That Hagen Girl (1947)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Peter Godfrey

Writers:

Charles Hoffman (writer)
Edith Kneipple Roberts (novel)

Release Date:

1 November 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

They gossiped about her in whispers! . . . The victim of idle tongues and meddling people!

Plot:

Mary Hagen lives in a small town in Ohio and goes to Jordon Junior College. For years, there has been whispers...

Plot Keywords:

Gossip | Friend | Ohio | Junior College | Small Town

Awards:

Won Golden Globe.

Cast

Ronald Reagan	...	Tom Bates
Shirley Temple	...	Mary Hagen
Rory Calhoun	...	Ken Freneau
Lois Maxwell	...	Julia Kane
Dorothy Peterson	...	Minta Hagen
Charles Kemper	...	Jim Hagen
Conrad Janis	...	Dewey Koons
Penny Edwards	...	Christine Delaney
Jean Porter	...	Sharon Bailey
Harry Davenport	...	Judge A. Merrivale
Nella Walker	...	Molly Freneau
Winifred Harris	...	Selma Delaney
Moroni Olsen	...	Trenton Gateley
Frank Conroy	...	Dr. Stone
Kathryn Card	...	Miss Grover

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (certificate #12522)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

One of the films included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell.

Quotes:

Sharon Bailey: Mary, you're never gonna be happy if you're always gonna be sad. Now, you've got nice teeth and took two years of French, so why don't you look on the bright side of things!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in After Hours (1985)

Soundtrack:

Corn Pickin'

Oddly interesting for offbeat teaming of Temple and Reagan...

TV showings of 'That Hagen Girl' became more and more rare as the years went on--but lately it surfaced on TCM when they saluted Shirley's birthday with showings of four of her films. Basically it's a story of the effect gossip has on a small-town girl (Temple as Mary Hagen)and lawyer (Ronald Reagan). Good performances by Rory Calhoun, Jean Porter and others. The meanness of the small-town gossip is well realized under Peter Godfrey's direction and the background score by Franz Waxman adds much to the melodramatic proceedings. Not really as bad as many would have you think. Shirley seems more poised and assured than usual (except in an embarrassing rendition from 'Romeo and Juliet') and she herself regards it as her best adult performance. Despite all of its flaws, it's worth viewing to watch the nineteen-year old actress opposite Ronald Reagan. His primary love interest in the film is Lois Maxwell (who later became Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films). The ending is rather unresolved and unsatisfying--a curious ending for an odd film.