even get out of the gate today. When poor "Horsie" winds up being "Queen for a Day", we can hardly believe our eyes. How patronizing WAS the '50s to women, anyway? Wow! Makes you wonder about Ms. Parker, as well. Warts and all (and there's a lot of warts), this rare feature is absolute time-capsule gold. Its like watching something made on another planet.

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