Billie

Roll back the clocks for this one! A very fine movie for it's nostalgia. I enjoyed seeing what teenagers were like back in the 1960's.

This is a movie/musical rolled into one. It stars, Patty Duke who plays the character "Billie", a tomboy who causes a problem with her school when she is put on the all "boys" track team by the impressed school coach. You have to remember that this movie was released in 1965 when women's rights were not as prevalent as today.

If you have never heard Patty Duke sing, then you just have to see this movie... She sings as beautiful as a songbird! Bobby Diamond, who played on the TV series, "Fury" (1955-1960), is also in this movie and sang to my enjoyment as well!

Although not intended to be funny, some parts of this movie were very comical and had me in stitches! I enjoyed watching the way the people danced back then. It looked like they were having a great time!

In conclusion I'd like to say, that "Billie" is a very fine movie for it's time period. If only there was more of it. The ending left me with wanting more...more...more!

Based on a decade old play Time Out For Ginger which was a one set comedy in the living room of the house of the protagonist Carol family, Billie was considerably expanded with many new characters introduced and the story takes us all over the small town where Jim Backus is trying to unseat Billy DeWolfe as mayor.

Expanded I say, but hardly updated. You would absolutely never know there was a counterculture revolution of the Sixties going on in seeing this film. It could have been and maybe should have been made in the Fifties.

Patty Duke plays the title role and the film property is produced by John Ross who was her legal guardian and career Svengali at that point. He was taking Patty's American character from the Patty Duke Show on television and making her a track star as well.

A little bit of Annie Get Your Gun is also tossed into the mix as Duke who damages a lot of the male egos on the track team has some problems landing the boy of her dreams. Warren Berlinger initially gets some pointers from Duke and she helps him make the team. But later the male dominant ego gets the better of him.

Berlinger is way too old for his part and looks it. He was 28 when he was doing Billie. Robert Diamond late of Fury was also having trouble transitioning to teen roles. He was 22 and also looks it. Diamond plays another track team member and Billy DeWolfe's son. Patty was 18 doing this, but her small build makes her look younger.

There's a subplot involving Patty's older sister Susan Seaforth who is married to Ted Bessell, but hasn't broken the news to Backus and mother Jane Greer. Why escapes me, but Backus tries to fix her up with his campaign manager Dick Sargent, this being while Seaforth is a little bit married and a little bit pregnant.

Billie's secret of her success on the track field is that she has the 'beat'. A certain innate natural rhythm that star athletes have, we all have whether we know it or not. Find your beat and ratchet it up and you too can be a star. Bearing that in mind there is a whole lot dancing in Billie and the choreography was nicely done.

Billie is a nice film that was way out of step with the times when it was released.

As an avid Patty Duke fan I have no idea what her agent had in mind when they made this film! Maye it was to be a vehical for her singing career? Patty does warble out a ew tunes in this musical? based on the Broadway show "Time Out For Ginger?" Somehow with bleached blonde hair and skimpy short shorts Patty tries to pull it off! It does not work! Next came "Valley Of The Dolls" and then the MUCH BETTER "ME Natalie"! What were people thinking off back then? She was such a talent that seemed misguided!

Patty Duke stars as young Billie Carol, the teenage gal who can outrun all of the guys on the school track team. She tells her track coach that the secret to her incredible running ability, is the rock music 'beat' that she hears in her head, whenever she runs. Billie's athletic talent, causes considerable controversy for her politician father, who's running for Mayor of their town. He admits that he wishes Billie had been a boy. Billie herself, also wishes that she was a boy. She doesn't like having to tone-down her athletic prowess, just because she's a girl.

Lots of folks think that Billie should behave more like a girl, and quit the boy's track team. But she's determined to stay on. Her father reluctantly supports her wish to be on the boy's track team. To further complicate matters, Billie falls for one of her teammates, who she had been tutoring to improve his track skills. He's surprised to find himself attracted to the tomboyish Billie, and wants her to start acting like a girl.

Billie likes him, but wants him to accept her as an equal. His male ego is threatened by the fact that Billie can outrun him, since she's 'just a girl'. Billie doesn't like this, but she also doesn't want to lose her first boyfriend. Bewildered by her blossoming romantic feelings for him, Billie knows that she needs to make some important decisions, regarding her relationship with him.

This movie belongs to Patty Duke, and she shines above the others in the supporting cast. Patty looks like a cute puppy-dog tomboy, and brings an intense energy to her role as Billie. After this film, Patty would never again appear so baby-faced and innocent, as she did in Billie. Patty also got to sing songs in the film, and she does have a nice voice.

This movie was a charming, fun comedy, about a girl's journey through adolescence. It was made before the women's rights movement got underway. But it's plot was supportive of Billie's determination, to compete on an equal level with the boys on the track team. It's a fun, 60s teen-angst movie, with a message about equal rights for girls.

Silly bit of fluff about a teenage tomboy named Billie (Patty Duke) who can run super fast due to music in her head she calls "the beat." She can run faster than all the boys, which causes the expected problems. This is an old but fun gender equality story. It's sincere in what it's trying to do even though it's pretty dated in how it's trying to do it. Patty Duke is fun and looks cute in track shorts. 28 year-old Warren Berlinger is her friend (and potential boyfriend). He's a poor fit to play a high schooler. He even has a bald spot! Jim Backus plays the dad and Jane Greer is the mom. Backus' character is one of the more interesting in the film, seeing as how he is a politician running on a traditionalist conservative platform yet his personal views are somewhat in conflict with this. He's a hypocrite, in other words. Other familiar faces like Dick Sargent, Charles Lane, and Richard Deacon also appear. It's likable stuff but not for everybody. The scenes of Patty Duke running with that big grin on her face and the '60s music playing is pretty cheesy stuff. Patty sings some corny songs, as well. The subplot about the older sister is positively stupid. You're not going to enjoy this movie much unless you are able to not take it that seriously.