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Monday, January 28, 2013

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer


The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

To go with my "Spotlight On" post for Shirley Temple, which you can read here if you missed it, I thought I would review one of her later films.  She isn't typically remembered for her later work and even though she was only 19 at the time this movie was made in 1947, she was, for the most part, considered a "has been" star.  However, I find this film to be very entertaining and Shirley's performance shows her natural charm and true acting ability.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Cary Grant plays a happy, debonair, indifferent, and slightly naughty bachelor artist who suddenly finds himself the victim of a fanciful high school girl's (Shirley Temple) crush.  Right from the beginning of the film you know that Cary Grant's character, Richard "Dick" Nugent, is full of both trouble and charm.  The movie opens with Dick, a gentleman painter, being brought before Judge Margaret Turner, played by Myrna Loy, after a fight broke out over a discussion of him by two women at a restaurant.  The Judge sees him as a degenerate but is nevertheless forced to let him go, seeing as he's not the only one to blame in the incident.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Later we see him giving a speech about art at the local high school, where teenager Susan Turner, played by Temple, becomes smitten with him.  Susan sees him as her knight in shining armor and able to rescue her from the childishness around her.  Susan happens to be the Judge's young sister.  Oh boy!  This is going to get interesting.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Late at night, Susan sneaks into Dick's apartment wanting to pose as a model for him.  When the Judge comes to get her, bringing the Assistant DA, played by Rudy Vallee, along with her, words are said and Dick punches him and lands in jail.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Margaret and Susan's uncle, played by Ray Collins, is the court psychiatrist and he believes Dick to be an innocent bystander in the situation and feels that if they prosecute Dick, it will only make Susan's infatuation with him worse, so he and the Judge devise a plan.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

The Judge orders Dick to become Susan's boyfriend until her crush has ended, believing that this will make him less attractive to her, if he refuses, he goes to jail.  Having no alternative, Dick agrees with the plan.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

He tries everything to break Susan's crush, including trying to get her interested in a boy her own age and acting like a goofy teenager himself, but it seems to always have the opposite effect.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

There are some very memorable scenes here.  I won't give away the ending but I can say that as with most Cary Grant comedies, this family film is full of lighthearted slapstick silliness with a bit of romance thrown in.  

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Grant has great chemistry with both women, Shirley's performance practically steals the show, and Myrna is superb as always.  It never ceases to amaze me how great acting can turn even the silliest of stories into cinematic greats.  Sidney Sheldon won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for this film and even though the movie is outdated and may bother some feminists, I find that the quick dialogue and interesting characters make it a very lively film.

  

7 comments:

  1. Oh, I adore Cary Grant. And Shirley Temple is a fab actress, even more so as she got older, in my opinion. I'll have to check TCM out and to see when this may come on. I'll have to DVR it.

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    1. Me too! Cary is one of my favorite gents to watch, and the same with Myrna Loy, she's a favorite. I also agree about Shirley and I don't really understand why she wasnt really successful with transitioning from child star to adult actress because I think she was a tremendous actress.

      Oh definitely, if you ever catch it on, give it a go.

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  2. I started to watch this movie once but had school the next day so I had to stop before the judge scene. Maybe I'll watch it next time it's on AMC.

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    Replies
    1. Let me know what you think if you ever watch it.

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  3. I completely agree with you, this is one of my favourite Shirley films ever. I really enjoy the acting she continued to do as she evolved from a child star to a beautiful young woman.

    Wishing you a marvelous Monday & week ahead,
    ♥ Jessica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks dear lady and I hope you have a good week as well and are feeling better.

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  4. Had forgotten about that movie.... need to add it to netflix! ;) Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blog world xx

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