On This Day...The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

Cary Grant's 50th full length feature film, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, was released today, back in 1947. 

Summary: 

Teenaged Susan Turner (Shirly Temple), with a severe crush on playboy artist Richard Nugent (Cary Grant), sneaks into his apartment to model for him and is found there by her sister, Judge Margaret Turner (Myrna Loy). Threatened with jail, Nugent agrees to date Susan until the crush abates. He counters Susan's comic false sophistication by even more comic put-on teenage mannerisms, with a slapstick climax.

Cast:

Cary Grant...Dick Nugent

Myrna Loy...Judge Margaret Turner

Shirley Temple...Susan Turner

Rudy Vallee...District Attorney Tommy Chamberlain

Ray Collins...Dr. Matthew Beemish

Harry Davenport...Judge Thaddeus Turner

Johnny Sands...Jerry White

Don Beddoe...Joey

Lillian Randolph...Bessie

Veda Ann Borg...Agnes Prescott

Dan Tobin...Chester Walters

Ransom M. Sherman...Judge Treadwell (as Ransom Sherman)

William Bakewell...Winters

Irving Bacon...Melvin - Police Turnkey

Ian Bernard...Perry

Carol Hughes...Florence

William Hall...Anthony Herman

Gregory Gaye...Maitre d'Hotel (as Gregory Gay)

Did You Know?

The "Man with the Power" routine was the inspiration for the song "Magic Dance" in the movie Labyrinth (1986) and was also  adapted into the song lyric of The Atomic Fireballs' song "Man With the Hex" during the Swing Revival of the 1990s.

Myrna Loy was almost 23 years older than her on-screen sister Shirley Temple.

In the final scene between Ray Collins and Cary Grant, wherein Collins tries to convince Grant to carry on in his pursuit of Myrna Loy, all of Collins' dialogue is looped.

There are a couple of "in joke" references to Shirley Temple in the film. When Cary Grant is sitting with Shirley in the soda shop, the waitress serves him a "Shirley Temple" drink. Later, when Shirley is in her room, packing her suitcase, she takes a Shirley Temple doll off the mantle over her fireplace.

This film won the Best Writing, Original Screenplay Oscar for its only Academy Award nomination.

Quotes:

Richard Nugent: Hey, you remind me of a man.

Susan Turner: What man?

Richard Nugent: Man with the power.

Susan Turner: What power?

Richard Nugent: Power of hoodoo.

Susan Turner: Hoodoo?

Richard Nugent: You do.

Susan Turner: Do what?

Richard Nugent: Remind me of a man...

Matt Beemish: I'm the court psychiatrist.

Richard Nugent: Come back in an hour. I'll be crazy by then.

Matt Beemish: A girl her age is entitled to growing pains, isn't she?

Judge Margaret Turner: Yes, but Susan's growing pains are rapidly becoming a major disease.

Richard (Dick) Nugent: How'd you get in here?

Matt Beemish: Well, the door was closed, so I opened it and came right in.

Richard Nugent: [Jerry is sitting in his car in front of the Turner house] Jerry, what are you doing out here? Why don't you go inside?

Jerry White: I'm not welcome. I'm a square in Susan's social circle.

Richard Nugent: Nonsense, I'm sure Susan doesn't know you're out here.

Jerry White: She put me here.

Richard Nugent: Oh.

Waiter at Tick Tock Club: [to Nugent after he has been yelled at, insulted, slapped, had champagne tossed in his face and been stuck with the check] Can I get you anything else, sir?

Richard Nugent: For instance?

Judge Margaret Turner: Mr. Nugent, I have good news.

Richard (Dick) Nugent: You're going to hang me.

Judge Margaret Turner: I'm afraid I'm the one who ought to be hanged.

Richard (Dick) Nugent: Won't I sit down?

Judge Margaret Turner: Please do.

Judge Margaret Turner: It's nothing. I'm sure you didn't know she'd be here.

Richard (Dick) Nugent: Are you sure you're sure I didn't know she'd be here?

Chester Walters: You're charged with hitting the district attorney.

[sic]

Chester Walters: Did you or did you not hit him?

Richard (Dick) Nugent: I hit him. That's right. But at the time I hit him, I did not know he was the ASSISTANT district attorney. If I had known he was the ASSISTANT district attorney... I would have hit him.

Posters:

Directed by Irving Reis.

Distributed by RKO Radio.

Running time: 95 minutes.

Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36.