Why Girls Leave Home

Why Girls Leave Home does, in fact, exist. It isn't shown much, but it is, assuredly, not lost. I know of (and have seen) a 16mm print of it, currently in the hands of a private collector in Pennsylvania. The print was made shortly after the film's theatrical release, probably for the rental market. Quite likely there are others around as well, and it may also have turned up on early television. As far as the quality of the film itself: It's a tough, pretty well-paced little movie, with above-average production values for this studio. Livingston and Evans's Oscar-nominated song is very entertaining and, not surprisingly, the cast is filled with pros. Pamela Blake is more than adequate (if a shade mature) as the innocent heroine, Virginia Brissac (who played mother roles in, seemingly, thousands of movies) gets one of her biggest parts here, and Sheldon Leonard, Elisha Cook and, especially, Lola Lane are better than good. (Lane has a great scenery-chewing moment in the homestretch.) Too bad that it's so little-seen today, because it's definitely one of the best PRC efforts.