Apartamento para Peggy

JEANNE CRAIN was at the height of her appeal as a demure charmer at Fox, just beginning to be more than a pretty face as far as her acting career was concerned. And here she had two splendid co-stars: WILLIAM HOLDEN as her ex-G.I. hubby and EDMUND GWENN as a little retired professor who has some housing space in his attic. When Crain finds out about the available space (during the big housing shortage at the time), she convinces Gwenn to rent the apartment to the young married couple.

From there, the plot takes a few steps beyond that bare outline, always throwing a positive outlook at women who want to better themselves with an education as well as the G.I.s entitled to do so under the G.I. bill.

Gene Lockhart, Griff Barnett and Betty Lynn fill the supporting roles amiably and it's probably Jeanne Crain's best film of that period, following her enormous success as MARGIE two years previously.

This movie gives a heartwarming story about a young couple who move into an attic of an old man who is contemplating killing himself. The funny thing is that this situation would seem in any other movie to be very melodramatic but it is handled with the utmost care in this movie. Edmund Gwenn is so good in the movie. He was Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street. Jeanne Crain was very refreshing as the wife.

Jeanne Crain is a breathlessly talkative expectant mother who lives with her husband, a former soldier, in a trailer; she chances to meet retired professor Edmund Gwenn, who feels his mundane, monotone existence means retreating from this world, but he goes along with her plan to let the couple temporarily move into his attic. The perfect example of what they used to call 'whimsical comedy'; despite a clumsy start, it still seems heartfelt today, perhaps even meaningful. Gwenn conveys the most complex emotions simply by wordless expression, and Crain's exuberance grows on you (she's better though in her quieter moments). With these two front and center, William Holden ends up playing third wheel, yet his solid-but-amiable masculinity is a nice counterpoint to kooky Crain (he also has some fine scenes alone with Gwenn). The gentlemen in Gwenn's musical troupe are all wonderful, and the writing and direction--though primed for audience approval--genuinely work wonders with what might've been a stale set-up. This tearjerker is a true gem. ***1/2 from ****

Unsure whether to class this as a drama or a comedy, it's certainly a bit of both.

Jeanne Crain is charming as the fast-talking, statistics-cranking pregnant GI-wife eager for her husband to get his chemistry degree.

This is an enjoyable film, with some snappy one-liners, lots of laughs and great chemistry between the Crain, Holden and Gwenn.

An Apartment for Peggy is a surprise for anyone who comes across it---and that seems to be the only way it is re-discovered again and again. Jean Crain is a marvel and so is Edmund Gwenn and the two have many wonderful scenes together. Crain's snappy, slang-laden talk with Gwenn's resigned philosophic thoughtfulness is delightful. When they realize other post- war wives putting their husbands through college fervently desire education themselves, Peggy and the Professor organize a lecture series at the only available location---a pool hall. The way the scene unfolds, with the Professor leading the discussion of philosophy, and then the women taking over with a spirited debate of ideas is one of the best and sadly a singular occasion that shows women in this kind of intellectual exchange. It is what the recent movie Mona Lisa hoped for but failed to bring to life. And the other plot lines---research in chemistry at Harvard, with William Holden, a former chemistry-major in his first role; the difficulties of miscarriage and medicine (folic acid); and the strong bond of 'family' that developed due to unusual configurations of folks thrown together by the housing shortage; the struggles of loneliness and suicide, all are dealt with in a fresh and fascinating way. This film is one that is great to see again and find new things to appreciate and we can only hope it will be transferred to DVD someday very soon.