The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947)
Shirley Temple sure got a bad break when she grew out of her childhood years. Instead of playing sweet Deanna Durbin-type roles and continuing to endear audiences, she got stuck in irritating teenage parts that had either a bad attitude or were used to be made fun of. In The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, she’s a high school student who develops a crush on a guest lecturer, Cary Grant. She thinks he’s so handsome, she literally imagines him wearing a suit of armor as he leaves the auditorium. When an innocent conversation gets misconstrued on her part, she thinks he’s interested in her romantically.
Her older sister, Myrna Loy, is a tough judge who knows Cary very well – in her courtroom. He and his slippery lawyer, Don Tobin, have stood accused before her many times, and she hates him! She doesn’t approve of Shirley’s crush. When Shirley gets found in Cary’s apartment at night while he’s in a bathrobe drinking a highball, it’s a cinch he’ll get twenty years for statutory! The look on Cary’s face when he gets caught with an underaged girl is priceless. His comic timing sure is wonderful.
I don’t mean to be insulting, but isn’t it strange that Myrna is supposed to be Shirley’s older sister? The year before, she played the mother of Teresa Wright – who was ten years older than Shirley. I don’t know how it was supposed to be believable that they were siblings. Except, since obviously the pair who hate each other are going to soften and fall in love (as is the case with most Hollywood romances), it would be too damaging for Shirley’s mother to steal her beau. Her older sister can steal him without any psychological damages, but not her mother. Cue Nancy Meyers’s Something’s Gotta Give.
And cue the resident psychologist, Ray Collins, who actually plays matchmaker in the film. He’s actually a psychologist and he masterminds the entire premise of the story. Even if Ray gives the audience the green light to accept the incestual damages, I just couldn’t get behind it. I felt so sorry for Shirley, whose entire screen presence was dedicated to placating and getting made fun of. There she is, a beautiful young woman with a killer figure who has already won the heart of every American, and all she does is become the butt of every joke. It’s very unfair, and frankly, it hurts to watch. Can’t her feelings be taken seriously? Can’t anyone respect her? The answer, if you watch this movie, is no. If you agree with the message, check out a very similarly themed “romance” starring Debbie Reynolds: This Happy Feeling.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Myrna Loy movies here!
Her older sister, Myrna Loy, is a tough judge who knows Cary very well – in her courtroom. He and his slippery lawyer, Don Tobin, have stood accused before her many times, and she hates him! She doesn’t approve of Shirley’s crush. When Shirley gets found in Cary’s apartment at night while he’s in a bathrobe drinking a highball, it’s a cinch he’ll get twenty years for statutory! The look on Cary’s face when he gets caught with an underaged girl is priceless. His comic timing sure is wonderful.
I don’t mean to be insulting, but isn’t it strange that Myrna is supposed to be Shirley’s older sister? The year before, she played the mother of Teresa Wright – who was ten years older than Shirley. I don’t know how it was supposed to be believable that they were siblings. Except, since obviously the pair who hate each other are going to soften and fall in love (as is the case with most Hollywood romances), it would be too damaging for Shirley’s mother to steal her beau. Her older sister can steal him without any psychological damages, but not her mother. Cue Nancy Meyers’s Something’s Gotta Give.
And cue the resident psychologist, Ray Collins, who actually plays matchmaker in the film. He’s actually a psychologist and he masterminds the entire premise of the story. Even if Ray gives the audience the green light to accept the incestual damages, I just couldn’t get behind it. I felt so sorry for Shirley, whose entire screen presence was dedicated to placating and getting made fun of. There she is, a beautiful young woman with a killer figure who has already won the heart of every American, and all she does is become the butt of every joke. It’s very unfair, and frankly, it hurts to watch. Can’t her feelings be taken seriously? Can’t anyone respect her? The answer, if you watch this movie, is no. If you agree with the message, check out a very similarly themed “romance” starring Debbie Reynolds: This Happy Feeling.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Myrna Loy movies here!