NICE GIRL?

Franchot Tone, Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack

NICE GIRL? (1941). Director: William A. Seiter.

Small-town girl Jane Dana (Deanna Durbin) has a perfectly swell, handsome boyfriend in Don Webb (Robert Stack of The Tarnished Angels), but wanting to appear more sophisticated, she makes a flagrant play for an older man, Richard Calvert (Franchot Tone of Honeymoon), which only makes her seem like an idiot. That's basically the plot of this dull movie that hasn't enough drama or laughs to make it even worth sitting through -- not even Durbin's singing can save it! There are some good actors in it, including Robert Benchley [The Bride Wore Boots] as Jane's father; Helen Broderick as a housekeeper, Cora; and Walter Brennan (almost looking young) as a mailman who has a hankering for Cora. Ann Gillis and Anne Gwynne play Jane's younger sisters, and we've also got Elisabeth Risdon from the Mexican Spitfire movies and Kenneth Howell from the Jones Family series in much smaller roles.

Verdict: This picture is so slight it hardly seems to exist. *1/2.

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK (1944). Director: Charles Lamont.

After teasing the faculty in a theatrical sketch, Donald Corrigan (Donald O'Connor) is asked to take a brief vacation from Sperling Naval Academy. During this sabbatical he meets Glory (Ann Blyth), the latest in a line of show biz females from the same family, and tries to discourage the attentions of the adoring Peggy (Peggy Ryan). In the meantime, Glory's mother (Helen Vinson) and grandmother (Helen Broderick), both of whom were burned by, respectively, Donald's father (Patric Knowles) and grandfather, try to break up the budding romance between him and the adorable Glory. This is a trifle, but a cute one, with some nice songs ["It's Mighty Nice to Have Met You;" "Mother, Mother, Mother"] and swell performances. O'Connor is charming, Blyth is as cute as a button, Ryan is perky and talented, and Broderick nearly steals the show as the grandmother. Irving Bacon [Ethel's father on I Love Lucy] and Arthur Treacher are also in the cast, as are the 7-year-old whiz kid Joel Kupperman and (briefly) Mantan Moreland as a porter. Years later Peggy Ryan was Jack Lord's secretary on Hawaii 5-0. Blyth's most famous role, of course, was as Veda in Mildred Pierce.

Verdict: For fans of old musicals, O'Connor, and Blyth. **1/2.