The Petty Girl

A terribly dated affair which I doubt was ever entertaining.

A supposed comedy with some musical elements. Neither the comedy nor the music works. The makers of the film appear to have a very narrow view of the world and all situations are forced to agree with this view. An avant garde artist is always impeccably dressed and groomed; the closest he comes to relaxing is loosening his tie. Is this really how it was in 1950?

Robert Cummings does his thing but he is dealing with very weak material set in a very unconvincing situation. Using "fuddy duddy" academia as the background is too lazy an option and doesn't work.

Overall, The Petty Girl is of possible interest to film buffs who search out quaint, unusual films and to fans of Robert Cummings. Otherwise, to be avoided. 2.75.

Joan Caulfield is a prim but beautiful college professor. Robert Cummings is an artist with a talent for cheesecake art who has become "serious" but mediocre. After a series of humorous misadventures this improbable pair bring each other to see their true selves and find they have a lot in common. There's lots of feminine pulchritude and good humor throughout. While pretty tame by today's standards, this is still a fun movie.

Like the previous contributor I fondly remember the lovely Joan Caulfield when I saw 'Girl of the year' at the Putney Odeon in London around 1950. As a teen just becoming aware of girls, I saw it four or five times !! The odd thing is the film was programmed with a Bing Crosby trailer and I got to know one of Bing's songs quite well, which years later won me a first prize in a BBC 'spot the tune' contest.

But best of all in the mid 1970s I met a gorgeous blonde lady on holiday in Greece. She was telling me that at one time she had been a Hollywood actress and showed me some old publicity pictures which I instantly recognised as being the wonderful Joan.

So having found this site I need to locate the film. I have a copy of 'Blue Skies' Best wishes to all Joan Caulfield fans.

Dennis Kenyon

I saw this film in 1950 when I was 15 years old. It was so long ago that I cannot comment on its artistic merits or defects. What I can say is that,whether it was because I was 15 or more likely that it brought an air of light and colour to a London which was drab and grey and still littered with bomb sites, it left an unforgettable impression on me that has lasted for over 50 years. What I do remember is that Robert Cummings played his part with a very pleasant lightness of touch and that Joan Caulfield exemplified perfectly the type of pretty girl that George Petty would have enjoyed painting. Perhaps it was guileless by modern standards but it also represented an era of relative innocence. I only wish that I could obtain a copy to see if my impression was justified.

Any red blooded normal American male will love this movie. The movie is a celebration of God's greatest physical creation, the female form. I guess there's some kind of plot to this movie that I didn't pay too much attention to. All of the main actresses are dropdead gorgeous. It's celebrates the pinup art popular in the 1940s and 1950s. It showcases how beautiful women were often used in advertising to generate interest. A practice that under our more strict rules that we have today is no longer permitted. I would describe the movie as a "light" musical. There's only about three or four songs in the entire movie but they fit in well with the plot. I'm glad I was able to find this terrific film on DVD to add to my 3000 DVD/Blu-ray collection.