The rather dull plot seems like an attempt to wed "Andy Hardy" to "Meet Me in St. Louis". But with an over-aged Rooney as the male teen star,a poor screen play, and without the memorable musical scores and charm of the latter film, it doesn't really work very well, except perhaps as a portrait of ideal Americana of that period.The rather abundant Harry Warren-Ralph Blane songs are OK, but not really memorable the way Berlin could make memorable songs.
The first half of the film flaunts conservative Victorian outward mores, as practiced by well off small townies of the early 20th century, countered only by Rooney's occasional espousal of French Revolution-derived socialist arguments.It also includes some romantic dabblings between Rooney and costar Gloria DeHaven in lush outdoor settings. Rooney's long-winded high school graduation speech was as boring for the film audience as it was for the graduation participants. The last portion of the film turns dark with, thus far, seemingly model son Rooney being led into an implied one-night stand with an exploitive chorus girl(played by Marilyn Maxwell), who sings some of her monologues. This has dire repercussions for his romantic relationship with prim Gloria, which is unrepaired when the film unexpectedly ends.The last portion of the film seems hurried and truncated, as if the producer recognized that it was already too long for its interest level.
Even in '46, when this was made, not all MGM musicals were shot in color. Thus, we are treated to some colorful outdoor scenes and sometimes to colorful period outfits. Gloria had a good singing voice and a made a good looking girl next door, but she lacked Judy Garland's screen charisma as an actress, thus comes across as somewhat bland, in comparison. As MGM executives apparently feared, the film didn't do well at the box office when it was finally released in '48, losing money. I guess audiences preferred the likes of "Easter Parade", released the same year.
The first half of the film flaunts conservative Victorian outward mores, as practiced by well off small townies of the early 20th century, countered only by Rooney's occasional espousal of French Revolution-derived socialist arguments.It also includes some romantic dabblings between Rooney and costar Gloria DeHaven in lush outdoor settings. Rooney's long-winded high school graduation speech was as boring for the film audience as it was for the graduation participants. The last portion of the film turns dark with, thus far, seemingly model son Rooney being led into an implied one-night stand with an exploitive chorus girl(played by Marilyn Maxwell), who sings some of her monologues. This has dire repercussions for his romantic relationship with prim Gloria, which is unrepaired when the film unexpectedly ends.The last portion of the film seems hurried and truncated, as if the producer recognized that it was already too long for its interest level.
Even in '46, when this was made, not all MGM musicals were shot in color. Thus, we are treated to some colorful outdoor scenes and sometimes to colorful period outfits. Gloria had a good singing voice and a made a good looking girl next door, but she lacked Judy Garland's screen charisma as an actress, thus comes across as somewhat bland, in comparison. As MGM executives apparently feared, the film didn't do well at the box office when it was finally released in '48, losing money. I guess audiences preferred the likes of "Easter Parade", released the same year.