Finishing School

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.