The Youngest Profession

If you don't like light entertainment, avoid this movie! But if you enjoy fluff, I think you'll love this one. Lot's of stars drop by to flash a smile but that's only part of it. If you appreciate the talents of the much underrated Edward Arnold as I do, he's here. Along with Virginia Weidler and Jean Porter who I think are two of the most engaging of the "child" stars of the 40's. And Agnes "Endora" Moorehead adds her spice as well. Try and this one and see...

... that was better than I expected it to be. And that is mainly because the focus of the film is not two teen girls autograph hunting. That would have gotten diabetic in a hurry.

Joan Lyons (VIrginia Weidler) and Patricia Drew (Jean Porter) are star crazy autograph hounds who head a club of equally star crazy teen girls who are also autograph hounds. They live in New York City, so it is probably more likely that they would run into stars there than Indiana, but they do seem to have an uncanny amount of luck, including having Robert Taylor move into the apartment across the hall from the Lyons with William Powell ending up in an elevator with the Lyons when he goes to visit Taylor. Taylor was married to Barbara Stanwyck at the time, so why didn't they run into her? The short answer would be that Stanwyck was not under contract to MGM in 1943.

This movie is beefed up with a subplot about a series of misunderstandings coupled with a gossipy governess (Agnes Moorehead) that have Joan believing that her father (Edward Arnold) is planning to leave her mother for his secretary. Joan and Patricia come up with a goofy plot to try and get them back together when there is no problem in the first place. This part of the film is up to the quality of the Andy Hardy films of the time, and it helps to have an old pro like Edward Arnold onboard.

I begrudgingly started watching this in my quest to watch and review all of William Powells existing films, and if not for its minor place in his filmography I would have likely passed on it, but it was better than I expected. If you like the MGM family comedies of the late 30s and early 40s you'll probably like this one.

"The Youngest Profession" is a rarity, in that it seems to have been forgotten after it served its purpose. It's not a total waste. The comedy is light and earnest and has an excellent performance by Virginia Weidler, who as Joan Lyons, is at the center of the action. The film, directed by Edward Buzzell offered a view of an America at war where movie stars were adored by fans like Joan and her set.

The film offers delightful cameo performances by some of the MGM stars of that time. Notably, Greer Garson, Walter Pigeon, Lana Turner and Robert Taylor, who appear as themselves. Ms. Garson and Mr. Pigeon have the best moments as they are seen talking to Joan and Patricia naturally and never appearing condescending, or patronizing.

Virginia Weidler is the main reason for watching the film. She is witty, charming, and thoroughly disarming as the teen ager who loves the bigger than life stars. Also Edward Arnold as Joan's father has a good opportunity to do what he did best. Agnes Moorehead, Marta Linden, Raymond Roe, Jean Porter, among others, make this film a delight to watch.

Sure, it's light fare, but it will surprise anyone because of the refreshing way the teen agers of the era were shown. There is such sweetness among them to make us yearn for a return to that happy era.

MGM programmer for the younger set. Viewers interested in teens and trends of the time (1943) might take a look. Weidler makes a spunky teenager with a dyspeptic father, a dutiful mother, a mischievous little brother and a mob of friends as star-struck as she is. Their New York lives revolve around collecting autographs from celebrities who, surprise, also happen to be major MGM movie-stars. Complications arise when conniving housekeeper Agnes Moorehead (who else?) creates a marital mix-up.

Though dated, there are enough laughs and human interest to keep you entertained. The kids are delightfully amusing with an innocent charm seemingly a galaxy away from today's teen movies. John Caroll scores as the cranky Russian muscle man back when Hollywood Russians were an amusing hot commodity, along with Jean Porter as Weidler's wide-eyed best buddy. In passing, note the brief references to how the kids were helping to win the war, with their saving stamps, etc. A rather sad sidelight are the later lives of Weidler who died young after a failed adult career, and Beckett (the younger brother) whose biography reads regrettably like a police blotter before also dying young. Nonetheless, MGM turned out some major stars (Garson, Taylor, Pidgeon, et al.) for good humored cameos. All in all, an entertaining little artifact.

During the first week of being able to watch TCM, I stumbled onto this delightful little gem called The Oldest Professinal this morning. Pure pleasure with a dynamite comedic pace. That little child actress, Joan Carroll, was just incredible.

I'm already over the moon that I get to see TCM everyday and this little harmless piece of fluff was a great tonic to start the day. It's an incredible treat to be able to view these classic moves unedited, not butchered by commercials, and shown with exquisite prints.

Anotherbonus for this movie was seeing a youngish Agnes Moorehead playing in good supporting role that is neither wacky or evil.