Eine Nacht mit Susanne

One of the missed opportunities of the era was to have Debbie Reynolds and Dick Powell paired in this very funny and perceptive romantic comedy, but not to make it a musical. That would have given it just that bit of an edge to make it different to hundreds of other movies being churned out with similar plotlines.

However, what we have is Reynolds as a teenage delinquent foisted on the well-meaning Powell, a writer, at Christmas. He wants inspiration for his writing, she wants a sugar daddy. Guess how this one ends up?

One thing I did especially like were the dream sequences, involving cages and spiders and all kinds of things, in lurid pinks. Where was Tashlin's mind going here? Fun stuff throughout, however, with a sparkling performance from Reynolds.

The plot of this movie was a bit silly even when it came out in 1954. But because it features Debbie Reynolds at age 22 (playing a 17 year old) -- when she was very beautiful, vibrant, and also quite sexy -- it's one of my favorite films. Everyone seems to concede that the young Debbie Reynolds was talented and spunky, but because of her girl-next-door persona, few seem to recognize that she had more genuine beauty and sex appeal than many overtly "sultry" or "sexy" actresses of her era -- or, indeed, of any era. The rest of the cast is quite adequate but it's Debbie who makes this movie a lot of fun to watch.

What would a confirmed bachelor, of a certain age, do with the unexpected arrival of a lively 17 years old girl into his life? Reason would indicate to run away from the situation! But have no fear, in the theater, as well as in the movies, these two unmatched people get to grow fond of one another and eventually they get married. That seems to be the premise of "Susan Slept Here", a movie that proves irresistible because of the two leading stars.

Under the direction of Frank Tashlin, this movie, although reflecting a naivete not in synch with the present times, is good fun to watch. The film is done with an impeccable good taste and there is never anything tawdry, or out of place with what one is watching.

Dick Powell was at his best when he took the part of Mark Christopher a thirty-something man in the plot, but looking older than that. Debbie Reynolds, as Susan Landis, brought her winning personality and charm to this rebel girl that begins a total transformation as she discovers she is attracted to Mark.

The supporting cast is also up to task under Mr. Tashlin's guidance. Anne Francis is seen as Isabella, Mark's present love interest. Glenda Farrell, Horace McMahon, Herb Vigran and Alvy Moore, among others make this delightful film into a winner.

Mr. Tashlin includes a dance sequence that plays as a dream in which Mr. Powell, Ms. Francis and Ms. Reynolds are seen as the players. The film is festive and it will delight any viewer looking for an easy time at the movies.

This is the kind of odd thing that RKO would put together on its downhill slide in the 50's that sometimes would work and sometimes would not. This time it does seem to work although an ick factor seems to be hanging around just off camera that doesn't ever quite completely present itself. At least part of the enjoyment is seeing two veterans of the 30's Warner Brothers musical comedies together playing mature roles twenty years after the fact - Dick Powell as screenwriter-in-a-rut Mark Christopher and Glenda Farrell as his secretary Maude who likes to stay inebriated but is quite the philosopher and friend during her sober moments. She still has all of the bite and fun she had when she was Torchy Blaine.

The ick factor I talked about before is the marriage in name only of middle-aged Mark to 17 year old Susan Landis (Debbie Reynolds) who is left on Mark's doorstep by the police of all people, because one of the detectives thinks Susan would be good research for a serious script by Mark, and plus the detective doesn't want to put her in jail on Christmas Eve. The detective promises to return for her in two days. The marriage occurs because Susan will be booked on vagrancy without a visible means of support, so off they go to Vegas with Mark looking at this whole thing as a good deed to keep a basically good kid out of jail. However, Susan, the romantic, wants it to be something more. After the wedding Mark deposits Susan back in his Hollywood apartment while he goes off to an isolated spot - without Susan - to try and redeem the script he's been writing.

Susan and writer's block aren't Mark's only problems. He also has a rich girlfriend (Anne Francis) whom he seems to want to quit almost as much as the job at the studio he had writing fluff pieces but that paid well. It's hard to leave something behind that's comfortable and familiar for the unknown, even if it's slowly strangling you.

The funniest part of the movie is watching Susan, after she's legally married and living apart from Mark, trying to figured out how to win her man back. She tries everything from watching home movies of Mark's girlfriend and trying to imitate her moves and expressions to basting a turkey in an evening dress waiting for Mark to arrive for dinner, to memorizing how to make various mixed drinks. Then you have to wonder how much of this is love and how much of this is a teenage girl's natural curiosity about sex. Since Debbie Reynolds is just five years older than the part she's playing, she gives the role of Susan the realism of someone who is young enough to have recent memories of their teen years but is old enough to see the humor in them.

This thing works because it is the 50's, because it is Susan with all of the romantic and aggressive sexual impulses rather than Mark, and because of the excellent supporting players. The one thing that doesn't quite work here is Dick Powell as a 35 year old. He seems like he's playing a man quite a bit older and more beat down than one of 35 - Dick Powell was actually 50 at the time- and perhaps Mark is lying - to himself and to Susan - when he says that's how old he is.

This isn't a masterpiece, but it is a cute romantic comedy that works.

Susan Slept Here

Christmas is the best time to cheat because you already have gifts to make up for it.

That's why it makes sense for the screenwriter in this romantic comedy to have a holiday affair.

On Christmas Eve Oscar winner Mark (Dick Powell) is visited by the Vice Squad, who have brought him a 17-year-old runaway, Susan (Debbie Reynolds), as inspiration for his new script about delinquency. But when Mark learns that Susan will be jailed until 18, he marries her. Their abrupt nuptials however don't sit well with Mark's fiancée (Anne Francis), his US Senator father-in-law, or the press.

If the comedy were as risqué as the romance than this 1954 adaptation of the stage-play wouldn't be as creepy as it is. But with little else to offer besides the illicit affair, this Techicolor romp is pure trash.

Besides, when you marry a 17-year-old you have to pay for their University. Yellow Light

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