AllMovie

Best described as "cute," Petticoat Larceny was intended as a showcase for RKO Radio's latest juvenile discovery, 11-year-old Joan Carroll. The story concerns a bratty radio star (Carroll) who wants to inject some blood-and-thunder plotlines and gangster lingo into her broadcasts. To this end, she arranges to be "kidnapped" by a trio of dimwitted burglars, played by Tom Kennedy, Jimmy Conlin and Vince Barnett. When a genuine kidnapper spoils the plan, it's up to the handsome fiancé (Walter Reed) of the girl's aunt (Ruth Warrick) to come to the rescue. This is the sort of film that Late Late Show aficionados never seem to see in its entirety: they usually doze off in the first reel and wake up at fadeout time.