TEENAGE REBEL

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TEENAGE REBEL (director/writer: Edmund Goulding; screenwriters: from the play A Roomful of Roses by Edith R. Sommer/Charles Brackett/Walter Reich; cinematographer: Joseph MacDonald; editor: William Mace; music: Leigh Harline; cast: Ginger Rogers (Nancy Fallon), Betty Lou Keim (Dodie), Michael Rennie (Jay Fallon), Lili Gentle (Gloria), Mildred Natwick (Grace Hewitt), Warren Berlinger (Dick Hewitt), Diane Jergens (Jane Hewitt), Rusty Swope (Larry Fallon), Louise Beavers (Willamay). John Stephenson (Eric McGowan), Irene Hervey (Helen McGowan); Runtime: 94; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Charles Brackett; Twentieth Century Fox; 1956)
This is the 45-year-old Ginger’s last starring film role.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A sweet and poignant family drama finely directed by the underrated filmmaker Edmund Goulding(“Riptide”/”Grand Hotel”/”Nightmare Alley”). It’s based on the play A Roomful of Roses by Edith R. Sommer. Writers Charles Brackett and Walter Reich keep it Broadway smart.

The wealthy Californian Nancy Fallon (Ginger Rogers) welcomes back her troubled estranged teenage daughter Dodie (Betty Lou Keim, played the same role on the stage), who lived with her father after the divorce. The rebellious Dodie is difficult to get along with and is antagonistic to her step-dad (Michael Rennie) and her droll step-brother (Rusty Swope). Things change when mom recognizes how insecure and lonely she is, and relates to her in a way that breaks through her wall of hostility.

This is the 45-year-old Ginger’s last starring film role.

Musical numbers include “Cool It, Baby” and “Dodie.”

REVIEWED ON 2/24/2015 GRADE: B-

Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”

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