The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

Very disappointing...

An action-packed slog

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

. . . it's best NOT to spell out the word for an article of clothing that's bound to be a short-lived fad. Who's going to stream COLLEGE CRAVATS? On the other hand, SCHOOL TIES still sounds like an intriguing possibility. THE BROWN PENNY LOAFERS is WAY too specific; there's an air of mystery hanging over THE RED SHOES. Doesn't THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS call out to you more than THE CULT OF ITINERANT DUNGAREES? Something simple, such as KINKY BOOTS, always will be in style. PERVERTED GALOSHES, not so much. A rose may smell as sweet by any other name, but will BUZZARD BLOOMERS pass the "sniff test" as well as THE PELICAN BRIEF? This brings us to THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY-SOXER. To say that this Cary Grant-Myrna Loy vehicle stinks from beginning to end may be unduly harsh. But at 19-years-old in real life here, Shirley Temple is all but stretched to her breaking point playing Loy's little sis, "Susan," who is supposed to be 17. The script for this dud is nearly as archaic and humorless as its title makes it sound. Hoop skirts, anyone?

Did you notice how quickly Shirley Temple came to her senses? Makes you think that she could have been enlightened much sooner.Also, it was pretty ridiculous that Temple was playing the younger sister of Myrna Loy. Come on. Loy could have played her mother instead.That all being said, the picture had the ability to be funny when a young girl is smitten by an artist who has just been reprimanded by Loy, a judge, in court. The comedy goes awry here and as a result, the film soon goes downhill quite rapidly.Yes, there are some funny moments, especially the scene in the restaurant where the entire cast is assembled and each denounces the other.You know that the relationship between Grant and Temple can't be and that older sister Loy will fit the bill.

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.

Circumstances force a playboy and artist to date a teenager who has a crush on him. It plays like a situation comedy, which is not surprising because it was written by Sheldon, who would go on to create TV sitcoms. What is surprising is that Sheldon won an Oscar for his screenplay. While it is pleasant enough, it never rises to the level one would expect given the star presence. Grant and Loy are the main attractions here and they do what they can with characters that are not very well drawn. It is described as a screwball comedy but there aren't enough laughs. Perhaps a director like Howard Hawks could have done more with it.