Very shortly after the picture starts Shirley, as 15 year old Corliss Archer gets herself and best friend Mildred Pringle played by Virginia Wells into hot water with their parents. Shirley was 17 at the time this was filmed and still the scene stealer and still the talented, funny and cute actress she was as a child despite those critical of her films in the 1940's and the poor treatment she was sometimes subjected too.
Walter Abel who played Harry Archer (Corliss's father), was also quite funny and stole a few scenes of his own in this movie. Katharine Alexander as Janet Archer (Corliss's mother) blames the trouble the girls get into on Mildred and it begins a feud between the two families. When the two girls are forbidden to see each other, Corliss's brotherLenny tells Corliss a secret she must keep from everyone and things snowball out of control as she plots and fibs trying to keep the secret and patch things up between the families.
From the start of this movie until her final film in 1949, Shirley just grew more beautiful , attractive and talented with each scene and it didn't matter if she was in raggedy pajamas and a bathrobe or stylish fashions of the time, I always felt I'd miss something if I looked away. A look, a smile or something only very talented actors( Lauren Bacall, Steve McQueen are good examples) often do to hold your attention.
In her childhood films Shirley would flip another actors tie around or fiddle with a shirt collar or an object on the set somewhere. In Kiss and Tell there's a few brief scenes when she's plotting something, she chews on a bobby-pin and at one point her boyfriend Dexter yells at her to "Take that bobby-pin out of your mouth!". I also found Her mispronouncing words in some of her lines quite amusing. Overall its funny and well acted and also shows support for the military as many of Shirley's films did. Supporting cast members Jerome Courtland as Corliss's boyfriend Dexter and Darryl Hickman as Mildred's little brother Raymond were a little over the top a times but also had some good moments and added to the mischief snowballing from the feud.
Even Shirley herself would later admit her films in the 1940's could have been better, but that was mostly Hollywood's fault for cheeping out and not taking better care of this amazing actress among other things. She was the best she could be in each and every one of her films and she is the reason we watched them, and still continue to watch them today, but definitely!
Reviews
2 Reviews
Wee Willie Winkie
(1937)
Opposing forces at war: No superheroes or Superpowers, Fake graphics. Private Winkie's on duty
13 August 2019
Take a big step back from nothing today but mostly superhero/supervillian or fantasy movies and/or kids/adults with superpowers/computer geeks etc and loaded down with fake special effects. If i had pre-school age kids today (perhaps even older, Shirley still gets fans of all ages) , I'd more likely be buying more movies like Wee Willie Winkie for them.
Wee Willie Winkie is another one of Shirley's great films and her own personal favorite. Not much dancing or singing in this but still a joy to watch. Many of Shirley's movies involved the military and disagreements between opposing sides and Shirley was usually right in the middle of them one way or another.
The only magic powers she has is her heart, mind and spirit. And she apples them to whomever she comes in contact with, which is pretty near everyone in this film. The only special effects in the movie are the REAL ones Shirley (Private Winnkie) applies depending on the situation she is in. You will experience them by the affects she has on people in the movie, as well as people who watch it, (including me, obviously) and are more amazing to me than most high technology fake ones rendered in movies today. And our little Shirley (Private Winkie) gets results just as the strongest most powerful superheroes of today without any help from technology, fake graphics, aliens or fellow superheroes etc. Yes it may be not believable how she settles things , but neither are the ones being pushed out to kids today. I'd like to see more great movies today like this one, by a child or children Shirley's age at the time, but it isn't likely anyone will match her abilities for a very long time.
Wee Willie Winkie is another one of Shirley's great films and her own personal favorite. Not much dancing or singing in this but still a joy to watch. Many of Shirley's movies involved the military and disagreements between opposing sides and Shirley was usually right in the middle of them one way or another.
The only magic powers she has is her heart, mind and spirit. And she apples them to whomever she comes in contact with, which is pretty near everyone in this film. The only special effects in the movie are the REAL ones Shirley (Private Winnkie) applies depending on the situation she is in. You will experience them by the affects she has on people in the movie, as well as people who watch it, (including me, obviously) and are more amazing to me than most high technology fake ones rendered in movies today. And our little Shirley (Private Winkie) gets results just as the strongest most powerful superheroes of today without any help from technology, fake graphics, aliens or fellow superheroes etc. Yes it may be not believable how she settles things , but neither are the ones being pushed out to kids today. I'd like to see more great movies today like this one, by a child or children Shirley's age at the time, but it isn't likely anyone will match her abilities for a very long time.
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