https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0153991/Required reading:
THE WRONG MISS WRIGHT with Charley Chase
Barbara Jo Allen, aka Vera Vague, made her fame in radio, even co-starring on Bob Hope's show. She joined Columbia in 1943 and made a fantastic series of shorts, two of which were nominated for an Academy Award!
YOU DEAR BOY!, based on Vera's famous catchphrase, is 100% complete remake of Charley Chase's THE WRONG MISS WRIGHT. This would be typical enough of Columbia, but all the major gender roles are reversed. Instead of guy getting coached by his butler and tormenting his father-in-law, it's a girl getting coached by her maid and tormenting her mother-in-law.
This short is just as good as Charley's, but Charley's had sad romantic background music on a boat while Vera is just on a train. That opening is bizarre though...
SPOILER ALERT
Vera is complaining about her situation to the maid and asks in frustration, "What do I get?!" and holds her arm out off camera... when she pulls back she has this crow-like big black bird on her arm that then says "The... Bird..." before she throws it away. In 1943, Columbia Shorts got away with so blatantly insinuating the f-bomb. She also tells a cab driver to kill himself by driving off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Vera carries her role every bit as well as Charley did. Her timing is great, and she does her own stunts. Her delivery is amazing, and she manages to pull off the craziness with a unique pizazz that makes her somehow stand out from Charlie. Vera is everything you could want. I actually laughed more in this one than in the Charley Chase short.
The supporting cast, particularly Minerva Urecal (THEY STOOGE TO CONGA), was perfect as well. For a short subject debut in 1943, this is an amazing introduction to Vera's talents. Enjoy this one, folks.
10/10