"Dear Ruth" is a nice movie. But it's plot clearly is one which took on a very different meaning in more recent years, due to the public's awareness of pedophilia...something that simply wasn't talked about in the 1940s. This is because the plot hasn't aged so well and it's easy to see folks today being a bit creeped out by it!
Miriam (Mona Freeman) is a very capricious teenager (she appears about 14 or so) during WWII. She does lots of things to help the war effort. But one of the things she does is VERY bad. She begins writing letters to a serviceman and over times, instead of just trying to cheer him up, she began writing romantic things! To make it worse, she has been signing her older sister's name...and even included photos of her adult sister!! The family learns about the ruse when the serviceman (William Holden) has a leave....and shows up to see Ruth!!
Normally, had something weird like this happened, the mistake would have been addressed right away and the man would have been told about Miriam's awful actions. But instead, Ruth (Joan Caulfield) tries to go along with it...going out with Lt. Seacroft and assuming that she'll soon let him down gently. This is REALLY important because Ruth already has a boyfriend, albeit a guy who is a bit of a putz. And, since this is a film, you know ultimately that Ruth and Seacroft will hit it off VERY well...so well that the film had a sequel, "Dear Wife"!
"Dear Ruth" is an enjoyable film that requires you turn off the nagging part of your brain that might question what you watch. In other words, some of the plot doesn't make a lot of sense but if you look past it you'll no doubt enjoy this silly farce.
Miriam (Mona Freeman) is a very capricious teenager (she appears about 14 or so) during WWII. She does lots of things to help the war effort. But one of the things she does is VERY bad. She begins writing letters to a serviceman and over times, instead of just trying to cheer him up, she began writing romantic things! To make it worse, she has been signing her older sister's name...and even included photos of her adult sister!! The family learns about the ruse when the serviceman (William Holden) has a leave....and shows up to see Ruth!!
Normally, had something weird like this happened, the mistake would have been addressed right away and the man would have been told about Miriam's awful actions. But instead, Ruth (Joan Caulfield) tries to go along with it...going out with Lt. Seacroft and assuming that she'll soon let him down gently. This is REALLY important because Ruth already has a boyfriend, albeit a guy who is a bit of a putz. And, since this is a film, you know ultimately that Ruth and Seacroft will hit it off VERY well...so well that the film had a sequel, "Dear Wife"!
"Dear Ruth" is an enjoyable film that requires you turn off the nagging part of your brain that might question what you watch. In other words, some of the plot doesn't make a lot of sense but if you look past it you'll no doubt enjoy this silly farce.