***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** Teenaged Elizabeth Taylor stars as a "sickly" girl who just wants to live a normal high school life. Her parents and her uncle, who is her doctor, are obsessively overprotective. It is stated early in the film, "You've never had any illness that most children don't get, but it is more severe with you." Is it? There is something a little dark in this portrayal of small town life. It is a milder, MGM version of "Kings Row". Is Cynthia's uncle-doctor so jealous that she is brighter and more beautiful than his own daughter that he will concoct fake illnesses for his niece? Are Cynthia's under-achieving parents so insecure that they will listen to their obviously psycho brother-in-law? There also seems to be that "too young to be pregnant" theme concerning the marriage of Cynthia's parents. This is ridiculous; they were adults who got married and settled. It's not about the taking away of dreams! Is Cynthia's birth to blame for her parents' failures? I should say not! They wanted to study medicine and music in Vienna. Nowhere is it mentioned that this would have been impossible anyway with the rise of one Adolf Hitler! What about the music teacher, Mr. Rosencrantz? He longs for Vienna. Why? If he was still in Vienna, the Nazis would have put him in the gas chamber! None of this is mentioned at all. There is a nice touch in characterization which shows Cynthia's mother willing to change and let her daughter grow up, while Cynthia's father is completely under the control of his sister and brother-in-law. Still, Cynthia's mother has a very difficult time letting go. The ironic humor of the piece has Cynthia falling for an older boy who has a reputation of being somewhat wild; he turns out to be as overprotective as her parents!
"Pop" Leonard's direction lacks humor and the film can get a little heavy. There is one slapstick sequence featuring former "Our Gang" star Scotty Beckett. George Murphy and Mary Astor are very sympathetic as the parents, and Gene Lockhart is an excellent villain. S. Z. Sakall, as the Austrian-Jewish music teacher is as welcome as always. Jimmy Lydon is quite good in his role as Liz's boyfriend; there is no trace of Henry Aldrich here! This is a rare chance to see Liz Taylor as an innocent and sweet girl. She pulls it off like an older version of Margaret O'Brien. You just have to root for her and love her. But who is that doing Liz's singing? Is it Liz? Sometimes it sounds like her voice, while other times it sounds like Jane Powell. Was there some kind of mix and match voice thing going on?
"Pop" Leonard's direction lacks humor and the film can get a little heavy. There is one slapstick sequence featuring former "Our Gang" star Scotty Beckett. George Murphy and Mary Astor are very sympathetic as the parents, and Gene Lockhart is an excellent villain. S. Z. Sakall, as the Austrian-Jewish music teacher is as welcome as always. Jimmy Lydon is quite good in his role as Liz's boyfriend; there is no trace of Henry Aldrich here! This is a rare chance to see Liz Taylor as an innocent and sweet girl. She pulls it off like an older version of Margaret O'Brien. You just have to root for her and love her. But who is that doing Liz's singing? Is it Liz? Sometimes it sounds like her voice, while other times it sounds like Jane Powell. Was there some kind of mix and match voice thing going on?