Review of Her First Romance

"I don't know whether to thank you or to spank you", father Arthur Space tells his kids after they admit something they did to him that comes at the most opportune time. The daughter is Margaret O'Brien, while her precocious brother is Jimmy Hunt. They have gone to summer camp in an attempt for O'Brien to ensnare hunky Allen Martin Jr. from flirtatious Elinor Donahue. O'Brien, the playground monitor at school, is known for her brains but not her beauty, but those students must be blind, because other than a little bit of remaining baby fat, O'Brien was adorable here and quite attractive. She is also quite likable as a young girl, not screechy or annoying like a lot of teenage girls played on screen. In fact, she reminded me a lot of Erin Moran's Joanie of "Happy Days" TV fame. Unlike Shirley Temple, who had only made her last film appearance just two years before this, O'Brien magically moved from juvenile roles to this teenage role with ease, and it is very surprising that she didn't work again on screen for another five years. Nowhere inside O'Brien here will you spot "Tootie" from "Meet Me in St. Louis". While the plot line may resemble those from some 1950's sitcom, remember it is actually before "Make Room For Daddy", "The Donna Reed Show", and in the 60's, "The Patty Duke Show" appeared. So it is quite fresh. The scenes at camp are reminiscent of what transpired 10 years later in "The Parent Trap". Allen Martin Jr. is very likable as the teenage boy who obviously enjoys being the center of O'Brien and Donahue's rivalry but is smart enough to choose quality as he faces new adventures at school, his birthday party, and at camp. O'Brien does a hysterically funny dance which leads to embarrassment she must humbly accept without going into hiding. The relationship between siblings O'Brien and Hunt is also very believable. As much as younger brother annoys her, she finds that sometimes she needs his brand of mischievousness to accomplish her own goals. Even Donahue isn't the stereotypical dumb or mean girl; She is well balanced enough to take her lumps and realize when she is beaten. The boat ride sequence and spinach eating contest are also very funny as well. Bring all this to a reasonably short length, and you have a better than expected comedy with a child star growing up. And you know with O'Brien around, her boyfriend will never drop a candy bar wrapper on the ground again without retrieving it!