JohnHowardReid
Copyright 24 July 1947 by RKO Radio Pic¬tures Inc. Released: 1 September 1947 (U.S.A.). New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 24 July 1947. U.K. release: December 1947. Australian release: 24 December 1947. 8,706 feet. 96½ minutes.U.K. release title: Bachelor Knight.SYNOPSIS: Teenager falls in love with an older man who is forced to pretend that he returns her affections.NOTES: This somewhat forced little comedy received such a remarkable string of lauda¬tory reviews (from some of the sourest crit¬ics in the business too!) that a nomination for Best Original Screenplay was inevitable. That it won over such competition as Polonsky's Body and Soul, the Kanins' A Double Life, Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux and Amidei, Franci, Viola and Zavattini's Shoe-Shine is even more astonishing. But that award (and it was the only nomination for an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award he ever received in his Hollywood sojourn) certainly set Sidney Sheldon on the path to bestseller fame and fortune.Domestic rental gross: an amazing $5,550,000.This is the film that introduced the famous routine: "You remind me of a man!" - "What man?" - "Man with the power!" - "What power?" - "Power of hoodoo!" - "Hoodoo?" - "You do!" - "Do what?" - "Remind me of a man!" - "What man?" - "Man with the power!"COMMENT: A very agreeably played comedy. The script is moderately amusing, the direction capable, if undistinguished, and production values are well up to "A" standard.Of course a lot of the humor at the expense of teenage fashion and mores is now rather dated but those of us with a sense of nostalgia will find that a bonus to the fun. Whether the film will be appreci¬ated - or even understood - by today's drive-in kids is entirely another matter.Certainly the producer has gathered a delightfully persuasive roster of players - star, character and minor - including some of our top favorites like Rudy Vallee, Ray Collins, Harry Davenport, Charles Halton, Veda Ann Borg and Dan Tobin. The three stars are happily cast, with Myrna Loy moving gracefully into comedy after the rigors of The Best Years of Our Lives.
weezeralfalfa
Seems like Cary Grant is always getting into trouble, usually relating to a woman, through no fault of his own. As in this film, he is the victim of circumstances. Here, 42 year old Cary, as playboy Dick Nugent, is the object of a sudden infatuation by 17(actually 19) year old Shirley Temple(Susan): an ambitious and snobby high school senior. She wants to show that she is mature enough and attractive enough to turn the head of a still attractive charming playboy, old enough to be her father. She puts lots of gusto into her pursuit of Cary, who doesn't want to look silly dating a high school girl. Myrna Loy plays Shirley's much older guardian sister(42 vs. 19 in real life), Margaret, who serves as a judge and lives with Shirley. Actually, Myrna looks and acts more like Shirley's mother. There is much disagreement among reviewers whether Myrna should have bean characterized as her sister or mother. Evidently, she is an attractive old maid who is married to her job, although she has a boyfriend, played by Rudy Valley, who is the district attorney. In the first half of the film, Myrna dislikes Cary, partly because he was an accused in her court, partly because her sister became infatuated with him, sneaking into his apartment, awaiting his return. In approximately the last half of the film, Myrna gradually warms up to him and he to her, although they are hesitant to admit such to each other or others. Rudy, as Myrna's boyfriend, has several run ins with Cary. In the last one, he tries to arrest Cary just before he gets on a plane, in a secret rendezvous with Myrna, arranged by Ray Collins: a psychiatrist, originally called to work with Shirley. Ray turns the tables, providing a lie that causes Rudy to be arrested by an airport security guard. Cary and Myrna board the plane together. End of story.The previous year, Shirley costarred with debonair Franchot Tone, Cary's age, in a somewhat similar screenplay for "Honeymoon". In one segment, Shirley bumps her head and begins chasing Tone around the room, seemingly dumping her fiancé. Tone also costarred in another somewhat similar film: "That Night with You", in which 21 year old Suzanna Foster replaced Shirley. In each of these films, the message was that the May-December relationship was 'sick'. Of course, there were plenty of Hollywood films with a comparable age spread that got past the censor board. and weren't characterized as being sick. To take one example, 16 y.o. Joan Leslie was paired with 40 y.o. Gary Cooper, in "Sergeant York", and with 42 y.o. James Cagney, in "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Heck, my wife is 21 years younger than I am, and we've been together for 27 years. True, this won't work out well for everyone, and tends to have disadvantages after a few decades. As at least one reviewer said, this film is more cute than a riotous comedy. Shirley is certainly cute, still with her dimples. Both she and Cary were charming when not being harassed. Yes, Shirley tended to overact in some parts, but that usually resulted in comedy. Sort of reminds me of her little girl films: always trying to worm her way into the heart of some father figure, she usually being cast as an orphan, and always trying to act more mature than her years.
aciolino
Key word: ENTERTAINING, a dirty word by today's standards where we are to be overwhelmed and impressed instead. Here, the script, the pacing, and wonderful comedic acting (another fossil of the past) all work together to produce a movie that keeps your attention and keeps you smiling. Sure, it is absurd. What farce isn't? What judge would allow a known troublemaker to date her younger sister? No, make that blackmail him into dating her? Sounds more like the plot to a film noir classic. But no. We look past it to allow for the fun. And the fun is plentiful.I heartily recommend this film to those who can let go and enjoy.
