The Trouble with Angels (1966) :
Brief Review -
A scathingly brilliant drama of teenage naughtiness turning into lifetime maturity. I have seen some of actress Ida Lupino's films, but I wasn't aware that she was a good director too. The girl who acted in films like "They Drive By Night" (1940), "The Sea Wolf" (1941), and "High Sierra" (1941) directed a delightful film like "The Trouble with Angels." How!? Glad to know that. And the film isn't disappointing either. The Trouble with Angels is a teenage comedy for all the teenagers who have naughtiness in their blood, especially the girls. Having seen enough classics on boys that were set in an orphanage, school, hostel, and rehabilitation centre, I could understand how strongly girls would have felt this film. It's a comedy, but it has a heart in the right place. The melodrama is missing, which would've only helped with the emotional empowerment of the film. Nevertheless, there is some vibe, some attachment, that makes you love the film and forget the shortcomings. Two high-spirited young students at St. Francis Academy, Mary and Rachel, keep things hopping for the challenged Mother Superior and her staff of bewildered Sisters. They spend the whole graduation process with childhood fun and teenage energy, and they forget that real life starts right after this. Those last moments of maturity come quickly, and let me tell you, it happens to all of us. We spend school and high school days having fun, and suddenly, just before the last semester, we realise that it's all going to end soon. These last few weeks capsulate us with the lifetime maturity that we failed to learn in all those years. Ida Lupino makes you realise that and makes you leave grinning with a slight rush of tears. Hayley Mills, June Harding, and Rosalind Russell are marvelous. The screenplay, dialogue, and message, as well as the outcome, will stay with you and your grown kids.
RATING - 7/10*
By - samthebestest.
A scathingly brilliant drama of teenage naughtiness turning into lifetime maturity. I have seen some of actress Ida Lupino's films, but I wasn't aware that she was a good director too. The girl who acted in films like "They Drive By Night" (1940), "The Sea Wolf" (1941), and "High Sierra" (1941) directed a delightful film like "The Trouble with Angels." How!? Glad to know that. And the film isn't disappointing either. The Trouble with Angels is a teenage comedy for all the teenagers who have naughtiness in their blood, especially the girls. Having seen enough classics on boys that were set in an orphanage, school, hostel, and rehabilitation centre, I could understand how strongly girls would have felt this film. It's a comedy, but it has a heart in the right place. The melodrama is missing, which would've only helped with the emotional empowerment of the film. Nevertheless, there is some vibe, some attachment, that makes you love the film and forget the shortcomings. Two high-spirited young students at St. Francis Academy, Mary and Rachel, keep things hopping for the challenged Mother Superior and her staff of bewildered Sisters. They spend the whole graduation process with childhood fun and teenage energy, and they forget that real life starts right after this. Those last moments of maturity come quickly, and let me tell you, it happens to all of us. We spend school and high school days having fun, and suddenly, just before the last semester, we realise that it's all going to end soon. These last few weeks capsulate us with the lifetime maturity that we failed to learn in all those years. Ida Lupino makes you realise that and makes you leave grinning with a slight rush of tears. Hayley Mills, June Harding, and Rosalind Russell are marvelous. The screenplay, dialogue, and message, as well as the outcome, will stay with you and your grown kids.
RATING - 7/10*
By - samthebestest.