One of the more enjoyable Temple teen-ager movies...
KISS AND TELL with Shirley as Corliss Archer is the kind of family comedy rampant in the '40s and '50s--but what seemed mighty funny back then doesn't have quite the same punch today. In other words, all the material is slightly dated and the genuine laughs in the script by F. Hugh Herbert are few and far between.
Nevertheless, it's one of Shirley's most appealing performances as a teen-ager and she seems to be enjoying herself immensely. She has good support from Jerome Courtland, as an awkward neighborhood boy, and Walter Abel as her exasperated father and Katharine Alexander as his patient wife. I believe Shirley had already played Corliss Archer on radio and certainly had an affinity for this sort of role.
I recall enjoying it much more years ago. A recent viewing of the film left me much less impressed with the overall result. It seemed to be straining a bit hard for laughs and the material was very thin.
Nevertheless, it's one of Shirley's most appealing performances as a teen-ager and she seems to be enjoying herself immensely. She has good support from Jerome Courtland, as an awkward neighborhood boy, and Walter Abel as her exasperated father and Katharine Alexander as his patient wife. I believe Shirley had already played Corliss Archer on radio and certainly had an affinity for this sort of role.
I recall enjoying it much more years ago. A recent viewing of the film left me much less impressed with the overall result. It seemed to be straining a bit hard for laughs and the material was very thin.
- Doylenf
- Jul 15, 2004