| Beauty for the Asking | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Glenn Tryon |
| Produced by | B. P. Fineman |
| Written by | Doris Anderson and Paul Jarrico (screenplay) Edmund L. Hartmann (story) Grace Norton and Adele S. Buffington (idea) |
| Starring | Lucille Ball Patric Knowles Donald Woods Frieda Inescort |
| Music by | Frank Tours |
| Cinematography | Frank Redman |
| Editing by | George Crone |
| Distributed by | RKO Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 24, 1939 |
| Running time | 68 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Beauty for the Asking is a 1939 film drama produced by RKO Pictures, and starring Lucille Ball and Patrick Knowles.
It tells the story of Jean Russell (Ball), who becomes romantically involved with a wealthy married man (Knowles) who later spurns her. She later invents a new facial cream, and with the financial backing of her former lover's wife (Frieda Inescort), starts a business that makes her a millionaire.
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RKO's pre-release publicity claimed that the film was to be an "exposé of the beauty racket" but reviewers of the day concluded that it was a standard "romantic love triangle".[1]
Recently Leonard Maltin has written favorably of the film, suggesting that the film offered an unusual feminist viewpoint for its time, and acknowledging that Ball delivered a strong performance.[2]