Jane Powell (in her screen debut) is tired of the grind of being a Hollywood star. She runs away and joins a group of teenagers called the U. S. Crop Corps, picking crops during the season. At first she's enthusiastic and volunteers for everything. However, everything she knows is what she learned in the movies, which doesn't help much.
Clearly this Charles Rogers production for United Artists was intended as a sort of Deanna Durbin movie, with some jabs at the way Hollywood treated its talent. There's lots of talent on the screen, from Bonita Granville and Jackie Moran, to faded stars like Reginald Denny, Regis Toomey, and Rose Hobart. It's undoubtedly appearance by W. C. Fields and Edgar Bergen and his dummies that people came to see, as well as frequent musical interludes that had Miss Powell singing in a variety of styles.
Although director S. Sylvan Simon shows his abilities here -- including locking Fields in his trailer so he could sleep off the previous night's drinking and perform -- it's not a sparkling movie, in large part because every problem is quickly solved. Still, it's a worthwhile 90 minutes of watching for the specialty acts if nothing else.
Clearly this Charles Rogers production for United Artists was intended as a sort of Deanna Durbin movie, with some jabs at the way Hollywood treated its talent. There's lots of talent on the screen, from Bonita Granville and Jackie Moran, to faded stars like Reginald Denny, Regis Toomey, and Rose Hobart. It's undoubtedly appearance by W. C. Fields and Edgar Bergen and his dummies that people came to see, as well as frequent musical interludes that had Miss Powell singing in a variety of styles.
Although director S. Sylvan Simon shows his abilities here -- including locking Fields in his trailer so he could sleep off the previous night's drinking and perform -- it's not a sparkling movie, in large part because every problem is quickly solved. Still, it's a worthwhile 90 minutes of watching for the specialty acts if nothing else.