Young Ideas (1943)

Academy Award-winner* Mary Astor (The Maltese Falcon) stars as a widow whose grown children try to break up her romance with a college professor in this charming, offbeat comedy directed by... See full summary »

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

Academy Award-winner* Mary Astor (The Maltese Falcon) stars as a widow whose grown children try to break up her romance with a college professor in this charming, offbeat comedy directed by the legendary Jules Dassin (Never on Sunday, Naked City, Rififi). When Susan (Susan Peters) and Jeff Evans (Elliot Reid), the adult children of widowed author and lecturer Jo Evans (Astor), discover that their mother has fallen in love with staid professor Michael Kingsley (Herbert Marshall), they intervene to try to end what they believe is an inappropriate relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

teenager | spanking | screwball comedy | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was first telecast in Philadelphia Monday 15 April 1957 on WFIL (Channel 6), followed by New Haven CT 22 April 1957 on WNHC (Channel 8), by Los Angeles 24 April 1957 on KTTV (Channel 11), by both Altoona PA and Norfolk VA 29 April 1957 on WFBG (Channel 10) and on WTAR (Channel 3), by Seattle 21 May 1957 on KING (Channel 5), by Miami 28 May 1957 on WCKT (Channel 7), by Portland OR 31 May 1957 on KGW (Channel 8), by Chicago 9 July 1957 on WBBM (Channel 2), by Honolulu 29 July 1957 on KHVH (Channel 13), by Minneapolis 5 October 1957 on KMGM (Channel 9), by Memphis 20 November 1957 on WHBQ (Channel 13), and by San Francisco 22 January 1958 on KGO (Channel 7). In New York City, its earliest documented telecast did not take place until Monday 26 March 1962 on WCBS (Channel 2).

User Reviews

Adorable and hilarious

Mary Astor and Herbert Marshall are together again! This time, instead of a tense marriage as in Woman Against Woman, they're in a, well, tense marriage. However, it's for entirely different reasons, and Young Ideas is hilarious from start to finish.

Mary, a celebrated novelist, elopes with Herbert, a stuffy professor, much to the chagrin of her publicist, Allyn Joslyn, and her grown-up children, Elliott Reid and Susan Peters. Incidentally, this is Elliott's second film, his first being a documentary, and he doesn't seem like a novice at all! He practically carries the movie, since the two children are arguably the leads, and his energy and enthusiasm are adorable. Together, it's three against two, and Mary and Herbert find their marriage threatened by outside forces. The children enroll in Herbert's university to make it seem like they're playing nice, but secretly they devise all sorts of schemes to ruin his career and romance. When Susan falls in love with one of her teachers, Richard Carlson, she starts to understand how important love is.

Young Ideas is so funny, you have to watch it. Herbert gets to let his hair down in a hilarious drunk scene where he challenges Allyn to a drinking contest, then ends up playing in the nightclub's jazz band, screaming "Go Tigers!" and walking a weaving line as his students cheer him on. Mary is a wonderful love interest for him, mature, pretty, sophisticated, and sincere. If there's anyone who can convince her children she's a human as well as a mother, it's Mary. Richard Carlson is a handsome bonus to the film; since his career didn't take off as much as it could have, I always like seeing him in the movies he did make. Rent this adorable youngsters vs. oldsters comedy. I know you'll laugh.