We Who Are Young Reviews

Dalton Trumbo's screenplay gave the formerly glamorous Turner an opportunity to strut her stuff as a serious actress, and the result was a toning down of the blazing blonde to wistful brunette. The audience much preferred the glitz to the drama, and the studio changed the ad campaign to reflect a poll they took, so the movie's ads did not truly reflect the nature of the story. Turner and Shelton are coworkers who meet, fall in love, and marry. They toil in an accounting office where it is forbidden to marry coworkers, so they must keep their union a secret or lose their positions. They soon find themselves in the same situations most newlyweds face: financial woes, approaching parenthood, etc. Set in New York City, the movie darts quickly as their marriage is disclosed: Turner loses her job, their furniture is repossessed, and, when Shelton gets involved with some loan sharks, he loses his job as well. The final scene shows a desperate Shelton stealing a car to drive the very pregnant Turner to the hospital in time to deliver twins. (Someone must have felt the picture needed a bang-up ending, so they handed us two children for the price of one.) This was but one of many "love against all odds" films of the 1940s, and comparisons between this movie and others of the period were inevitable. Shelton was good and great hopes were placed on him, but the studio didn't groom him in the same fashion they'd done with others, so he faded from sight. Turner showed that she was more than a bust and a smile, and this role helped convince the powers at the top that she had what it took to be a real actress. Lockhart was excellent in his role, as were all the others. It's slow, somewhat predictable, but pleasant for mature audiences or for anyone who has been through the troubles of being young and in love.