Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

jacobs-greenwood What would otherwise have been an average B comedy produced to provide light entertainment and escape for World War II audiences is actually quite remarkable when viewed today.First, it was directed by Michael Curtiz who, though no stranger to directing B movies earlier in his career, had just won an Academy Award the previous year (Casablanca (1942)) with his fourth Best Director nomination. But the best reason for watching this film is to gain insights into the teenage dating scene of its era, and how both adult and adolescent attitudes have evolved (or not).Though for the most part it portrays the G-rated innocence common in most live action Disney films of the 1960's and 70's, there are more than a few references to the similarities between the teens of that time and that of their parents – only the lexicon has changed (e.g. smooching instead of spooning)! Josephine Bentham and Herschel V. Williams Jr. wrote the play that was adapted for the screen by Charles Hoffman and Agnes Christine Johnston. Owen Marks earned his second Oscar nomination for Film Editing.Joyce Reynolds plays the title role of Janie, the teenage daughter of Charles (Edward Arnold) and Lucille (Ann Harding) Conway. As a senior in high school, she is comfortable with who she is and what she does even though she feels the need to shield her parents from some of her activities. However when confronted by her father, who disapproves of her attending a blanket party – kissing her longtime boyfriend Scooper (Dick Erdman) – at night in the park with most of the rest of her classmates, she defends her decision to participate by reminding him that he and her mother must have gone on dates similarly in their day. "Besides, how else is one supposed to decide whom to marry?"But her father is a letter writer who sends his opinions to be published on the editorial page of their local newspaper. His latest issue is the U.S. Army's plan to locate a training camp in their small town of Hortonville. He feels that men in uniform will overwhelm the town's impressionable young girls – like his daughter – and that they should therefore locate their facility elsewhere. His fears are realized when one of the soldiers – Private First Class Dick Lawrence (Robert Hutton), the son of one of his Lucille's former bridesmaids Thelma (Barbara Brown) – shows an interest in Janie.Robert Benchley plays John Van Brunt, Charles's longtime friend and Hortonville resident who's also a confirmed bachelor until he meets Thelma. Clare Foley just about steals the picture as Janie's stereotypical wiseacre little sister Elsbeth; she says all the good punch-lines. Alan Hale plays a key part late in the story (as does Russell Hicks) and Hattie McDaniel is the Conway's good natured maid April. Jackie Moran and Ann Gillis are among the others that play teenager roles. 'Billy' Benedict appears uncredited as a soda jerk.

dougdoepke Now we know how America won the war. There's more sheer bounce and energy in this 1944 family comedy than in the Nazi invasion of Poland. The gag lines and wisecracks fly faster than speeding bullets, while director-General Raoul Walsh cranks up the movie engine to jet speed. Note the constant movement inside the house as people are always going here and there. Shrewd move-- adapting a film from a stage play is like moving into a a coat closet if you're not careful. Not much of a plot-- something about soldier-boys coming to steal the local girls from their highschool sweethearts, creating a big commotion at the same time.But who cares, with such a great cast right down to bratty little Elspeth who gets all the good lines and does nothing without being paid. Already she's learned our great economic lesson. The trouble is Dad can't figure out the younger generation because he's forgotten his own, while Mom can't seem to figure out which service uniform to wear. But that's alright because she looks good in all of them. And of course there's Janie, all spunk and glow, with her own army of boy-hungry pals. Together, they keep the phones buzzing with enough animal pizazz to light up a defense factory. Check out the cutting-edge teens of the day-- taking a blanket on a "smooching" date with just a few hundred others. Now Dad's in an uproar when he finds out, but that's nothing compared to what he and Mom find after coming home late. There's the sailor in the bedroom, the soldier in the bathroom, and the wall gone flat in the living-room. Naturally, there's an innocent explanation for everything. And, of course, the invading servicemen were nothing but gentlemen the whole time. Hard to believe that boys like these were dying by the thousands on the beach-heads of Normandy and Saipan. None of that here. After all, it's the Janie's of the world, safe and shielded, that the boys were fighting for. Even if it's just 90 minutes, what a great escape from all those other horrors. This is small town America, about to undergo a sea change. You can hear the waves lapping already. It's really not just the army that's come to Hortonville; it's the outside world. And all the malt shops, "smooching" parties, and small town innocence will never be the same once the war ends. This is not only a darn good little comedy-- but also a darn good little time capsule worth preserving.

whpratt1 This was a very comical film starring Edward Arnold, (Charles Conway) who owns a newspaper in Hortonville and he has two daughters Janie Conway, (Joyce Reynolds) who is a pretty teenage girl of 18 years and she has a little sister named Elsbeth Conway, (Clare Foley) who is seven years of age and a great actress in this picture. Janie is a very liked girl in her town and she has many girl friends and one boy friend she grew up with. Charles Conway finds out that the Army are going to be stationed in their town and he is not in favor of this idea and writes editorials about this subject in his paper. The Army does arrive and this creates plenty of problems for the local town folks. However, Janie is always finding ways to have parties and eventually she gets involved with an entire base marching into her house for a party. Clare Foley gave an outstanding performance along with Edward Arnold, Robert Hutton, (Pfc Dick Lawrence). This was a film made during World War II and was a morale builder for the American Fighting men and was very well produced.

PoohsHunnyBee I usually find movies of this era a little too slow or dull, this one kept me. It was humorous and well paced, nostalgic. Nothing too serious, but not too goofy either. Of course the girls were all immaculately dressed and the costumes and scripting for phrases was excellent. The premise was the same as what they use to build sitcoms today, Small town girl has beau that she has grown up with, romantic older fellow in uniform sweeps her off her feet, girl is torn between childhood ties and grownup romance...girl plans small affair while her parents are out, huge crowd shows up, party ensues and is broken up by the police and all of the characters still love each other in the end; all of the little side plots are happily resolved and that's the end. Good family film. (doesn't Janie look remarkably like Geena Davis?!?)