"Tammy Tell Me True" is the sequel to and second film of a series of four that began with "Tammy and the Bachelor" in 1957. The series is based on a 1948 novel by Cid Ricketts Sumner, "Tammy Out of Time." It is set in the bayou country of southern Louisiana and Mississippi around New Orleans.
Debbie Reynolds was the original Tammy Tyree, but four years later she could hardly pass as a teenager as she had been a 17-year-old in 1957, at the age of 25. So, her role was taken over by the now closer to age, Sandra Dee, at 19. And, she does a fairly good job in the role.
The story picks up right where the other one left off, except that Peter Brent has gone off to college. There's a little incongruity here because he wasn't a high school or college kid in the first one, but a young man in his mid-to-late 20s. At least that's how his character was portrayed, along with his fiancé. But, skipping over that, Tammy has been staying with the Brent's at their estate which is in a hilly part of Mississippi, when she decides she needs some formal schooling. Even without having attended school, she is knowledgeable enough in reading and writing to be accepted in a special student assistance program at Seminola College.
Another anomaly appears here, when Tammy gets her houseboat towed downriver to tie up across the swamps near the college campus. As nearly as one can tell, the college must be in or very close to New Orleans, so, it's a real stretch to imagine that there was a bayou place along the river above there from which Tammy moved downstream.
All of that aside, Sandra Dee does a fairly good job, continuing the bayou drawl and lingo. She falls for a speech teacher, Tom Freeman (played by John Gavin) and concludes that her love for Pete was probably just infatuation with the first real man of her age in her life. This story has a good new sub-plot with some good new characters, as Tammy becomes a companion of an elderly lady and winds up helping another couple get their marriage back on track.
The supporting cast has more well-known actors of the day in Beulah Bondi, Charles Drake, Cecil Kellaway, Virginian Grey and others. The is a good continuation of the story, with good performances, but not quite up to the fresh first story with its stars and great performances.
Here are some favorite lines from this film.
Annie Rook Call, paying the boat captain who takes her out to Tammy's houseboat, "Here you are. Remember, not one word to anyone." Captain Armand, "Compared to me, madame, a corpse talks too much."
Tammy, "I'd like the fastest stamp you got, please." Post office clerk (Alan DeWitt, uncredited), "Air mail - we haven't switched to rockets yet."
