Evening star., 1943-07-09

chances are that audiences will also
have a good time watching her even
though she fails to bewitch them
into the notion that 1.-The Youngest
Profession" is anything more than =
fairly routine piece of domestic
comedy.
The Youngest Profession" which
is an arresting title, has to do with
autograph collecting, silly practice
but incurably human and incredibly
waSteful of energy.
BY building a motion picture
around it, however, M-G-M has been
enabled to create kind of intimate
home movie of studio family life
Into, the running account of Miss
Weidler's autograph collecting it in
jeets such of its bright stars as Greer
Carson and Walter Pidgeon, Robert
Taylor, Lana Turner and William
Powell. They make quite collection
of supporting players, as every one
can see. and since they merely play
themselves it is an honor for Miss
Weidler to have them around and
not uninteresting to audiences.
Because the collecting of auto
graphs would not make enough of
story, THE Youngest Profession"
has been given a Junior miss twist
That is to say. its basic theme is one
of the child who imagines things are
going amiss between her parents and
undertakes to straighten them out
with the usual disastrous results
That always has been pretty funny
story and the authors of this version
have been safe in assuming that it
is not worn out yet. 1t reaches its
climax for this instance when the
child hires carnival Adonis to pay
court to her mother in order to make
the father jealous.
The best role in the picture. we
are afraid. is not that of its star nor
any of the big-name ladies and
gentlemen who collaborate with her
in the autograph collecting passages.
1t is, rather, that played by Edward
Arnold. a big-business father with
only the noblest of intentions toward
his family, whose very kindly gesture
is misunderstood with virtually dis
aStrous results. The corpulent Arnold
who has epitomized so many evil
social and human traits in the past
obviously loves this romp with the
kiddies. His patent intention to
make something arresting Of it bears
fine, if not prize winning, fruit.
The method of bringing the mis-
cellaneous name-giving stars into
the picture has been casualness
itself. 1t looks awkward only in the
case of Miss Turner. who seems
rather to have been taken by sur
prise while mulling over her fan
mail. The others just saunter into
the story looking as poised and ami
able as you please. especially Powell,
who appears just long enough to
give the picture an amusing dead
pan ending.
AS we say you probably will find
The Youngest Profession" agreeable
even if it falls short of taking full
advantage of its possibilities.
Gene Ford has thought up a
sparkling stage show to go with the |
Capitols screen attraction. Its |
brightest elements are the comedy |
of Henny Youngman, an amusing |
chap who is one of the few come
dians who likes fresh material, and |
Mitzi Mayfair, who is prettier than
ever and still one of our favorite |
dancers.
Miss Mayfair, who has Just COW
cred $1,000 miles OF war tneaters.
which shows what big war this one
is, enhances the appeal of her inter-
lude by telling some interesting
tales of battlefront entertainment
The most human of them is the one
Of trying to get a chocolate soda !