Between Us Girls (1942)

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

True Boardman (writer)
Myles Connolly (writer)

Release Date:

4 September 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A RIP-ROARINGLY FUNNY ROMANTIC SCRAMBLE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Carrie, ambitious young actress and her manager Mike Kilinsky, travel east from Chicago to Long Island...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play

Cast

Diana Barrymore	...	Caroline 'Carrie' Bishop
Robert Cummings	...	Jimmy Blake
Kay Francis	...	Christine 'Chris' Bishop
John Boles	...	Steven J. Forbes
Andy Devine	...	Mike Kilinsky
Ethel Griffies	...	Gallagher
Walter Catlett	...	Desk Sergeant
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Father of the Boys
Scotty Beckett	...	Little Prince Leopold
Andrew Tombes	...	Doctor
Peter Jamerson	...	Harold
Mary Treen	...	Mary Belle
Lillian Yarbo	...	Phoebe, the Maid
Irving Bacon	...	Soda Dispenser
Walter Woolf King	...	King - an actor

Also Known As:

Boy Meets Baby (USA) (working title)
Caroline (USA) (working title)
Love and Kisses (USA) (working title)
Love and Kisses, Caroline (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Universal Pictures

An odd comedy- one of Diana Barrymore's few films. But she's good.

This is kind of a curio. It has an excellent cast, and some good scenes, but overall, it's a bit of a miss. I find it interesting mainly because it features Diana Barrymore, who I've read about, but never seen on film. She was pretty good, and probably could have had a successful career, and possibly been a big star, if her private life hadn't been so chaotic. From what I've read about her, she's a perfect example of what happens when parents totally neglect their children. Her famous father, John, and her mother, Blanche, pretty much ignored her all of her life. It must have been very difficult for her growing up. John has always been one of my favorites, but he sure was a terrible father to her.

She shows real talent in this film. It is sort of a road company "The Major and the Minor," but she's good. In the opening scenes, she plays a Queen Victoria type (or maybe it is the Queen herself), and does so convincingly. At the end of the film, she plays Joan of Arc, again convincingly. She seemed to have the Barrymore talent, and showed she was good in character parts. She also had a knack for comedy. I was impressed by her, and wonder what she could have done with a really good part. It's too bad that she went down her father's path of too much booze, too many bad romances, and a generally self-destructive lifestyle. Her autobiography, "Too Much, Too Soon," was well named, I guess. If things had been different, I bet she could have been a star, and/or a good character actress.

One of the best points of the film, as with so many old Hollywood movies, good and bad, is the number of excellent supporting actors it has. Bob Cummings is the co-star, Kay Francis and John Boles are the second leads, and Andy Devine, Walter Catlett, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams head the character actor list. Those character actors could elevate any movie, and they usually did. They were fantastic in the great films, really putting them over the top, and they helped save the mediocre or poor pictures. I'm sure audiences of the day brightened when their faces came on the screen. This was towards the end of Kay Francis' career, and it is a bit sad seeing her here. She had been a very big star in the '30s, and was now being given only supporting parts. Must have been hard to take. Ditto John Boles, though he wasn't ever quite as big as she was (but he did have an impressive career). I've always liked Bob Cummings, and he was pretty good at comedy himself (remember "Love That Bob?"). He was also good with Hitchcock, and in Anthony Mann's "The Black Book."

Anyway, it's worth a look. Not a great film, but interesting (as is Kay Francis' house in the movie, which looks a little like Boris Karloff's digs in "The Black Cat"). And Diana Barrymore shows some real promise. Whew!- maybe it's better not being famous.