Junior Miss

Based on a series of stories by Sally Benson, this movie covers the trials and tribulations of lawyer Allyn Joslyn's family in Manhattan. It centers itself on Peggy Ann Garner, a dramatic 13-year-old girl whose imagination compares every situation to a vague memory of a movie she has seen, brings forth problems that don't exist, which she attempts to solve..... creating real problems which grow increasingly out of hand as the movie goes on.

It was made into a Broadway show directed by Moss Hart, and the property was bought by Mary Pickford for her own production. Then she sold it to 20th Century-Fox, and it was handed over to their resident G-rated auteur, George Seaton.

There are many things I enjoyed about this movie, particularly the jokes and the peripheral roles, like Miss Garner's friend, Barbara Whiting, whose character rejoices in the name 'Fuffy', one of those thirty-going-on-thirty characters. Yet it was difficult not to compare this to MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS -- same source material author, same adolescent girls-in-crisis model -- and find it curiously lacking. While these days, the essential audience of movie theaters in adolescent and young adults, back then everyone went to the movies, and this was released to the armed forces before the public. Its audience was everyone, fresh from the battlefield or seeking an evening's entertainment free from worries about the war after the newsreels were done. Therefore it has a sort of slick, unsympathetic, mocking view of its juvenile subjects that made it seem mean-spirited, even as I laughed at the gags and the restrained comic reactions of Mr. Joslyn. It's a movie which has not aged well.

Utterly charming lightweight comedy about two teenage girls coming of age in 1940's Manhattan. Director Seaton and the writers add a number of expert touches that lift the 90- minutes above the ordinary. I love the way the luckless teenage suitors keep shuffling in and out of the apartment as the girls' grouchy dad (Joslyn) gives them the better-be-home-by-ten evil eye. And was there ever a more beguiling early teen than Garner (Judy). What I like most is her utter lack of affect. She's a natural, not particularly pretty, but with a winning personality.

Here Judy has a bouncy neighbor Fluffy (Whiting) to conspire with. Their project is to get recovering alcoholic Uncle Willis (Dunne) together with the lovely Ellen (Marlowe) in order to save what they believe is Judy's parent's marriage. Naturally, complications arise, particularly when it looks like Dad will lose his good job because of the girls' shenanigans.

The movie's adapted from a stage play, which is apparent since nearly all the action occurs in the Manhattan apartment. But notice how things never drag as Seaton keeps moving people in and out with lots of sassy dialog, particularly between Judy and older sister Lois (Freeman). Also, catch a very young Mel Torme as one of the obnoxious suitors in an early walk-on. Hard to believe teens were ever like this, but then it is a movie, and though dated, is still quite entertaining, thanks mainly to the wonderful Miss Garner. In my little book, it's an unexpected sleeper.

Junior Miss paints such a vivid picture of life for a middle-class family living in New York City in the mid-1940s, yet its subject matter is easy to relate to even now. The storyline revolves mostly around two young teenage girls who are "bosom friends", and who are constantly getting themselves and others into trouble and mostly just behaving like typical 13-year-olds. As entertaining as they are together, much of the humor is supplied by Judy's long-suffering father and his priceless reactions to his daughters and their friends. The sarcasm is great! This is a great film to watch around Christmas and New Year's Eve, as the storyline is based around that time of year. I have been pestering TCM for years show this movie but, so far, to no avail. As my old Beta copy (taped long ago on AMC) is rapidly dying, I can only hope that someday TCM will honor my request.

It didn't take long for "Junior Miss" to hook me in. The dialogue in this light family comedy is unusually lively and laugh-worthy, likely owing to its origins as a play adapted from Sally Benson's autobiographical short stories. Peggy Ann Garner is perfect as wannabe matchmaker Judy. She's a very natural actress for her age: although precocious, she knows knows when to keep it low-key and is never overly spunky in that grating kid actor way.

The movie's best bits are Judy's scenes with her best friend Fuffy Adams, played by Barbara Whiting. Fuffy is a total hoot, reeling off endless movie references and snappy lines while scheming with Judy. Although Fuffy fits the "homely best friend" stock character typically played by someone like Nancy Walker, the movie never mocks or derides her. Fuffy just gets to be Fuffy!

Set during Christmas and New Year's, there's plenty of fun seasonal content, making this a nice addition to any Old Hollywood Christmas playlist. It's puzzling that this this forgotten gem has managed to avoid finding an audience for so long!

I saw this movie as a pre-teenager living in New York, so I really identified with the main character played by Peggy Ann Garner. The location shots at the ice-skating rink at Rockefeller Center and Central Park in the winter (when Judy and Fuffy are sitting on a park bench eating cookies in their winter coats) are charming indeed. The story will keep movie fans interested. There is romance, generation gaps, family situations all centered around a couple of teen-age pals living in the same apartment building with a big sister thrown in for fun. Every time I see this movie, I am back in 1945 as a ten year old seeing this movie during the summer with my father.