Young Ideas (1943)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Ian McLellan Hunter (original screenplay), Bill Noble (original screenplay)

Stars:

Susan Peters, Herbert Marshall, Mary Astor

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Susan Peters	...	Susan Evans
Herbert Marshall	...	Michael Kingsley
Mary Astor	...	Jo Evans
Elliott Reid	...	Jeff Evans
Richard Carlson	...	Tom Farrell
Allyn Joslyn	...	Adam Trent
Dorothy Morris	...	Co-Ed
Frances Rafferty	...	Co-Ed
George Dolenz	...	Pepe
Emory Parnell	...	Judge Canute J. Kelly
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grady Sutton	...	Undetermined Minor Role (unconfirmed)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

teenager | screwball comedy | spanking

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Faculty Row

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Trivial comedy programmer was the start of Mary Astor's mother roles...

YOUNG IDEAS strains to be a smart screwball comedy but early on it becomes apparent that this is strictly a trivial bit of fluff designed to showcase some new talent in a cast headed by two older reliables: MARY ASTOR and HERBERT MARSHALL. Astor is fine but Herbert Marshall is painfully bad in a couple of his "comic" scenes. He was much more suited to dramatic roles.

Astor went on record in later years saying that she regretted signing with MGM when all they did was cast her in mother roles in some less than distinguished films. This is one of them.

SUSAN PETERS and ELLIOT REID are her children with "young ideas" who decide to spoil her marriage to Herbert Marshall by making him believe her risqué books were really autobiographical in nature. It's all on the "cute" side and very predictable, although there's nothing terribly wrong with the performances.

RICHARD CARLSON, ALLYN JOSLYN and GEORGE DOLENZ provide some good support but it's simply not worth their combined efforts.

Under Jules Dassin's direction, it passes the time quickly in one hour and seventeen minutes, but is obviously just designed to showcase up and coming new talent like Susan Peters and Elliot Reid. Not long after this film, Susan had the hunting accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down, a tragic end to a brief career in the limelight.