I have mixed feelings about this film, but it is worth watching.
The drama opens with a good sense of mystery and coincidences, but ultimately focuses on gossip in a small town as it focuses in on Mary Hagen (Shirley Temple). The town believes she is the illegitimate daughter of lawyer Tom Bates (Ronald Reagan), which it turns out she is not. Whether its being dumped from the school play, as Juliet (as in Romeo And Juliet) or being snubbed by the mother of the boy she is in love with (Rory Calhoun), it's just one issue after another in terms of being treated badly. She is often treated badly. Reagan becomes her older friend, as does her favorite teacher (Lois Maxwell).
For its time, this film tackled some delicate subjects -- there's the supposed illegitimacy, suicide comes up twice, and in a surprise at the end, Reagan and Temple head off on the train, obviously planning to get married, even though he's old enough to be her father (even though he's not actually her father...although the town never appears to learn this! It's these daring topics (at least for 1947) that make this film worth watching.
Ronald Reagan is fine here, although one can see why this film sort of disappeared during his presidency. Reportedly, it was his least favorite film. Rory Calhoun is somewhat wooden, though he gets the job done. Let's face it, he wasn't a very broad actor. Lois Maxwell deservedly won a Golden Globe for her performance as the favored teacher. And worth mentioning -- although his role here is small -- is the venerable Harry Davenport (as Reagan's guardian) who dies early on in the film (although he made nearly a dozen films in the next couple of years, he was already 81 years old when he made this, and he died less than 3 years later).
A critic in the New York Times wrote that this film was "amateurish", and I guess I'd have to agree. Particularly in regard to the way it depicted high school-about to be college students, and a gross exaggeration of just how gossipy and vengeful a small town can be. I grew up in a small town in the 1950s, and while gossip could be rife, it paled in comparison to what is depicted in this film. It's just over the top here.
Nevertheless, I found the film interesting to watch due to tackling tough topics and watching an older Temple and an uncomfortable Reagan. Almost certainly not one for you DVD shelf, but still worth watching at least once.
The drama opens with a good sense of mystery and coincidences, but ultimately focuses on gossip in a small town as it focuses in on Mary Hagen (Shirley Temple). The town believes she is the illegitimate daughter of lawyer Tom Bates (Ronald Reagan), which it turns out she is not. Whether its being dumped from the school play, as Juliet (as in Romeo And Juliet) or being snubbed by the mother of the boy she is in love with (Rory Calhoun), it's just one issue after another in terms of being treated badly. She is often treated badly. Reagan becomes her older friend, as does her favorite teacher (Lois Maxwell).
For its time, this film tackled some delicate subjects -- there's the supposed illegitimacy, suicide comes up twice, and in a surprise at the end, Reagan and Temple head off on the train, obviously planning to get married, even though he's old enough to be her father (even though he's not actually her father...although the town never appears to learn this! It's these daring topics (at least for 1947) that make this film worth watching.
Ronald Reagan is fine here, although one can see why this film sort of disappeared during his presidency. Reportedly, it was his least favorite film. Rory Calhoun is somewhat wooden, though he gets the job done. Let's face it, he wasn't a very broad actor. Lois Maxwell deservedly won a Golden Globe for her performance as the favored teacher. And worth mentioning -- although his role here is small -- is the venerable Harry Davenport (as Reagan's guardian) who dies early on in the film (although he made nearly a dozen films in the next couple of years, he was already 81 years old when he made this, and he died less than 3 years later).
A critic in the New York Times wrote that this film was "amateurish", and I guess I'd have to agree. Particularly in regard to the way it depicted high school-about to be college students, and a gross exaggeration of just how gossipy and vengeful a small town can be. I grew up in a small town in the 1950s, and while gossip could be rife, it paled in comparison to what is depicted in this film. It's just over the top here.
Nevertheless, I found the film interesting to watch due to tackling tough topics and watching an older Temple and an uncomfortable Reagan. Almost certainly not one for you DVD shelf, but still worth watching at least once.