An edited
film review from themoviescene.co.uk.
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, known as Bachelor Knight in the U.K., is one of those classic Cary Grant screwball comedies. That
alone would mean the film is a lot of fun but The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer also features Myrna Loy as a judge and Shirley
Temple as her teenage sister, infatuated with Grant as the older man, which
adds to the movie’s charm. It also means that while it’s ridiculous that Grant is
forced to pretend to be interested in Temple, the actors make it a lot of fun.
Richard
Nugent (Grant) is not only an artist but also a handsome bachelor. This results
in him having to appear in court before Judge Margaret Turner (Loy) because the
previous night a catfight had broken out in the Vampire Club over him. After hearing
the testimony and believing Richard is not to blame, Margaret lets him off with
just a warning. Shortly after that Richard goes to the local high school and
gives a lecture on the importance of art. All the teenage girls in the audience
are charmed by him, especially Susan (Temple), Margaret's younger sister. After
the lecture Susan extracts a promise from Richard that he would have her pose
for him, and later that day she sneaks into his apartment. Searching for Susan,
Margaret goes to Richard’s apartment and discovers the two, but she decides to
give Richard a chance to avoid prison by pretending to be interested in Susan
until she grows bored with him and her teenage crush dissolves.
In many
ways The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
is a traditional romantic screwball comedy. The fun-loving bachelor
effortlessly played by Cary Grant is contrasted with the sober, serious judge
played with the perfect amount of stiffness by Myrna Loy. Of course we know
that despite being total opposites, eventually they will end up together. And
if that isn't enough we also have Margaret's mischievous uncle, Dr. Matthew
Beemish (Ray Collins) as the court
psychiatrist, who fears that Margaret will end up an old maid and so
manipulates her by suggesting that Richard be required to date Susan, knowing
it will eventually throw Richard and Margaret together socially.
On top of
this seemingly traditional screwball comedy we also have the extra layer of
comedy featuring Grant and Temple. Grant has a lot of fun playing the grown-up
acting like a teenager who is forced to date a teenager, and Temple has as much
fun playing a teenager (she was actually 19 and married when making the film)
trying to act sophisticated and older. It is Grant and Temple who make the film
succeed with their wonderful comedic timing, delivering one laugh after another,
whether it is Grant turning on the charm or Susan trying to sound grown up one
moment and then sulking like a school girl the next moment. Screen writer
Sidney Sheldon deserves much of the credit because it is his zippy dialogue
which flies so brilliantly back and forth.
What this
all boils down to is that The Bachelor
and the Bobby-Soxer is simply a lot of fun and ranks with some of the best
screwball comedies from the 1940s with Cary Grant and Shirley Temple being the
main reason it works. [**** out of 5 stars]
Labels:
comedy, romance
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