Colibel
Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.
Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
chipe
Don't let the poor reviews here and the low score scare you away from this heart-warming tear-jerker. The cast, led by May Robson, does a fine job. I won't give much away, but this is a story about a decent human being (a school principal) who has devoted her life to guiding children, then has a bad break, but is "rescued" at the end by a wonderful surprise. It is a beautiful morality tale, and I enjoyed it despite some unlikely happenings. The story is so decent and ably presented that it is not so hard to "suspend disbelief" at times, and to tolerate a racial stereotype. The filming in such olden times adds a special glow to the movie, and lets us accept the implausibilities in the story, in fact makes us wistful for those times.
vincentlynch-moonoi
To understand this film, you have to understand films in the early 1930s. Many of them were simplistic morality plays, and that's exactly what this is. And when I say simplistic, I mean simplistic.The much-loved principal of a high school (no principal was ever this loved...and I say that as a retired principal myself) -- Miss Bayles (May Robson) -- attempts to close down a shady "candy store" where her students hang out. It may be sodas out front, but it's gambling in the back room, even for those underage. Miss Bayles opens her own business, but is soon closed down after a fight in her place of business. The school system fires her and takes away her pension. Who should step in? The President of the United States...a former student of hers. But, Miss Bayles never gets back her pension. In today's world, this film is downright stodgy. So why view it? Well, it's nice to see a fine character actress like May Robson get top billing for a change, and she is interesting to watch. As noted in "Wikipedia", Robson was the earliest-born person to enjoy a major Hollywood career. She was also the earliest-born person to receive an Oscar nomination", although not for this film. The latter minutes of this film are as much a tear-jerker of a movie that I've ever seen. And, this film was an early role for Fred MacMurray...his first CREDITED part. Alan Hale plays the shady store owner who turns out to have a heart of gold.Aside from being incredibly stuffy, the biggest problem with this film is the improbability of the script. There are a few young Black actors in the film, and the way their parts were played would be another eyebrow-raiser today.This is a pre-code film, and the one place that shows is when Fred MacMurray, an adult in the film, flirts very strongly with one of the high school girls. It would certainly raise eyebrows today.Worth watching once as a sort of museum piece.
Michael_Elliott
Grand Old Girl (1935) ** (out of 4) May Robson plays a college principle who gives her life to make sure her students get their education and stays out of trouble. All of this is at risk when a local ice cream shop starts an illegal gambling house in one of its back rooms so Robson must go out of her way to get it shut down. This is one of the earliest "teachers doing good" films that I've seen and it's amazing that they even followed familiar turf way back then. The film offers no surprises and plays everything pretty straight without ever trying to be real or serious. The way Robson finally brings down the gambling house is incredibly stupid and the ending, which is meant to be emotional, falls flat on its face. The supporting cast incudes a good performance by Fred MacMurray and a small role from Edward Van Sloan.
75groucho
Set in a small town that may as well have sprung from the pages of Archie & Jughead comics, Mrs. Bayles is the venerable principal of the local high school. She's a kindly soul, dedicated above all to the education and welfare of her students. You can tell as she painstakingly tutors a cement-headed member of the football team in geometry. There's one major bee in her bonnet, though; 'Click' Dade, who runs a gambling den out of the back room of his malt shop (yeah, you read that correctly...) Her own sleuthing turns up enough evidence for an indictment, but not a conviction. Outraged at her concern for the students, the school board issues her a stern warning. Still, she can't resist her urge to serve. When a shy, stuttering boy comes to her, Ms. Bayles tells him of another of her students, many years before. He, too, had been shy and teased by others, but he grew up to be *gasp* PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! Still fighting, the foxy old gal connives to beat Dade at his own game. In a heartwarming scene of good old-fashioned racism, a black student teaches Ms. Bayles how to shoot craps with loaded dice. She wins enough money from Dade to open her own malt shop (with a jazz band, no less), but a fistfight erupts, leading the school board to close her storefront and fire her from the school. She's packing her bags and getting ready to move on, when who should come in to save the day? Yes, Ms. Bayles former pupil, the Chief Executive himself who just happens to be rolling through town in a motorcade. The Prez delivers a lecture on the holy calling that is the life of an educator, and the film ends with the town cheering their Ms. Bayles.Oh, yeah, and there's some stuff about some rich man's party girl daughter who has eyes for a local delivery driver (a young Fred MacMurray), but it's all rather plodding and stagy. Final word on "Grand Old Girl": Not aggressively bad but still not unique enough to be a true curiosity piece. You needn't go out of your way for it.
