The Petty Girl

Like the previous contributor I fondly remember the lovely Joan Caulfield when I saw 'Girl of the year' at the Putney Odeon in London around 1950. As a teen just becoming aware of girls, I saw it four or five times !! The odd thing is the film was programmed with a Bing Crosby trailer and I got to know one of Bing's songs quite well, which years later won me a first prize in a BBC 'spot the tune' contest.

But best of all in the mid 1970s I met a gorgeous blonde lady on holiday in Greece. She was telling me that at one time she had been a Hollywood actress and showed me some old publicity pictures which I instantly recognised as being the wonderful Joan.

So having found this site I need to locate the film. I have a copy of 'Blue Skies' Best wishes to all Joan Caulfield fans.

Dennis Kenyon

I saw this film in 1950 when I was 15 years old. It was so long ago that I cannot comment on its artistic merits or defects. What I can say is that,whether it was because I was 15 or more likely that it brought an air of light and colour to a London which was drab and grey and still littered with bomb sites, it left an unforgettable impression on me that has lasted for over 50 years. What I do remember is that Robert Cummings played his part with a very pleasant lightness of touch and that Joan Caulfield exemplified perfectly the type of pretty girl that George Petty would have enjoyed painting. Perhaps it was guileless by modern standards but it also represented an era of relative innocence. I only wish that I could obtain a copy to see if my impression was justified.

Joan Caulfield is a prim but beautiful college professor. Robert Cummings is an artist with a talent for cheesecake art who has become "serious" but mediocre. After a series of humorous misadventures this improbable pair bring each other to see their true selves and find they have a lot in common. There's lots of feminine pulchritude and good humor throughout. While pretty tame by today's standards, this is still a fun movie.

I saw "The Petty Girl" the other day, and it was my first time viewing the film. While Bob Cummings came through big as the artist in search of a model, I was captivated by the golden-haired beauty and charm of the late actress, Joan Caulfield ("Blue Skies," "Dear Ruth"). She was gorgeous. I liked her in "Blue Skies," with her blonde hair worn in a pompadour, and such an innocent look that I admired greatly. But in "The Petty Girl," she went beyond my expectations. She looked great in the blue bathing suit she wore, and her hair was in a pony-tail tied with a gold and, later, a blue scarf. It was the best that I have seen her in the few movies I've seen her do. I wish she would be better remembered by today's movie enthusiasts (critics). She was so radiant in her prime. But that's Hollywood. They want the public to remember the ones with the greatest fame as opposed to those whose careers were short or were transferred to television, like Joan's was. She will always be the beautiful, innocent blonde from the '40's. Some videos of her are in order. RIP, dear one.

Any red blooded normal American male will love this movie. The movie is a celebration of God's greatest physical creation, the female form. I guess there's some kind of plot to this movie that I didn't pay too much attention to. All of the main actresses are dropdead gorgeous. It's celebrates the pinup art popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It showcases how beautiful women were often used in advertising to generate interest. A practice that under our more strict rules that we have today is no longer permitted. I would describe the movie as a "light" musical. There's only about three or four songs in the entire movie but they fit in well with the plot. I'm glad I was able to find this terrific film on DVD to add to my 3000 DVD/Blu-ray collection.