Filles d'Amérique

A great cast can't help this dated look at "Finishing School," from 1934. I decided to watch it based on the presence of Frances Dee and Ginger Rogers, both of whom are always delightful. They are here, too.

Francis Dee plays a young woman, Virginia, who is sent to finishing school at the behest of her shallow mother (Billie Burke). She is turned over to the head of the school (Beulah Bondi) and given a set of rules.

When she meets her roommate (Rogers) and her roommate's wild crowd, she discovers that the only one paying attention to rules is her. She agrees to go away for a weekend with Rogers, friends, and Rogers' aunt (an actress playing a role).

Then it's a wild time in the city, especially when Virginia meets Dr. Ralph McFarland, who works as a waiter (read: unacceptable job) while doing his internship. They fall in love, but the upper crust at the school, only interested in appearances, attempt to break them up. Alas, it's a little too late for that. And you really have to be sharp to figure out why!

I'd like to think this sort of thing has gone out of style, but I have a nagging feeling that it hasn't. Can there really still be places that teach one the difference between a tea and a reception, and how many calling cards to leave when people are not at home?

Well, they still do have débutante balls, so maybe there are - but let's face it, "coming out" parties have a new meaning today. We do know that there is still a lot of shallowness in the world, so perhaps "Finishing School" isn't so dated after all.

Bruce Cabot is enjoyable and good-looking as Virginia's suitor, and there is a nice performance from Anne Shirley, who wants to fit in with the older set.

Rogers stands out as usual in her supporting role and keeps the pace going. Dee was so pretty and natural, it's a shame she left movies, but hey, I would have done that - and more - for Joel McCrea.

Interesting for the cast and as a look at an upper class woman's responsibilities back in the '30s.

Helen Radcliff (Billie Burke) wants her daughter to attend the same finishing school that she did when she was young, so Virginia (Frances Dee) packs her bags and enters a new life of refinement. Miss Van Alstyne (Beulah Bondi) is a no-nonsense kind of a woman who briefs Virginia on the rules of the school and warns her not to step outside of the lines. Virginia agrees, but she never reckoned on having Cecilia (Ginger Rogers) for a room mate. Cecilia makes it impossible not to break the rules, and Virginia takes the heat for it. It doesn't help that Virginia falls for a poor medical school student (Bruce Cabot).

This film starts out strong and ends strong, but the middle leaves a little to be desired. However, this is pure entertainment and escapism, just like the teen movies of modern times. There isn't a whole lot that is shocking about this film except the ending which is the reason why the film was condemned by the Catholic Church. By today's standards, it is nothing, and the twist is so ambiguous that a trained pre-code fan might be the only one that understands it.

FINISHING SCHOOL starts with a whimper: FRANCES DEE enters the same finishing school her mother (BILLIE BURKE) attended, a school burdened by rules that most of the girls never follow--including Dee's new roommate, GINGER ROGERS. And it doesn't end with a bang.

BEULAH BONDI is the prissy lady who tells Dee about all the rules. ANNE SHIRLEY is a naive girl who wants to be part of the gang but is rebuffed by Ginger's set.

The dialog is not exactly crackling with gems. "One step lower and I'll be in the movies," says one old gal who deceives the school mistress by playing the good aunt taking the girls to a matinée instead of a wild week-end rendezvous with men. When Dee passes out on her wild weekend, it's BRUCE CABOT, a waiter at the hotel, to her rescue. He pays a passing milkman 12 cents for a quart of milk so Dee can have some breakfast. Oh, the good old days!! Even with some good names in the supporting cast, it never manages to be more than an innocuous treatment of an innocuous theme. Dee is pretty but her acting, as usual, is pretty forgettable. Bruce Cabot does well enough in one of his few likable roles as a young man studying to be an intern while waiting tables on the side. As for Ginger Rogers, at least she adds a little spice as Dee's friend.

Watchable but underwhelming as a feature that probably played the lower half of double bills in the '30s.

Certainly some big names in this dated film from 1934. Pretty early-on in Ginger Rogers' film career... as well as Frances Dee's. Of course, the biggest name here is really Billie Burke, who not only married Ziegfeld of "Ziegfeld Follies"... but was also Glinda the Good Witch in Gone With the Wind! Here, Burke plays "The Mother" who sends her daughter Virginia (Dee) off to finishing school. Virginia rooms with "Pony" (Rogers), who shows her the ropes. Of course they get into all kinds of mis-haps, but poor Virginia keeps getting caught, and is pretty much ignored by her parents, who are too busy jet-setting with the other rich folk. It's rather dry, bland, and a dated story of the 1930s, showing how the rich folks lived prior to the market crash. Pretty far from anyone's experience today. Virginia meets local med student "Mac", who she hopes will take her away from her tortured life. It's all well done, but such a simple, out-dated story doesn't really hold up with today's world and moral standards. Lots of implied things going on, and we can tell why the film was put on the "condemned films" to avoid by the churches at the time. Made JUST prior to when the film code began to be enforced, and these subjects would be completely avoided. Kind of seems like it got much more serious and deep in the last 20 minutes of the film; up to then, it was all set-up. Originally a play by Katherine Clugston. Good to see Ginger Rogers and Billie Burke, years before their bigger roles.

As one of the 'BIG FIVE' RKO had to have a constant stream of pictures to meet the demands of their theaters. Typically output was about fifty-plus (50+) features a year and with the Great Depression budgets had to be kept tight. You cannot afford many KING KONG's each year so Executive Producer Merian C. Cooper kept most budgets to $100,000.00 or less. This kept the studio profitable and the staff busy and employed.

FINISHING SCHOOL (1934) is filled with the current stock company of RKO. The story is of a idealistic and naive young women VIRGINIA RADCLIFF (Frances Dee) who goes to her Mother's (Billie Burke) 'Finishing School' and has her eyes opened up. The students led by CECELIA 'Pony' FERRIS (Ginger Rogers) spend most of their time dodging the rules. Principal MISS VAN ALYSTYNE (Beulah Bondi) and teachers like MISS FISHER (Sara Haden) are mainly interested in the appearances of propriety not the substance. Fortunetly VIRGINIA becomes aware of the hypocrisy and with the love of RALPH McFARLAND (Bruce Cabot) and the support of her Father MR. RADCLIFF (John Halliday) breaks free from the School and it's influences. One of those left behind is BILLIE (Dawn O'Day) who four (4) films later will become ANNE SHIRLEY!

Least you think institutions like FINISHING SCHOOL no longer exist, guess again. Just GOOGLE and you will find extensive listing of such schools. Though judging from their 21st Century curriculum's they appear have more substance then just how to serve Tea.