The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

A high school girl falls for a playboy artist, with screwball results.

Director:

Irving Reis

Writer:

Sidney Sheldon (original story and screen play)

Stars:

Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple

Won 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cary Grant	...	Dick Nugent
Myrna Loy	...	Judge Margaret Turner
Shirley Temple	...	Susan Turner
Rudy Vallee	...	District Attorney Tommy Chamberlain
Ray Collins	...	Dr. Matthew Beemish
Harry Davenport	...	Judge Thaddeus Turner
Johnny Sands	...	Jerry White
Don Beddoe	...	Joey
Lillian Randolph	...	Bessie
Veda Ann Borg	...	Agnes Prescott
Dan Tobin	...	Chester Walters
Ransom M. Sherman	...	Judge Treadwell (as Ransom Sherman)
William Bakewell	...	Winters
Irving Bacon	...	Melvin - Police Turnkey
Ian Bernard	...	Perry

Storyline

Teenaged Susan Turner, with a severe crush on playboy artist Richard Nugent, sneaks into his apartment to model for him and is found there by her sister Judge Margaret Turner. Threatened with jail, Nugent agrees to date Susan until the crush abates. He counters Susan's comic false sophistication by even more comic put-on teenage mannerisms, with a slapstick climax.

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Plot Keywords:

sister sister relationship | screwball comedy | slapstick comedy | witness | high society | 

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Taglines:

Rollicking Romantics!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The "man with the power" routine was the inspiration for the song "Magic Dance" in the movie Labyrinth (1986).

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Goofs

In court, the Vampire Club bouncer, Anthony Herman, says he caught a straight left punch, but his jaw is bandaged on the left . A left punch would have hit him on the right side of his jaw.

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Quotes

Agnes Prescott: Now there's a guy who never goes out of a girl's mind. He just stays there... like a heavy meal.

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a computer colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Labyrinth (1986)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday to You
(uncredited)
Written by Patty S. Hill and Mildred J. Hill

User Reviews

Threading the Needle

Want some insight into what titillated movie-goers in the post-war 1940's? This 1947 RKO production is a good place to start. There's the marquee value of a seductively handsome Cary Grant coupled with that spunky symbol of all-American innocence Shirley Temple, enough at the time to draw in ticket-buying throngs with its naughty innuendo of daring departure and forbidden pleasure. In fact, the underage subtext lingers beneath much of the movie's plot and humorous settings, but in a totally innocent manner, proving that this is not yet the more permissive 1960's. One slip, however, and this light-hearted soufflé could easily have become burnt-toast of the most tasteless variety. Fortunately, there are no slips.

Once the pace picks up, this comedy sparkles as brightly as any other Cary Grant madcap, which is to say, about as good as comedy gets. The nightclub scene is an absolute triumph of timing, staging, and scripting. The laughs build as the party table becomes more and more chaotic, interrupted by one petty annoyance after another, finally reducing the worldly Grant to speechless exasperation. This is the type of soaring comedic architecture that requires real artistry, but has been sadly replaced in contemporary film by a dumbed- down world of bathroom jokes, insult gags, and other cheap forms of humor that appeal mainly to juveniles.

The movie itself, directed by an unheralded Irving Reis, is literally brimful of bounce and charm, leaving no one in doubt that the big war is over and America is ready for the future even if its libido is showing. With: a slyly endearing Ray Collins, a bemusedly prim Myrna Loy, a pompously befuddled Rudy Vallee, and a well-deserved Oscar for writer Sidney Sheldon, along with a final scene that could not be more apt. Despite the shift in public mores, audiences now as then should find this a highly entertaining ninety minutes of expert movie- making.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

1 September 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre de sus sueños

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vanguard Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1