Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple star in “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer”

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) is an American screwball comedy-romance directed by Irving Reis and starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. The supporting cast includes Rudy Vallee, Ray Collins, Henry Davenport, Veda Ann Borg, Johnny Sands, and Lillian Randolph. The screenplay, written by Sidney Sheldon, won an Academy Award for Best Writing Original Screenplay. It was the only Academy Award nomination for the film.

Richard Nugent (Grant), a carefree and charming artist who finds himself in legal trouble after being accused of corrupting a minor. The accuser is the stern and elegant Judge Margaret Turner (Loy), whose younger sister, Susan (Temple), has developed a fierce crush on Richard. Susan's infatuation, sparked by his magazine photo, leads to a series of chaotic misunderstandings that land Richard in Margaret's courtroom. In a fit of frustrated fury and a desire to teach her sister a lesson, Margaret sentences Richard to "rehabilitate" Susan by pretending to be her boyfriend until her teenage crush fades away.

What could go wrong?

 

Irving Reis (1906 – 1953) was a radio program producer and director, and a film director. Reis directed several notable and popular films, including Hitler’s Children (1943), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and All My Sons (1948).

Cary Grant (1904 – 1986) was an English-born American actor who became one of the most popular leading men in film history. Grant started his career in vaudeville before heading to Hollywood. He became a superstar in the late 1930s in a series of screwball comedies, including The Awful Truth (1937) with Irene Dunne. He was a memorable C. K. Dexter Haven in The Philadelphia Story (1940) opposite Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart. He received two Best Actor nominations for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Hearts (1944). Other classic Grant films include Gunga Din (1939), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). He made four popular films with Alfred Hitchcock: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). He was presented with an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970.

Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) was an American film, television, and stage actress. Loy was a trained dancer but decided to concentrate on acting, appearing in silent films before becoming a major star with the advent of sound. Perhaps Loy is most famous for playing Nora Charles opposite William Powell in The Thin Man (1934) and its subsequent sequels. Loy and Powell were one of the screen’s most popular acting teams; they appeared in 14 films together. Loy starred opposite the top leading men of the day, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Tyrone Power, and Cary Grant. Some of her films include Wife vs. Secretary (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Test Pilot (1938), Too Hot to Handle (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Love Crazy  (1941), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948).

 

Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, and Myrna Loy

Shirley Temple (1928 – 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat. Temple was Hollywood’s number-one box-office star from 1934 to 1938. As the most famous child star of all time, Temple achieved worldwide fame. Her films are still popular today. Some of Temple’s movies during her child star period include Baby Take a Bow (1934), Bright Eyes (1934), Captain January (1936), Stowaway (1936), Heidi (1937), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), and The Little Princess (1939). Her popularity as a top star at Twentieth-Century Fox ended with the release of The Blue Bird (1940). The film was Fox’s answer to The Wizard of Oz (1930), but it was a disaster with critics and, more importantly, with audiences. She had some success as a teen star in films like Since You Went Away (1944) and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). Temple turned to politics in the 1960s. She was the United States Ambassador to Ghana (1974 – 1976). She was the first female Chief of Protocol of the United States (1976 – 1977), where she was in charge of President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration and inaugural ball. She was appointed the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989 – 1992) by George H. W. Bush.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer trivia

• At the time of filming, Shirley Temple was 18 and had been married for ten months. Cary Grant was 42 years old.
• Movie in-joke references to Shirley Temple appear in the film. Cary Grant is served a “Shirley Temple” drink in a soda shop. When Shirley’s character is packing in her room, she takes a Shirley Temple doll off the mantle of her fireplace in her bedroom.
• Myrna Loy was almost 23 years older than her younger “sister” in the film.
• This was the second of three movies starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy:
• Wings in the Dark (1934), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse (1948).

 Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on September 1, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. How does the film's title, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, reflect the central conflict and themes of the story? What does the term "bobby-soxer" reveal about the period in which the film was made?
2. Analyze the character of Judge Margaret Turner. Is her decision to sentence Richard to "rehabilitate" her sister an abuse of power, a clever solution, or both? How does her professional role as a judge contrast with her personal role as an older sister?
3. The film uses a significant age gap between the characters of Richard Nugent and Susan Turner for comedic effect. How do the performances of Cary Grant and Shirley Temple ensure that the relationship remains a lighthearted infatuation and never feels inappropriate?
4. Beyond the central love story, what does the film say about the differences between generations and the expectations placed on young people and adults in the 1940s?

Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan star in Leo McCarey’s “Good Sam”

Good Sam (1948) is an American comedy-drama directed by Leo McCarey and starring Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan. The supporting cast includes Ray Collins, Edmund Lowe, Louise Beavers, and Ruth Roman.

Gary Cooper is Sam Clayton, a Good Samaritan who is so helpful to others that he neglects his own family. Sam’s wife Lucille “Lu” Clayton is frustrated with her husband’s efforts to help everyone he meets, including her free-loading brother who has lived with them rent-free for six months.

Will Sam’s “helpful” efforts destroy his career and family life or will he realize that he can’t save the entire world on his own?

Ann Sheridan and Gary Cooper

Leo McCarey (1898 – 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. McCarey is perhaps most famous for his critically acclaimed and commercially popular comedies like Duck Soup (1933), The Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), and The Awful Truth (1937). Other popular films directed by McCarey include Going My Way (1944), The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), and Good Sam (1948). McCarey won two Best Director Oscars for The Awful Truth and Going My Way.

Gary Cooper (1901 - 1961) was an American film actor who was known for his down-to-earth, understated acting style. He was a major star for almost four decades until his untimely death at age 60. Cooper got his start in silent film but easily made the transition to sound. During the early 1930s, he became a major star in films like A Farewell to Arms (1932), The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). Other popular Cooper films include Meet John Doe (1941), Sergeant York (1941), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1952). Cooper won two Best Actor Academy Awards: Sergeant York and High Noon (1952).

Ann Sheridan (1915 - 1967) was an American actress and singer. Her movie career began in 1934 when she appeared in 19 films! Her roles were all small and mostly unbilled, but she appeared in another 20+ films before she was signed to Warner Bros. in 1938. She was given better roles and was groomed for major stardom. The studio dubbed her “The Oomph Girl,” a title she hated but helped contribute to her popularity. During World War II she was a popular pin-up girl. As a star, Sheridan starred in Angels Wash Their Faces (1939), Castle on the Hudson (1940), It All Came True (1940), They Drive by Night (1940), City for Conquest (1941), and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942). During this time she starred opposite Warner’s top leading men including John Garfield, James Cagney, and George Raft. Her biggest success during this period came with Kings Row (1942), a film in which she received top billing over Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, and Betty Field. Sheridan made the transition to television and was starring in the weekly western series, Pistols 'n' Petticoats (1966-67) when she became sick with cancer. She died on January 21, 1967, at the age of 51.

Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan in church

Good Sam trivia

• The film was a big commercial success which enabled Gary Cooper to negotiate a favorable contract with Warner Bros.
• Ann Sheridan was borrowed from Warner Bros. to co-star as Cooper’s wife, Lu.
• Director McCarey shot two different endings and let preview audiences decide which ending to use. The alternate ending is lost to film history.

 

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

Click HERE to join us for an online discussion on January 6, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation along with a link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. How would you, categorize this film? Do you consider it a comedy-drama, romantic comedy, or something else?
2. What did you think of Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan as a married couple?
3. Do you think there was a serious message amidst the comic situations?
4. Did this film remind you of any others you’ve seen?

Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, and Herbert Marshall are involved in a “Crack-Up”

Crack-Up (1946) is an American film noir directed by Irving Reis and starring Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, and Herbert Marshall. The supporting cast includes Ray Collins and Wallace Ford.

Art critic George Steele (O'Brien) remembers surviving a train wreck that never took place; it's just the first incident in a growing web of intrigue and murder.

Film critic Leonard Maltin described the film as a “Tense, fast-paced Hitchcockian thriller with many imaginative touches.

 

Irving Reis (1906 – 1953) was a radio program producer and director and a film director. Reis directed several notable and popular films including Hitler’s Children (1943) The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) All My Sons (1948).

Pat O’Brien (1899 – 1983) was an American film actor. O’Brien appeared in more than 100 films, often playing characters of Irish descent. He played cops, priests, and reporters. He was often paired with friend and movie star James Cagney. O’Brien is probably best known for his roles in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Knute Rockne, All American (1940), and Some Like it Hot (1959).

Claire Trevor (1910 - 2000) was an American actress who appeared in over 60 movies. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Dead End (1937), and The High and the Mighty (1954). She won the award for her performance in Key Largo (1948). Trevor got her start on the New York stage and made her film debut in 1933. She also appeared on radio with Edward G. Robinson in the popular radio program Big Town. Trevor’s most famous role is probably Dallas in Stagecoach, but she had other memorable roles in Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Born to Kill (1947). Her last film role was in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) where she played Sally Field’s mother.

Herbert Marshall (1890 – 1966) was an English actor of stage, screen, and radio. Marshall was a popular leading man during the 1930s and 1940s. He starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis. Some of his films include Trouble in Paradise (1932), The Good Fairy (1935), Foreign Correspondence (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), and The Razor’s Edge (1946).

 

Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, and Herbert Marshall

Crack-Up trivia

• Crack-Up was the only film noir from director Irving Reis.
• Laura (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945) also make use of painting and art.
• The film was set in New York City, but several scenes were filmed in Los Angeles harbor.
• Reis directed many of the “Falcon” movies during the early 1940s.

 

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

 

Click HERE to join the online discussion on November 18, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. Did you like the background of the art world?
2. Was the story believable? Were you able to just enjoy the ride?
3. What did you think of the performances?
4. Did O’Brien and Trevor have good on-screen chemistry?
5. Were you surprised by anything?

Technicolor Noir: “Leave Her to Heaven” starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, and Jeanne Crain

Leave Her to Heaven (1945) is a Technicolor film noir directed by John Stahl, produced by William A. Bacher and Darryl F. Zanuck, and starring Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, and Jeanne Crain. It is based on the best-selling novel by Ben Ames Williams published in 1944. Jo Swerling adapted the screenplay.

Cornel Wilde and Gene Tierney

Tierney plays Ellen Berent, a rich socialite who meets novelist Richard Harland (Wilde) on the train to New Mexico. She thinks Richard resembles her dead father and that mesmerizes Ellen. Ellen’s relationship with her father seems to have been a strange and obsessive one. Ellen lives with her mother (Mary Phillips) and adopted sister Ruth (Crain). Ruth is really Ellen’s cousin and someone that Ellen sees as a rival rather than a beloved family member.

Ellen’s infatuation with Richard quickly turns into marriage. Richard introduces Ellen to his brother Danny who is crippled due to the effects of polio. In short order, they all move to Richard’s lodge in northern Maine called Back of the Moon. At first, all seems idyllic, but then Ellen begins to resent anyone occupying Richard’s time including Danny and her own family. Things go downhill when Ellen accuses Richard of enjoying Ruth’s company more than her own.

Will Ellen get control of her jealousy or will it destroy her and all the lives she’s touched?

John M. Stahl (1886 – 1950) was an American film director and producer who began his career in silent movies in 1913. In 1919 he signed with the film company Louis B. Mayer Pictures, which would eventually become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Stahl transitioned to sound and directed Imitation of Life (1934) starring Claudette Colbert which was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. In 1935, he directed Magnificent Obsession starring Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor. Other films of note include Back Street (1932) starring Dunne and John Boles, and The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) starring Gregory Peck. Many believe that director Douglas Sirk was influenced by Stahl’s melodramatic style. Sirk remade Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959).

Darryl F. Zanuck (1902 – 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive. Zanuck began his career as a writer for silent films. Zanuck worked successfully at Warner Bros. but left the studio to become a partner in 20th Century Pictures. Zanuck and his business partner bought out Fox Studios in 1935 to form Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. He won three Academy Awards as a producer for How Green Was My Valley (1940), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), and All About Eve (1950).

Jo Swerling (1897 – 1964) was an American screenwriter who collaborated with Frank Capra on such films as Ladies of Leisure (1930) and Platinum Blonde (1931). Other screenplays by Swerling include Double Wedding (1937), The Westerner (1940), Blood and Sand (1941), and The Pride of the Yankees (1942) for which he was Oscar-nominated. Swerling was one of the dozens of writers who worked on the script (not credited) for Gone with the Wind (1939).

Leon Shamroy (1901 – 1974) was an American cinematographer under contract to 20th Century-Fox studio. He was famous for his Technicolor work, which is exemplified in Leave Her to Heaven (1945) for which he won the Academy Award. He won four Academy Awards during his long career and shares the record for most Oscar nominations with Charles Lang (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir). Other films Shamroy shot include The Robe (1953), Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), The King and I (1956), South Pacific (1958), and The Planet of the Apes (1968).

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an American actress. Tierney got her start on the stage where she played the ingenue lead in The Male Animal. Tierney made her movie debut in 1940 in The Return of Frank James starring Henry Fonda. She worked steadily in the early 1940s but established herself as a top box office star with Laura (1944). She starred in Leave Her to Heaven the next year which was the biggest hit of the year and Fox’s biggest moneymaking success until The Robe (1953). Other successes for Tierney include Dragonwyck (1946), The Razor’s Edge (1946), and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).

Cornel Wilde (1912 – 1989) was a Hungarian-born American actor and film director. Wilde had small roles in films like High Sierra (1941) until he was signed by 20th Century Fox. He was loaned out to Columbia to play the role of Frederic Chopin in A Song to Remember (1945) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. At Fox, he was a popular leading man. For that studio, he starred in Centennial Summer (1946), Forever Amber (1947), and Road House (1948). With the decline of his acting career, Wilde produced and directed several independent productions including Beach Red (1967) and No Blade of Grass (1970).

Jeanne Crain (1925 – 2003) was an American actress who began her movie career with a bit part in The Gang’s All Here (1943). Now under contract to Fox, Crain was featured in Home in Indiana (1944)  filmed in Technicolor and was a big hit. Crain was given top billing in her next feature In the Meantime Darling (1944). She made another film that same year, Winged Victory. In 1945 she co-starred with Dana Andrews in State Fair. She was now one of Fox’s top female stars. Margie (1946) was another popular success. She had another critical and box office success with Apartment for Peggy (1948). Her peak came in 1949 with A Letter to Three Wives and Pinky for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Jeanne Crain and Gene Tierney

Other actors in the cast are Vincent Price as Russell Quinton, Ray Collins as Glen Robie, Gene Lockhart as Dr. Saunders, Chill Wills as Leick Thorne, and Darry Hickman as Danny Harland, Richard’s younger brother.

Below is the link to the movie on YouTube. Please use this link because several versions on the channel are inferior to this one. I recommend you watch this on your TV. The Technicolor is amazing and you will appreciate it more on a larger screen.

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

Click HERE to join the discussion on September 30, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join us on Zoom.

Discussion Questions:
1. This is considered the first film noir shot in color. Do you think this film would have been as effective if shot in black and white?
2. What do you think motivated Ellen’s jealousy? Do you really think she loved Richard or anyone?
3. Do you think there was any sympathy for Ellen’s character in 1945? Do you have any sympathy for her today?
4. What did you think of the contrast between Ellen and Ruth?
5. This is one of Martin Scorsese’s favorite films from Hollywood’s Golden Age. He thinks Gene Tierney was one of the most underrated actresses from the 1940s. Would you agree with Scorsese on his assessment of Tierney?