The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

I loved this movie but of course, I love anything Cary is in. I thought this movie was a great screwball comedy and just seeing Cary in that wild races(ex.egg race) He is just such a funny man. * I love the dimple in his chin* This is a delightful comedy about a boy-crazy teen played by Shirley who sets her sights on Cary. Who wouldn't? She hides in his apt. and suprises him. Meanwhile, Myrna finds Shirley missing and goes up to Cary's apartment, finds them together, and he is arrested. Well, he punched the DA, so that might account towards it. Then he is sentenced to be her date till she gets tired of him. If I told you anymore it would ruin the movie. Just watch it if you can. It is a treat. I love the dinner scene when everyone leaves Cary alone!

This is a delightful movie has the imprint of Sidney Sheldon all over the place. Not only is Mr. Sheldon a good writer, but it shows he has an ear for what seem to work, be it a book, or in this case, a screenplay. Under the direction of Irving Reis, this comedy is still fun to watch after all these years.

The stars, of course, are the main reasons for watching "The Boxer and the Bobby Soxer". The film's premise is about the infatuation of a impressionable teen ager with a much older man. The object of that affection is a playboy who appears to be unsuitable for the girl. The contrast between the older man and the young girl creates a lot of funny situations.

To make matters worse, the sister of the young girl is a judge, who sees right through the roguish Richard Nugent and wants him to leave the girl alone, but figures that surely her sister will soon get bored with the man.

Myrna Loy does wonders with her role as Margaret Turner. Cary Grant brings his natural elegance to the role of Richard Nugent; just watch him in the picnic competition. Shirley Temple is a sweet Susan, the girl infatuated with Richard. In minor roles, Rudy Vallee and Ray Collins are perfectly cast.

In a couple of scenes in the film we see Richard Nugent in shining armor, as both sisters take turns in imagining him her hero. Only the right one will be rewarded.

This film is one of the most copied in the history of Hollywood, I claim. I find it is clever without being profound, its characters are unusually believable and well-developed; and it is a light-hearted look from beginning to end at a very interesting plot question--the precocity of young people who lack categorizing definitions, life-experience and therefore the context to make prioritized value decisions; in a word, it's about the problems adults have with children who want to act as grown ups without having the means to do so successfully. The central character of this film is a successful bachelor named Richard Nugent. Through no fault of his own, the artist ends up in court before Judge Margaret Turner who recognizes his innocence but warns him not to appear before her again on a similar charge, caused by a lady in a night club.,. The situation then become complicated by Nugent's appearance before a high-school class as speaker, an event at which Margaret's daughter falls in love with him despite or because of the difference in their ages. Margaret enlists his help when a casual put-off remark results in the daughter's showing up at Nugent's apartment to be painted. Her idea is to have him continue to see Susan, in the hopes the daughter will realize she belongs with someone nearer her own age. The result is merriment that takes many forms, including physical contests at a picnic where Nugent finds himself the rival of Margaret's boyfriend while trying to lose for Susan's sake; a basketball game where he must champion her erstwhile beau from the bleachers; and family occasions where the dialogue turns frequently hilarious. The best thing about this screwball comedy, to me as a writer, is the gradual development of relationships it allows the audience to share. Fundamentally, the film concerns five persons--Nugent, played with charm by Cary Grant, intelligent Myrna Loy as Margaret, pretty Shirley Temple as a fast-growing Susan, her daughter, Rudy Vallee as Grant's rival, prefiguring his stuffy role in "How to Succeed in Business" and other comedies, and Lillian Randolph as long-suffering Bessie, the family's maid and confidant-adviser. The happy ending achieved for all in this story-line is the result of the common sense shown by Loy and Grant; the 'screwball' aspect which is not a genre, but rather a way-of-handling social-mores comedy, is here made to serve a plot that involves several hard-working normative people in a situation that should never have happened but has in fact happened. The production values of this bright comedy are far-above-average I suggest in every respect. Leigh Harline's music is understated and very useful, and the cinematography by Robert de Grasse and Nichloas Musuraca is high-contrast B/W and very good in a number of types of scenes. Director Irving Reis and writer Sidney Sheldon keep the film's pace and style very swift and consistent. Art Direction by Carroll Clark and Albert S. D'Agostino and the set decorations by James Altwies and Darrell Silvera add to the elegance and fun of the production. Edward Stevenson provided the gowns. Among the cast, Cary Grant is very-well cast it seems to me as the suave, womanizing and genial Nugent; he also portrays exasperation very nicely, and his reading of comedic one-liners is one of his best professional strengths. Myrna Loy suggests her sensuous side so well that she fits perfectly the stuffy role of a judge who is decidedly unstuffy. Her confidant in the film other than Randolph is Ray Collins, always a great listener and man with a wisecrack or sage advice. Temple is very good indeed as a teenager; her teenaged films are for me the best of her filmic outings. Vallee created a whole new career for himself as droll comedic second-lead with this impersonation; and Randolph is very strong as the understanding servant-cum-friend. Others in the cast include Veda Ann Borg, Dan Tobin, Harry Davenport and Ransom Sherman. All the younger people in the film are well-chosen by my standards. The film introduces the nonsensical "You remind me of a man" mnemonic, which became the springboard for "The Power", Frank M. Robinson's sci-fi classic, and a fine film of the 1960s. This is a dialogue and situation comedy with elements of satire and more. It is frequently as good as its award-winning screenplay would lead one to expect it would be, and then some. Civilized angst about the younger generation perhaps never seemed to be funnier than in this movie.

Shirley Temple plays a high school girl Susan Turner who falls for an artist called Richard Nugent (Cary Grant).Also Susan's older sister Judge Margaret Turner starts to like this playboy artist.The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a good comedy which has many fine moments.The acting is brilliant, and how could you miss with this cast.Cary Grant is a man you can always count on.He could always make great performances.Myrna Loy is wonderful and so is Shirley Temple.This ex-child star celebrates her 76th birthday today, so happy birthday Shirley. I recommend this screwball comedy for everybody, who needs a few laughs.

With three appealing stars and a silly but interesting story, this is an enjoyable light comedy that moves at a good pace and makes you feel at home with its offbeat characters. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple all get plenty to work with, as each of their characters is pretty well-suited to their talents. They make their characters believably flawed and engaging at the same time.

The story makes it clear early on that it should not be taken too seriously, yet it is told well enough that it is easy to set aside any plausibility issues. The early misadventures set up the amusing arrangement that the judge (Loy) agrees to, in the hopes of keeping the others out of trouble, and this in turn sets up a new series of outlandish events. Harry Davenport and Ray Collins head up a pretty good supporting cast, and the situation builds pretty well, leading up to a complicated, entertaining set of tangle-ups.

While there is nothing remarkable about it, "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" is the kind of pleasant silliness that takes the right touch to make it work. It makes for an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half.