I think most people would agree this is the least entertaining of the several films that featured teens Gloria Jean and Don O'Connor, and runs only 60 min. Unlke the several other such films, it lacks Don's usual dance and comedic partner, Peggy Ryan, to lighten things up. Also, Don doesn't get to sing nor to be especially funny, and has only one dance scene with Gloria. Like the previous, better, "Get Hep to Love", it serves mainly to feature Gloria Jean's singing and acting, and thus is too limited in entertainment value today, with mostly forgettable songs, none original for this film.
By far, the highlight of the film is the nightclub scene, in which Gloria sings Ernesto Lecuona's popular "Say SiSi" at the Flamingo Nightclub. During this performance, she also dances with Don. At times, Leon Belasco's Latin-themed orchestra and the 'Guadalajara Trio' take over. Gloria's initial "Love's Old Sweet Song" starts out with a straight mellow rendition, but at Don's command, the orchestra switches to a swing tempo, which is another highlight.
The melodrama has aristocratic character actor Ian Hunter(as Tom Peabody)as owner of the Peabody architecture firm in NYC. He seems to have no wife, but two teenage daughters, who are moving from their grandmother's to living with him. Obviously, they have been to an exclusive school, and have had little contact with the popular teen culture, exemplified by Ricky Ives(Don). Now, Tom has a thing going with both his secretary, Edie Ives(Louise Allbritton), and an apparently single wealthy socialite(Portia Winthrop). Edie's nephew, Ricky(Don), arrives home from a military academy. Apparently, Edie is his guardian. Gloria, at age 15, has an immediate liking for the slightly older Ricky, but he initially brushes her off as a child, and not hep. Tom's two competing women speed up their competition by buying gifts for the girls, hoping also to change their negative attitude toward them. They also compete by trying to interest Gloria in their respective teen sons. Gloria shows no interest in Portia's stuffy son, but is definitely interested in hep Ricky. Portia tries to pressure Tom into forbidding Gloria to see Ricky. This slows things a bit, but not for long. In the end, Ricky is dancing with Gloria, and Tom with Edie, suggesting the exit romantic relationships.
Ian Hunter, who plays Tom Peabody, was South African-raised. His typical friendly aristocratic British bearing resulted in his being typecast in aristocratic or other authoritative figure roles, often British ones. Some of his notable film roles include : King Richard , in "The Adventures of Robin Hood", and the lead male in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Some of his previous films that featured juveniles include: Shirley Temple's father, in "The Little Princess", and 'The Devil is a Sissy", with several juvenile male stars. In the latter film, he plays a struggling Manhattan architect. In the present film, he is an accomplished and wealthy Manhattan architect.
Louise Allbritton, who plays Don's adoptive aunt, had a significant role in several of the Don + Peggy films, usually playing a strong independent woman. In "Bowery to Broadway", she made a charismatic Lillian Russell. In "This is the Life", she was a world-traveling professional. In fact, she was only 5 years older than Don, but she seemed older and more mature than her age, thus she could convincingly play Don's aunt guardian.
By far, the highlight of the film is the nightclub scene, in which Gloria sings Ernesto Lecuona's popular "Say SiSi" at the Flamingo Nightclub. During this performance, she also dances with Don. At times, Leon Belasco's Latin-themed orchestra and the 'Guadalajara Trio' take over. Gloria's initial "Love's Old Sweet Song" starts out with a straight mellow rendition, but at Don's command, the orchestra switches to a swing tempo, which is another highlight.
The melodrama has aristocratic character actor Ian Hunter(as Tom Peabody)as owner of the Peabody architecture firm in NYC. He seems to have no wife, but two teenage daughters, who are moving from their grandmother's to living with him. Obviously, they have been to an exclusive school, and have had little contact with the popular teen culture, exemplified by Ricky Ives(Don). Now, Tom has a thing going with both his secretary, Edie Ives(Louise Allbritton), and an apparently single wealthy socialite(Portia Winthrop). Edie's nephew, Ricky(Don), arrives home from a military academy. Apparently, Edie is his guardian. Gloria, at age 15, has an immediate liking for the slightly older Ricky, but he initially brushes her off as a child, and not hep. Tom's two competing women speed up their competition by buying gifts for the girls, hoping also to change their negative attitude toward them. They also compete by trying to interest Gloria in their respective teen sons. Gloria shows no interest in Portia's stuffy son, but is definitely interested in hep Ricky. Portia tries to pressure Tom into forbidding Gloria to see Ricky. This slows things a bit, but not for long. In the end, Ricky is dancing with Gloria, and Tom with Edie, suggesting the exit romantic relationships.
Ian Hunter, who plays Tom Peabody, was South African-raised. His typical friendly aristocratic British bearing resulted in his being typecast in aristocratic or other authoritative figure roles, often British ones. Some of his notable film roles include : King Richard , in "The Adventures of Robin Hood", and the lead male in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Some of his previous films that featured juveniles include: Shirley Temple's father, in "The Little Princess", and 'The Devil is a Sissy", with several juvenile male stars. In the latter film, he plays a struggling Manhattan architect. In the present film, he is an accomplished and wealthy Manhattan architect.
Louise Allbritton, who plays Don's adoptive aunt, had a significant role in several of the Don + Peggy films, usually playing a strong independent woman. In "Bowery to Broadway", she made a charismatic Lillian Russell. In "This is the Life", she was a world-traveling professional. In fact, she was only 5 years older than Don, but she seemed older and more mature than her age, thus she could convincingly play Don's aunt guardian.