Kiss and Tell (1945)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Richard Wallace

Writers:

F. Hugh Herbert (play)
F. Hugh Herbert (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 October 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Corliss Archer, 15, and Mildred Pringle, 17, are best friends, and get into some mischief together which...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Corliss Archer
Jerome Courtland	...	Dexter Franklin
Walter Abel	...	Harry Archer
Katharine Alexander	...	Janet Archer
Robert Benchley	...	Uncle George Archer
Porter Hall	...	Bill Franklin
Virginia Welles	...	Mildred Pringle
Tom Tully	...	Bob Pringle
Darryl Hickman	...	Raymond Pringle
Mary Philips	...	Dorothy Pringle
Scott McKay	...	Pvt. Jimmy Earhart
Scott Elliott	...	Lt. Lenny Archer
Kathryn Card	...	Louise
Edna Holland	...	Mrs. Mary Franklin

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Kiss and Tell opened at the Biltmore Theater on March 17, 1943 and ran for an incredible 956 performances.

Quotes:

Dexter Franklin: [entering after Corliss says that Dexter is the father of her baby] Hi, everybody.
Harry Archer: Get out of my sight, you vile, unspeakable, shameless, filthy, little swine!
Dexter Franklin: [thinking he's referring to the previous day when he had slapped Corliss on the arm] Gee whiz, I'm sorry. It'll never happen again.
Janet Archer: Harry, please, I implore, control yourself. Murdering him isn't going to do any good.
Dexter Franklin: Holy cow. It was Corliss' fault as much as it was mine.
Harry Archer: You filthy, little cad!
Corliss Archer: Oh, Dexter! Dexter, you don't know what you're saying!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Followed by A Kiss for Corliss (1949)

One of the more enjoyable Temple teen-ager movies...

KISS AND TELL with Shirley as Corliss Archer is the kind of family comedy rampant in the '40s and '50s--but what seemed mighty funny back then doesn't have quite the same punch today. In other words, all the material is slightly dated and the genuine laughs in the script by F. Hugh Herbert are few and far between.

Nevertheless, it's one of Shirley's most appealing performances as a teen-ager and she seems to be enjoying herself immensely. She has good support from Jerome Courtland, as an awkward neighborhood boy, and Walter Abel as her exasperated father and Katharine Alexander as his patient wife. I believe Shirley had already played Corliss Archer on radio and certainly had an affinity for this sort of role.

I recall enjoying it much more years ago. A recent viewing of the film left me much less impressed with the overall result. It seemed to be straining a bit hard for laughs and the material was very thin.