JUNIOR PROM

Freddie Stewart

JUNIOR PROM (1946). Director: Arthur Dreifuss.

"You're all acting like a bunch of drips!"

At Whitney High School there's an election for student body president, with the two nominees being Freddie Trimball (Freddie Stewart) and Jimmy Forrest (Jackie Moran of Barefoot Boy). Jimmy's father tells the principal, Professor Townley (Milton Kibbee), that if his son doesn't win the election the school won't get new uniforms or any donation from him. Initially Freddie drops out of the race for the good of the school, although Townley refuses to buckle under. But eventually Freddie and Jimmy run a heated campaign, with Jimmy's manager, Roy (Frankie Darro), going so far as to romance school reporter Betty Rogers (Noel Neill of Superman) to get his man favorable publicity, leading to an estrangement between Betty and her two sisters. Every once in awhile someone, mostly Freddie, breaks out in a song ...

June Preisser and Freddie Stewart

Junior Prom was the first starring role for the now-forgotten Freddie Stewart, an amiable and nice-looking crooner who sang for Tommy Dorsey. Unfortunately, his Hollywood offers only included one from cheapie Monogram studios, who cast him in a series of "Teen Agers" films, of which Junior Prom was the first. His love interest was generally June Preisser [Strike Up the Band], herein cast as Dodie Rogers. He made eight more "Teen Agers" movies even though he was already 21 at the time of filming this flick, and the other "teens" were a bit long-in-the-tooth as well. His various attempts at a comeback were not successful.

Harry the Hipster: This was once the epitome of "cool"

As for Junior Prom, it is also amiable, with some snappy dance numbers and an especially good routine from Preisser during a lively "Teen Canteen" production number, which also features bandleader Abe Lyman (black musician Eddie Heywood appears in an earlier sequence). Another cast member is Warren Mills, who plays the borderline camp and take-charge Lee Watson. "What if you didn't have a boy to take you to the prom?" Dodie asks Lee. "What if I did?" replies Lee, who doesn't seem adverse to the idea even if he's going with Dodie's other sister, Addie (Judy Clark). Murray Davis is cast as fat soda jerk Tiny, but his supposedly funny shtick can sometimes he painful. The picture has the usual tiresome swing vs classical music business. Harry "the Hipster" Gibson, playing himself, does one irritating number. This was his only film appearance.

Verdict: Enthusiastic and talented players, but for most of them this was not an auspicious debut. **3/4.