MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Judge Myrna Loy decides that the best way to curb the excesses of playboyish art teacher Cary Grant is to force him to do what he does best--romance a willing young lady. In this instance, the girl is Loy's own sister, played by a blossoming Shirley Temple. Aware that Temple has a serious crush on Grant, Loy orders him to date the teen-aged Temple until the girl gets him out of her system; he is also ordered to keep his hands to himself lest he wind up in the pokey. Grant finds the irrepressible Temple rather wearisome, but he throws himself into his sentence full-force, donning teenaged clothes, speaking in nonsense slang ("Voodoo! Who Do? You Do!" etc.) and participating in the athletic events at a high school picnic. Grant eventually divests himself of Temple by arranging for her to fall for a boy her own age; meanwhile, Loy realizes what we've realized all along--that it is she who is truly smitten by Grant. Adding to the frothy fun of Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer are the supporting performances of Ray Collins as a sagacious psychologist and Rudy Vallee as a stuffy district attorney. The film's screenplay won an Academy Award for Sidney Sheldon, who went on to create I Dream of Jeannie and to matriculate into a best-selling novelist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English, French, Spanish
• Features:
  • • cc June 13, 1949 -- Lux Radio Theater radio production starring Cary Grant and Shirley Temple
    • Cartoon: Little Tinker
    • Cary Grant trailer gallery
    • Subtitles: English, Français, and Español

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Original Screenplay - 1947 (Sidney Sheldon)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Irving G. Reis

• Producer:

  Dore Schary

• Screenwriter:

  Sidney Sheldon

• Cinematographer:

  Robert de Grasse, Nick Musuraca

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Constantin Bakaleinikoff

• Composer (Music Score):

  Leigh Harline

• Editor:

  Frederic Knudtson

• Art Director:

  Carroll Clark, Albert S. D'Agostino

• Set Designer:

  James Altwies, Darrell Silvera

• Costume Designer:

  Edward Stevenson

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  John L. Cass, Clem Portman

• Special Effects:

  Russell A. Cully

REVIEW:

• Although quite dated in some ways, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is a very enjoyable little farce. The biggest drawback to modern audiences is, unfortunately, its very premise: that an adult man would be encouraged to date a teenage girl -- and the girl's sister, yet. The situation nowadays comes across as rather smarmy, and one wonders about the wisdom of a judge that would create a situation that could conceivably lead to terrible consequences. Once one accepts the premise, however, there's a great deal to enjoy in Sidney Sheldon's screenplay. The plotting is just what is expected, but it comes across as inevitable rather than predictable, and Sheldon has supplied his characters with amusing situations (the opening trial sequence and Nugent and Margaret's dinner are especially fine) and sharp, delightful dialogue. Irving G. Reis' direction keeps the film moving at a brisk pace, allowing the jokes to land, but never lingering a moment too long. Cary Grant is, of course, in impeccable farceur mode, showing off both his charm and his sense of timing to their very best advantage. He's well matched by the delectable Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple comes off quite well in one of her few "grown-up" parts. Bachelor is a trifle, but it's fun. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi