Sweet Genevieve (1947) Poster

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5/10
Old "B" movie fare
artzau17 October 2005
I saw this movie when I was around 10 and was coming to the conclusion that most of the guys in high school at that time were slightly whacko. I mean, all they did was run around chasing girls and going gah-gah over modified cars. But, then I was 10 at the time and none of that made sense to me. These coming of age flicks, e.g., American Graffitti, Porky's, Heathers, etc., have gotten better over the years but back in those post-WW2 halcyon days, I have to admit, teenagers came off much like the nerds of today.

Scrolling through the cast, I can find no one that hit the big time but remembering this "B" movie, which was likely the second feature of a double feature at the time I saw it, has stuck with me over the years. The plot is benign, given today's appetite for slice'n dice and horror flicks with unappealing monsters. The plot of gamblers invading high school sports is hardly sinister but there was one memorable chase scene where the principal of the high school notes that one of the students is driving a "heated rod." Hey, it got a laugh back then. But then, it was a calmer, kinder time than today's frenetic and too-often drug-driven high school scene.
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6/10
Average "B" from the late 1940's
ndetaranto-926-44696318 March 2022
Just an average "B" from the late 1940's. Sort of boring but the young cast members do try and infuse some energy but its mostly just a bore fest. You Jimmy Lyndon is still with us at age 99.
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4/10
Adding a bit of swing to the varsity drag.
mark.waltz24 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This Columbia B comedy with a few songs is equivalent to the type of films that Universal had been making since the early 40's. It's not as polished as the musical programmers that Ann Miller was tapping her way through up until the year before (having departed for MGM), and certainly not colorful like the A musicals that starred Rita Hayworth, but pleasant enough even though it had the stamp of cheapness on it, especially as produced by Sam Katzman.

But as a teen musical, it's one with an edge, having the kids, who were normally into sports and the opposite sex more than learning, further distracted from their studies by the presence of racketeers in town who get the kids involved in gambling and hot cars. The opening number at the ice cream shop is spunky and lively, but somehow unremarkable, and outside of "Henry Aldrich" himself (Jimmy Lyndon, way past his teens), the cast is pretty dull.

Leading lady Jean Porter had gotten some attention in a small role in "Bathing Beauty" at MGM a few years before, but she's too similar to Marcy McGuire who had started in several team musicals at RKO, and an acquired taste. It's hard to believe her as the star of the girl's basketball team. Every other character from the other teens to the parents to the racketeers who come to town is basically a silly cliche, especially the jealous girl who sets her up for taking a bribe. Gloria Marlen, who plays that part, resembles Mary Wickes, a very different kind of actress. The film in general seems stretched out even though it's not even 70 minutes.
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