Okay, Troy Donahue is no Spencer Tracy. And Connie Stevens is no Katherine Hepburn. But if you can get past expecting top notch acting, and settle for "decent" acting, then this is a pretty enjoyable film. Yes, it's a bit dated, but if you don't think similar things happen today with unwed mothers, then you're naive.
There is one other problem with the film. The age of all the parents. The "kids" are all near 20 years old, but the parents are clearly well above 50. Not impossible in real life, but all of them are older? But I'm kinda glad they were cast that way because we get to see some wonderful older actors. Oh, there are 2 other little problems. First, some of the background music seems inane. Second, some of the cinematography is clearly out of focus, and it has nothing to do with the age of the film, it has to do with out of focus lenses. Neither of these is enough to make you not want to watch the film, but they are a bit annoying.
So, Connie Stevens has lived a rather sheltered life -- at least in terms of dating -- under adoring parents. On shipboard she meets a young man who gets her pregnant (we never really figure out whether he loved her or not). He's a mountain climber, and seems more attentive to that than to her...and then he dies in a climb. Given the era, her parents concoct a scheme to protect her reputation and that of the baby to be born by going to work in Guatemala for 2 years while the baby is born and then pretending it is the mother's (Dorothy McGuire) baby. Upon their return, it seems to be working, although Stevens resents the situation and slowly falls in love with a poor and somewhat disgraced Troy Donahue. Will she marry a rich boy (Bert Convy) or a poor boy; as if we didn't know.
Troy Donahue always reminded me of Howard Johnson's restaurants back in the day. You never got a bad meal. But you never got a particularly good meal, either. Sort of like Donahue's acting. He was "okay", and "okay" here. A little stiff in spots, but "passable". It's hard not to notice how tall he was (6'3"), particularly when kissing the short Stevens.
In terms of acting, Connie Stevens was another Howard Johnsons' type. "Passable".
On the other hand, Dorothy McGuire (Stevens' mother here) was always a wonderful actress, and rather shines here. As does Lloyd Nolan as Stevens' father. The same for supporting actor Brian Aherne, who was probably better in supporting roles than when he was given a starring role. Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Howell on "Gilligan's Island" is here as the mother of the rich boy and friend of the family, and Aherne's husband); it's actually nice to see her in a straight role, although let's face it, she was "odd". Bert Convy could act? Who knew? Although he was handsome as heck here.
This ain't Shakespeare, but it's a rather pleasant diversion. And it always amazes me how Delmer Daves (director) fell into these types of romantic stories after a career of totally different types of films; he seemed to do pretty well at both types.
There is one other problem with the film. The age of all the parents. The "kids" are all near 20 years old, but the parents are clearly well above 50. Not impossible in real life, but all of them are older? But I'm kinda glad they were cast that way because we get to see some wonderful older actors. Oh, there are 2 other little problems. First, some of the background music seems inane. Second, some of the cinematography is clearly out of focus, and it has nothing to do with the age of the film, it has to do with out of focus lenses. Neither of these is enough to make you not want to watch the film, but they are a bit annoying.
So, Connie Stevens has lived a rather sheltered life -- at least in terms of dating -- under adoring parents. On shipboard she meets a young man who gets her pregnant (we never really figure out whether he loved her or not). He's a mountain climber, and seems more attentive to that than to her...and then he dies in a climb. Given the era, her parents concoct a scheme to protect her reputation and that of the baby to be born by going to work in Guatemala for 2 years while the baby is born and then pretending it is the mother's (Dorothy McGuire) baby. Upon their return, it seems to be working, although Stevens resents the situation and slowly falls in love with a poor and somewhat disgraced Troy Donahue. Will she marry a rich boy (Bert Convy) or a poor boy; as if we didn't know.
Troy Donahue always reminded me of Howard Johnson's restaurants back in the day. You never got a bad meal. But you never got a particularly good meal, either. Sort of like Donahue's acting. He was "okay", and "okay" here. A little stiff in spots, but "passable". It's hard not to notice how tall he was (6'3"), particularly when kissing the short Stevens.
In terms of acting, Connie Stevens was another Howard Johnsons' type. "Passable".
On the other hand, Dorothy McGuire (Stevens' mother here) was always a wonderful actress, and rather shines here. As does Lloyd Nolan as Stevens' father. The same for supporting actor Brian Aherne, who was probably better in supporting roles than when he was given a starring role. Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Howell on "Gilligan's Island" is here as the mother of the rich boy and friend of the family, and Aherne's husband); it's actually nice to see her in a straight role, although let's face it, she was "odd". Bert Convy could act? Who knew? Although he was handsome as heck here.
This ain't Shakespeare, but it's a rather pleasant diversion. And it always amazes me how Delmer Daves (director) fell into these types of romantic stories after a career of totally different types of films; he seemed to do pretty well at both types.