The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

This film is one of the most copied in the history of Hollywood, I claim. I find it is clever without being profound, its characters are unusually believable and well-developed; and it is a light-hearted look from beginning to end at a very interesting plot question--the precocity of young people who lack categorizing definitions, life-experience and therefore the context to make prioritized value decisions; in a word, it's about the problems adults have with children who want to act as grown ups without having the means to do so successfully. The central character of this film is a successful bachelor named Richard Nugent. Through no fault of his own, the artist ends up in court before Judge Margaret Turner who recognizes his innocence but warns him not to appear before her again on a similar charge, caused by a lady in a night club.,. The situation then become complicated by Nugent's appearance before a high-school class as speaker, an event at which Margaret's daughter falls in love with him despite or because of the difference in their ages. Margaret enlists his help when a casual put-off remark results in the daughter's showing up at Nugent's apartment to be painted. Her idea is to have him continue to see Susan, in the hopes the daughter will realize she belongs with someone nearer her own age. The result is merriment that takes many forms, including physical contests at a picnic where Nugent finds himself the rival of Margaret's boyfriend while trying to lose for Susan's sake; a basketball game where he must champion her erstwhile beau from the bleachers; and family occasions where the dialogue turns frequently hilarious. The best thing about this screwball comedy, to me as a writer, is the gradual development of relationships it allows the audience to share. Fundamentally, the film concerns five persons--Nugent, played with charm by Cary Grant, intelligent Myrna Loy as Margaret, pretty Shirley Temple as a fast-growing Susan, her daughter, Rudy Vallee as Grant's rival, prefiguring his stuffy role in "How to Succeed in Business" and other comedies, and Lillian Randolph as long-suffering Bessie, the family's maid and confidant-adviser. The happy ending achieved for all in this story-line is the result of the common sense shown by Loy and Grant; the 'screwball' aspect which is not a genre, but rather a way-of-handling social-mores comedy, is here made to serve a plot that involves several hard-working normative people in a situation that should never have happened but has in fact happened. The production values of this bright comedy are far-above-average I suggest in every respect. Leigh Harline's music is understated and very useful, and the cinematography by Robert de Grasse and Nichloas Musuraca is high-contrast B/W and very good in a number of types of scenes. Director Irving Reis and writer Sidney Sheldon keep the film's pace and style very swift and consistent. Art Direction by Carroll Clark and Albert S. D'Agostino and the set decorations by James Altwies and Darrell Silvera add to the elegance and fun of the production. Edward Stevenson provided the gowns. Among the cast, Cary Grant is very-well cast it seems to me as the suave, womanizing and genial Nugent; he also portrays exasperation very nicely, and his reading of comedic one-liners is one of his best professional strengths. Myrna Loy suggests her sensuous side so well that she fits perfectly the stuffy role of a judge who is decidedly unstuffy. Her confidant in the film other than Randolph is Ray Collins, always a great listener and man with a wisecrack or sage advice. Temple is very good indeed as a teenager; her teenaged films are for me the best of her filmic outings. Vallee created a whole new career for himself as droll comedic second-lead with this impersonation; and Randolph is very strong as the understanding servant-cum-friend. Others in the cast include Veda Ann Borg, Dan Tobin, Harry Davenport and Ransom Sherman. All the younger people in the film are well-chosen by my standards. The film introduces the nonsensical "You remind me of a man" mnemonic, which became the springboard for "The Power", Frank M. Robinson's sci-fi classic, and a fine film of the 1960s. This is a dialogue and situation comedy with elements of satire and more. It is frequently as good as its award-winning screenplay would lead one to expect it would be, and then some. Civilized angst about the younger generation perhaps never seemed to be funnier than in this movie.

This is pure, innocent fun. If you're not too jaded by modern life, this film will tickle you. Cary Grant is in fine comic form, as are the rest of the cast.

The thing that really got me, the first time I saw this film, was how gorgeous Shirley Temple was as a young woman. I was only used to seeing her as a little girl in her early movies, but wow, she grew up quite well. Very easy on the eyes. I felt the same way about her when I saw Fort Apache. Fact is, if I was 17 in 1947, they'd have to use fire hoses to keep me away from her. Oh, that little button nose....

The cast comes together well and keeps your interest all the way through. One of those early comedies that doesn't require harsh language, nudity, or gross-out jokes to get its laughs.

This is a movie that I can always enjoy every time it shows up on TV. Great performances by all.

"Mellow greetings, Yookie-Dookie!" (You'll understand why that is funny if you see the movie.)

Like most romantic comedies, the premise of THE BACHELOR & THE BOBBY-SOXER really isn't on the firmest of grounds (though why watch a film if you want full-blown reality?). Myrna Loy plays serious-minded Judge Margaret Turner, who always pays strict attention to the facts in every situation (personal or professional). She has guardianship of her younger sister Susan (Shirley Temple), a hormonal young girl who develops an instant crush on a roguish art lecturer Richard Nugent (Cary Grant) when he gives a lecture at her school. In order to help her get over this crush, Margaret--urged by her uncle Matt (Ray Collins)--gently blackmails Richard into being Susan's beau until the crush wears off. What ensues is a delightful comedy of errors as Richard squires Susan around town, while struggling to deal with an assistant district attorney (the suitably uptight Rudy Vallee) and Susan's own ex-boyfriend Jerry (Johnny Sands) as he falls in love with Margaret (and vice versa).

It really does seem almost impossible for a film to get any cuter or more feel-good than THE BACHELOR & THE BOBBY-SOXER. First of all, much of the comedy is fantastic--from Susan's starry-eyed image of 'Dickie' as a (literal!) knight in shining armour, through to her attempt to pass herself off as both Dick's mother and Margaret's sister when trying to help Dick escape from jail. The dining scene at the club is brilliant fun, especially as more and more people arrive at the table to disrupt Dick and Margaret's privacy. Watch Cary Grant's reactions in this scene--truly a fantastic comedic performance that has, thankfully, been captured on film to the great benefit of future generations. ;) You just can't help laughing throughout the film--at Susan's misguided passion for Dick, Dick's helpless bewilderment when he gets landed in jail for nothing he can remember, the attempts at matchmaking Uncle Matt subtly tries to pull off etc.

Secondly, the cast itself is excellent. There is no better (or more under-rated) comic actor than Cary Grant, and he lends his considerable talent and boundless charm to the character without reservation. It's always the little throwaway touches that count with Grant's performances, tiny things that make him appear so natural on the screen, and his Dick Nugent is remarkably true to life. I especially love it when Dick trades his car in and turns up his trouser cuffs to act 'young' around the Turners. ("You remind me of a man...") Myrna Loy is delightful as well, though woefully under-used. It's not hard to believe her as a fully professional, modern woman (surely female judges must have been very rare at the time?); nor is it difficult to believe that the judge might have a sweeter, human side. (Though who wouldn't be convincing when asked to fall in love with Cary Grant?) It's a shame that there aren't more love scenes between Grant and Loy, as they doubtlessly have great chemistry together. As for Shirley Temple--there is just no denying how cute she is, and how well she plays the role of the flighty, passionate Susan. It's not an easy role to play, given how the character as written is really rather annoying. Temple makes Susan sweeter and more tolerable, and she definitely holds her own in the company of Grant and Loy.

The only problem with the film, given its great cast and very funny script, is that the 'comedic' element triumphs at the expense of the 'romantic'. There aren't half as many scenes between Grant and Loy as I would personally have liked, and although Loy herself is very convincing in her portrayal of Margaret--you really *do* believe that her character has fallen for Grant's--it certainly isn't with the help of the script. The film really belongs to Grant and Temple, both of whom get to show off their comic talents to great effect. While Loy makes an excellent straight (wo)man, it really is a shame that we didn't get to see more of her, or more of her character interacting with Grant's.

All in all, great fun, great laughs, great cast. The great romance... well, that would probably have to come from another film. That said, THE BACHELOR & THE BOBBY-SOXER is still definitely a film that's well worth the watch...

Want some insight into what titillated movie-goers in the post-war 1940's? This 1947 RKO production is a good place to start. There's the marquee value of a seductively handsome Cary Grant coupled with that spunky symbol of all-American innocence Shirley Temple, enough at the time to draw in ticket-buying throngs with its naughty innuendo of daring departure and forbidden pleasure. In fact, the underage subtext lingers beneath much of the movie's plot and humorous settings, but in a totally innocent manner, proving that this is not yet the more permissive 1960's. One slip, however, and this light-hearted soufflé could easily have become burnt-toast of the most tasteless variety. Fortunately, there are no slips.

Once the pace picks up, this comedy sparkles as brightly as any other Cary Grant madcap, which is to say, about as good as comedy gets. The nightclub scene is an absolute triumph of timing, staging, and scripting. The laughs build as the party table becomes more and more chaotic, interrupted by one petty annoyance after another, finally reducing the worldly Grant to speechless exasperation. This is the type of soaring comedic architecture that requires real artistry, but has been sadly replaced in contemporary film by a dumbed- down world of bathroom jokes, insult gags, and other cheap forms of humor that appeal mainly to juveniles.

The movie itself, directed by an unheralded Irving Reis, is literally brimful of bounce and charm, leaving no one in doubt that the big war is over and America is ready for the future even if its libido is showing. With: a slyly endearing Ray Collins, a bemusedly prim Myrna Loy, a pompously befuddled Rudy Vallee, and a well-deserved Oscar for writer Sidney Sheldon, along with a final scene that could not be more apt. Despite the shift in public mores, audiences now as then should find this a highly entertaining ninety minutes of expert movie- making.

The adolescent Susan Turner (Shirley Temple) is a fashionable and spoiled teenager that lives with her tough and uptight sister Margaret Turner (Myrna Loy), who is a judge. One day, Margaret has to judge the artist Richard "Dick" Nugent (Cary Grant), who is a reckless and wolf playboy, for a fight in a nightclub and she dismiss the case. Richard leaves the court and goes to the high-school where Susan studies to give a lecture of modern arts to the students. Susan has a crush on Richard and she breaks up with her boyfriend Jerry (Johnny Sands). She interviews Richard after the lecture and during the night, she lies to the portlier of his building telling that she is going to model for Richard and she sneaks in his apartment. She sleeps on the couch and when Richard arrives home late night, he does not see her. Meanwhile, Margaret and her friend, the district attorney Tommy (Rudy Vallee), are seeking out Susan. When they find her in Richard's apartment, they believe that she has been seduced by him and Richard is sent to the jail. Margaret's uncle Beemish (Ray Collins), who is the court psychiatrist, convinces Margaret to release Richard; otherwise Susan's crush would not stop. They make a deal with Richard forcing him to date Susan to diminish her passion. Richard dislikes the situation but has no other way out of the problem. While dating Susan, Richard and Margaret fall in love with each other; but Susan is a pain in the ass for them.

"The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" is a dated, but delightful screwball comedy that makes you laugh a lot. Cary Grant is hilarious in the role of a playboy and wolf that is involved by an annoying teenager and sentenced based on his reputation. It is impossible to not laugh with the picnic competition and the meeting in the nightclub during the celebration of one of Richard's "acquaintances". If you need something to relieve you from a stressed day, watch this movie that you will certainly feel better in the end. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Solteirão Cobiçado" ("Desired Bachelor")