''Between Us Girls'' is a 1942 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

and starring

Diana Barrymore Diana Blanche Barrymore Blythe (March 3, 1921 – January 25, 1960) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Born Diana Blanche Barrymore Blythe in New York, New York, Diana Barrymore was the daughter of actor John Barrymore and hi ...

, Kay Francis,

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...

, John Boles,

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

, and

Scotty Beckett Scott Hastings Beckett (October 4, 1929 – May 10, 1968) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor in the ''Our Gang'' shorts and later costarred on '' Rocky Jones, Space Ranger''. Early life and career Born in Oakland, Califo ...

."Between Us Girls" at ''Kay Francis Films''
accessed 26 Jan 2014 The film was made by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. It is a remake of the 1934 Austrian film '' A Precocious Girl'' which had been made by the German subsidiary of the company Deutsche Universal. This film is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

due to failure to renew copyright after 27 years.

Plot

Carrie, a strong-willed but mischievous 20-year-old actress, returns from a successful stage play in Detroit to New York to see her mother, Chris. After the two of them meet, Chris tells Carrie that she has a new boyfriend, Steve Forbes. Although she is in love with Steve, Chris admits that, because she worried that he would think of her as old if he knew she had a fully-grown daughter, she had implied to him during their conversations that Carrie was much younger. Determined to help Chris succeed with Steve, Carrie disguises herself as a twelve-year-old, braiding her hair in pigtails, wearing children's clothes, and acting immaturely when Steve and his younger friend Jim Blake arrive. (A picture of Carrie as an adult that Steve and Jim accidentally see is described as Chris' alcoholic sister.) Despite Carrie ostensibly being a child, she and Jim are attracted to one another, and when it is revealed that he has a girlfriend, Carrie concocts an elaborate set of excuses to keep him with her, resulting in his girlfriend leaving him. In one of their outings, Carrie's hand is cut at an ice-cream parlor; in another, she drives a car recklessly and is arrested for speeding, but is able to narrowly escape telling the truth about her age. The night before Carrie is scheduled to return to Detroit to act in a stage adaptation of Joan of Arc, Carrie and Chris go to a nightclub to celebrate, where they run into Steve and Jim. As she appears to be an adult, Carrie is introduced once again as Chris' adult sister, but Jim realizes the truth after seeing the cut on her hand. Jim angrily leaves the party; Carrie follows him, entering his car and explaining the truth to him as he drives. The two of them stop next to a lake, and Jim throws her in for revenge, before driving off. Later, Steve proposes marriage to Chris, and Chris explains the scheme. Meanwhile, after realizing he loves Carrie, Jim sneaks onto the set of Joan of Arc, disguising himself as a knight and proposing to her mid-scene. Without breaking character, Carrie accepts the proposal.

Cast

as Carrie *

as Jim Blake * Kay Francis as Chris * John Boles as Steve J. Forbes *

as Mike Kilinsky *

Ethel Griffies Ethel Griffies (born Ethel Woods; 26 April 1878 – 9 September 1975) was a British actress. She is remembered for portraying the ornithology, ornithologist Mrs. Bundy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic ''The Birds (film), The Birds'' (1963). She app ...

as Gallagher * Walter Catlett as Sergeant * Guinn Williams as Pop *

as Little prince eopold * Andrew Tombes as Doctor *

Mary Treen Mary Treen (born Mary Louise Summers; March 27, 1907 – July 20, 1989) was an American film and television actress. A minor actress for much of her career, she managed to secure a plain, unassuming niche for herself in dozens of movies and t ...

as Marybelle *

Irving Bacon Irving Ernest Bacon (September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar West Bacon (who was a teenager) and Myrtle Vane. He was born ...

as Soda clerk * Walter Woolf King as Actor

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

* Lillian Yarbo as Phoebe, the Maid

Production

The film was originally known as ''Boy Meets Baby''. In January 1942 Universal announced that it would be produced and directed by Henry Koster; Koster had directed most of

Deanna Durbin Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress, who moved to the U.S. from Canada with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1 ...

's films to date but this was his first as producer. The male lead would be Bob Cummings and the script would be by Leonard Spigelglass based on a play by Régis Gignoux and Jacques Théry. Universal wanted

to star but she was reluctant to make the movie. The studio attempted to borrow Mary Lee from Republic but could not agree to terms. In March Universal cast Diana Barrymore who had just made '' Eagle Squadron'' (1941) for the studio. The title was changed to ''Love and Kisses, Caroline''. The role involved the character having to play a 12-year-old girl, Sadie Thompson and Queen Victoria. Studio boss Cliff Work called it "the greatest part for a girl in 20 years." The following month John Boles and Kay Francis joined the cast.

Shooting

Filming took place from April to July 1942. Koster said Barrymore "was a hard person to cope with. She meant well but I think she had some of the mental difficulties her father had. She was always busy with other things when we wanted to shoot her scenes. Also it was not a good picture... They wanted to have a showcase for Diana Barrymore thinking that she might become a great actress. I don't think she had any of the Barrymore talent but she had the Madame Sans-Gene attitude on the set and in her private life. She was, well, may I say the poor man's

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

visited the set to meet Barrymore. The day later Hopper wrote "Diana Barrymore is on the spot. With the great tradition of her family, she

iana The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media types, and other Internet P ...

can't behave like any other star out for a fling... She's likeable but has plenty to learn, and should stop playing around both on the set and in private life, which leads to those rumors floating around. No matter what Jack did, he treated the press as friend and she'd better change her tune – and quickly." Hopper also wrote about an incident on set where Barrymore chased her then boyfriend Bramwell Fletcher all over the set to hit him."It interfered with the scene so Bob Cummings caught her and gave her a good sound spanking", wrote Hopper, "which delighted everybody on the set except for the youngest member of the Royal Family." In June the film was retitled ''Between Us Girls''.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called Barrymore "delightful". Hedda Hopper said "Diana as yet has no grasp of real screen acting. Young, headstrong and inexperienced she's starring in a picture in which she might be better playing a bit." According to ''Filmink'' "This movie is agonising to watch, mostly because Barrymore is called upon to do so much acting and she’s simply not capable of it; you feel sorry for Cummings, who is as professional as ever, and tries desperately to salvage the movie."

References

External links

* * {{Henry Koster 1942 films Films directed by Henry Koster Universal Pictures films 1942 drama films American drama films American remakes of foreign films Remakes of Austrian films American black-and-white films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films English-language drama films