Forever Female Reviews

Fast-paced and funny adaptation of Sir James Barrie's play "Rosalind" brought up-to-date with several twists added. Smacking slightly of ALL ABOUT EVE, it tells the story of a young supermarket employee, Holden, who writes his first play about a nineteen-year-old girl and her forceful mother. Holden truly believes he is a modern-day Shakespeare and is adamant about changes (as so many fledgling authors are). He meets Rogers, an aging leading lady, and her ex-husband, Paul Douglas, a stage producer. Douglas agrees to mount the play if Holden alters the age of the lead to 29 so Rogers can play it believably. (Rogers was actually 42 at the time.) Meanwhile, pert Crowley, sort of an Eve to Rogers' Margo, wants the teenage role. Holden bows to pressure and rewrites the play to fit Rogers, but it flops on the road. Holden is terribly charming and both Rogers and Crowley fall in love with him. All that is assuaged when Douglas engineers it so Crowley and Holden get together, thus clearing the way for a reconciliation between him and Rogers. Lots of bright lines, many of them inside jokes for show people, by the Epstein brothers. Rogers overplays somewhat but not enough to cause any winces. Reeves (TV's "Superman") is good as one of Rogers' hangers-on and James Gleason does his usual excellent job in a supporting role. Marjorie Rambeau plays herself in a Sardi's scene and sparkles. Look for Grant (Mrs. Bing Crosby) as one of the young hopefuls. Her name was still Grandstaff at the time and she goes by very quickly. Jesse White turns in one of his patented good jobs as a New York columnist. The Epsteins wrote many excellent films, not the least of which was CASABLANCA (with Howard Koch). For that alone, you might enjoy their comedy talents in this film. They were always together, so much so that when Jack Warner was walking across his lot and saw one of them, he automatically said, "Hi, boys."