Junior Miss (film)

Last updated
Junior Miss
Junior Miss (film poster).jpg
Film poster
Directed by George Seaton
Written by Sally Benson (novel)
Joseph Fields (play)
Jerome Chodorov (play)
George Seaton
Produced by William Perlberg
Starring Peggy Ann Garner
Allyn Joslyn
Cinematography Charles G. Clarke
Edited by Robert Simpson
Music by David Buttolph
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 16, 1945 (1945-06-16)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,750,000 [1]

Junior Miss is a 1945 American comedy film starring Peggy Ann Garner as a teenager who meddles in people's love lives.

Contents

A collection of Sally Benson's stories from The New Yorker was published by Random House as Junior Miss in 1941. This was adapted by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields into a successful play that same year. [2] Directed by Moss Hart, Junior Miss ran on Broadway from 1941 to 1943. In 1945, the play was adapted to the film Junior Miss with George Seaton directing Peggy Ann Garner in the lead role of Judy Graves. Junior Miss was adapted as a radio series three times in the late 1940s and early ‘50s, first with Shirley Temple and later with Barbara Whiting performing the lead role. [3]

Plot summary

Lively and imaginative sisters Judy and Lois Graves, thirteen and sixteen years old, live in an apartment in New York City with their forgiving and patient mother and father, Harry, a lawyer, and Grace, a housewife. Judy's equally energetic friend Fuffy Adams frequently visits, and the two girls have their own ideas about the relations of the grown-ups surrounding them. They often use movie plots to interpret the reality around them.

One night right before Christmas, Judy learns that her mother has a brother, uncle Willis, who has been absent for years. She is very intrigued by the news and quickly fantasizes a story about the handsome man in which jail time becomes a reason for the absence. In reality, Uncle Willis is a recovering alcoholic, who has spent the last four years struggling in rehab.

Later that night, Judy meets Fuffy, who brings a handsome boy named Haskell Cummings. The young boy's appearance distracts her from her fantasies about her uncle. Haskell is supposed to be Judy's escort to the school dance ahead. Back in the apartment, Harry's boss, J. B. Curtis, is visiting, bringing his pretty daughter, Ellen, who is also his secretary. Letting her imagination run wild after seeing a kiss, Judy believes her father is infatuated with the secretary, and tells her friend Fuffy that they are romantically involved.

The next day, Uncle Willis, handsome and rugged, makes a surprise visit, and Judy gets the idea that he would be the perfect match for Ellen. Right after Christmas Day, Judy secretly arranges for them to meet "by accident" at the Rockefeller Center ice-skating rink, and Willis and Ellen actually hit it off and become a couple. Harry's boss is troubled, though, as Ellen is constantly absent from the office, sneaking off to meet Willis. Ellen does not tell her father about Willis, but one day Judy can't keep the secret any longer, and on New Year's Day slips to Curtis that Ellen is seeing Willis, her "ex-convict" uncle. Curtis is worried and furious. He scolds Harry and Grace for letting the relationship begin and go on, and they in turn confront Judy. Willis and Ellen arrive in the middle of the argument, announcing that they have married. Curtis fires Harry when he defends Willis and his family.

The family decides that Grace and the children should live with her mother in Kansas City until Harry gets another job. They also offer to let the newlyweds come live with them until they can stand on their own feet. Curtis makes an unannounced visit in search of his daughter, and Ellen and Willis are hidden away for the moment. Since it is the night of Judy's school dance, Haskell arrives to pick up Judy. He is announced, and when Curtis hears the name, he believes it is Haskell Cummings Sr., the businessman whose account he and Harry have been trying to win, who has arrived to talk to Harry. Believing that Harry is starting his own firm and has landed the influential Cummings as his client, he quickly offers to hire Harry back to the law firm, as a partner no less. And he is willing to hire Willis too. Realizing Curtis is mistaken, Harry quickly accepts the offer. Ellen reconciles with her father, and Curtis in turn is surprised to see the young Haskell enter the apartment. Then Judy appears, beautiful and ladylike, dressed in her ball dress, and she and Haskell leave the proud adults for the dance.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>I Married an Angel</i> 1938 musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart

I Married An Angel is a 1938 musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled Angyalt Vettem Felesegul. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart. The story concerns a wealthy banker who, disillusioned with women, decides that the only mate for him would be an angel. An angel soon arrives, and he marries her, but finds out that her perfection and guilelessness are inconvenient.

<i>On Your Toes</i> Musical

On Your Toes (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Benson</span> American author of short stories and screenwriter (1897–1972)

Sally Benson was an American writer of short stories, screenplays, and theatre. She is best known for her humorous tales of modern youth collected in Junior Miss and her semi-autobiographical stories collected in Meet Me in St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance Cummings</span> American actress (1910–2005)

Constance Cummings CBE was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years.

<i>My Favorite Wife</i> 1940 film by Garson Kanin

My Favorite Wife, is a 1940 screwball comedy produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin.

<i>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn</i> (1945 film) 1945 American drama film by Elia Kazan

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a 1945 American drama film that marked the debut of Elia Kazan as a dramatic film director. Adapted by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis from the 1943 novel by Betty Smith, the film focuses on an impoverished but aspirational, second-generation Irish-American family living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in the early 20th century. Peggy Ann Garner received the Academy Juvenile Award for her performance as Francie Nolan, the adolescent girl at the center of the coming-of-age story. Other stars are Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, Lloyd Nolan, Ted Donaldson, and James Dunn, who received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Francie's father.

<i>Support Your Local Gunfighter</i> 1971 film

Support Your Local Gunfighter is a 1971 American comic Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette. The screenplay was originally written by James Edward Grant, who died in 1966; Kennedy rewrote it but let Grant keep sole credit. The picture shares many cast and crew members and plot elements with the earlier Support Your Local Sheriff! but is not a sequel. The supporting cast features Jack Elam, Harry Morgan, John Dehner, Marie Windsor, Dub Taylor, Joan Blondell and Ellen Corby.

<i>Miss Grant Takes Richmond</i> 1949 film by Lloyd Bacon

Miss Grant Takes Richmond is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Lucille Ball, William Holden and Janis Carter It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was released under the alternative title Innocence Is Bliss in Britain.

<i>Seed</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Seed is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by John M. Stahl. The screenplay by Gladys Lehman is based on a novel by Charles G. Norris.

<i>Back Street</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by Robert Stevenson

Back Street is a 1941 American drama film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Charles Boyer, Margaret Sullavan and Richard Carlson. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, also from Universal. The film is adapted from the 1931 Fannie Hurst novel and the 1932 film version which it follows very closely, in some cases recalling the earlier film scene-for-scene. It is a sympathetic tale of an adulterous couple.

<i>Princess ORourke</i> 1943 film by Norman Krasna

Princess O'Rourke is a 1943 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Norman Krasna, and starring Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings and Charles Coburn. Krasna won the 1944 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

<i>Junior Miss</i>

Junior Miss is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in The New Yorker. Between 1939 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in The New Yorker, some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts. She had a bestseller when Random House published her Junior Miss collection in 1941.

<i>The Sign of the Ram</i> 1948 film by John Sturges

The Sign of the Ram is a 1948 American film noir directed by John Sturges and screenplay by Charles Bennett, based on a novel written by Margaret Ferguson. The drama features Susan Peters, Alexander Knox and Phyllis Thaxter. It also featured Ron Randell. The film's title alludes to people born under the astrological sign Aries, who are supposedly strong-willed and desire to be admired, as explained in the dialogue.

<i>The Keys of the Kingdom</i> (film) 1944 film by John M. Stahl

The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1944 American film based on the 1941 novel The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin. The film was adapted by Nunnally Johnson, directed by John M. Stahl, and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It stars Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, and Vincent Price, and tells the story of the trials and tribulations of a Roman Catholic priest who goes to China to evangelise.

<i>Habang May Buhay</i> 2010 Filipino TV series or program

Habang May Buhay is a 2010 Philippine television drama medical series broadcast by ABS-CBN. The series is a remake of the 2000–2001 Philippine television authologies series of the same title aired on IBC. Directed by Wenn V. Deramas, it stars Judy Ann Santos, Gladys Reyes, Derek Ramsay, Joem Bascon, Will Devaughn, Rio Locsin, Tetchie Agbayani, John Arcilla, and Gina Alajar. It aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up and worldwide on TFC from February 1 to May 14, 2010 replacing Boys Over Flowers: One More Time. This also marks Santos and Reyes' reunion project in 13 years since they were together in Mara Clara.

<i>Black Widow</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Nunnally Johnson

Black Widow is a 1954 American DeLuxe Color mystery film in CinemaScope, with elements of film noir, written, produced, and directed by Nunnally Johnson, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Patrick Quentin. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, and George Raft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boronia House, Mosman</span> Former residence in NSWSH, Australia

Boronia House is a heritage-listed former residence located at 624–632 Military Road, Mosman, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was designed by Sheerin & Hennessy (1885) and Clive Lucas & Partners, and built during 1885. The property is owned by Mosman Council. The property is also called Boronia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<i>Little Miss Thoroughbred</i> 1938 film by John Farrow

Little Miss Thoroughbred is a 1938 film directed by John Farrow. Peggy Ann Garner made her debut in the film. It was also known as Little Lady Luck.

<i>Blondie Brings Up Baby</i> 1939 film by Frank R. Strayer

Blondie Brings Up Baby is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms. It is the fourth of 28 films based on the comic strip.

References

  1. Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century-Fox: A Corporate and Financial History Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 p 221
  2. "New Play in Manhattan", Time, December 1, 1941.
  3. Dunning, John (1998). "Junior Miss". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 378. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2024-11-07.