Grand Old Girl

19351935
PassedPassed
1h 12m

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

149

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

303,706

40,636

Drama Romance

Miss Bayles (May Robson) has been trying to close down a business operated by Clarence (Alan Hale). Clarence runs a crooked gambling operation in the back room. Miss Bayles uses Clarence's c... Read allMiss Bayles (May Robson) has been trying to close down a business operated by Clarence (Alan Hale). Clarence runs a crooked gambling operation in the back room. Miss Bayles uses Clarence's crooked dice to beat him and uses her winnings to open a respectable business for her stude... Read allMiss Bayles (May Robson) has been trying to close down a business operated by Clarence (Alan Hale). Clarence runs a crooked gambling operation in the back room. Miss Bayles uses Clarence's crooked dice to beat him and uses her winnings to open a respectable business for her students to use. Her business gets closed down after a fight in her establishment and the schoo... Read all

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

149

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

303,706

40,636

Director
- John S. Robertson
Writers
- Milton Krims(screen play)
- John Twist(screen play)
- Arthur T. Horman(adaptation)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Trivia
Fred MacMurray's first credited movie part.

Crazy credits
[Foreword] Because they mould the youth of America; because they have been unsung heroes; because their self-sacrificing efforts are tireless, this drama is dedicated to the school-teachers of America - the teachers of your youth and those who carry on the great tradition of their noble work.

Soundtracks
Romance No.6, Op.6 (None But the Lonely Heart)
(1869) (uncredited)
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
In the score when Miss Bayles learns she's being dismissed

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

6/10

Worth Seeing For Robson

This is far from May Robson's best movie. But it has its appeal. She is a school principal -- and a more caring one than I ever had. She's also meddling and a bit of a prig. But so were the ones I did have and they didn't show the interest in their students that her character does.

Living alone with her cat, Robson gives all her energy over to her young charges. She helps a young football player not only pass his math exam but also learn that he's not so stupid as has been thought.

She's also on a crusade to shut down a gambling parlor behind a soda shop. It's called the Back Room. Very racy for small town 1935, I'd think. As to the time, I have to wonder if a high school at that time would have a black student accepted as a member of his peer group. The exact location of the town is never specified but it appears to be the Midwest, New York, or New England. (In other words: No Southern accents.) There he is, though -- a black boy named Neptune who hangs out with the other kids.

Fred MacMurray is implausibly cast in a small role and does nothing one way or the other to the movie.

I like May Robson and she was in some truly bad movies. This is not bad. It just isn't good. And she puts her heart into the role.

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