''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. Between 1939 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of Esther Evarts. She had a bestseller when Random House published her ''Junior Miss'' collection in 1941.

Broadway

Benson's stories were adapted for theatre by writers

Jerome Chodorov Jerome Chodorov (August 10, 1911 – September 12, 2004) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He co-wrote the book with Joseph A. Fields for the original Broadway musical '' Wonderful Town'' starring Rosalind Russell. The mu ...

and

Joseph Fields Joseph Albert Fields (February 21, 1895 – March 4, 1966)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, Californiaancestry.com/ ...

, by producer Max Gordon, and by director

Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...

. The play had a successful run of 710 performances on Broadway from November 18, 1941, to July 24, 1943. Patricia Peardon had the title role of Judy Graves, a teenager who meddles in people's love lives. The sets for the production were designed by Frederick Fox.

Film

In 1945, 20th Century-Fox released a

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the play by

and

which starred Peggy Ann Garner as Judy Graves.

George Seaton George Seaton (April 17, 1911 – July 28, 1979) was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theater director. Seaton led several industry organizations, serving as a three-time president of the Motion Picture Aca ...

directed. Produced by

William Perlberg William Perlberg (October 22, 1900 in Łódź, Poland – October 31, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) was an American film producer. William Perlberg was born Wolf Perelberg, son of Israel Jakob Perelberg (later: Perlberg), a fur manufacturer ...

, the 94-minute feature was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

on June 16, 1945.

Radio

''Junior Miss'' was featured several times in different formats on U.S. radio. Sponsored by

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

, the first series was broadcast from March 4 to August 26, 1942, with

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

playing the lead character Judy Graves. Priscilla Lyon played her friend, Fuffy Adams, "the odd child from the apartment downstairs." Benson and Doris Gilbert collaborated on writing the show in March, before quitting that April. Broadcast on Wednesday evenings, the program cost $12,000 a week to produce. From 1944 to 1946, a Junior Miss segment, based on Benson's short stories, was a regular feature in the '' Mary Small Show'' (later changed to the ''Mary Small-Junior Miss Show''). In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the ''Junior Miss'' radio program starred Barbara Whiting, who had appeared in the 1945 film as Fuffy Adams. That series ran from April 3, 1948, to December 30, 1950, sponsored by Lever Brothers. The music was composed and conducted by Walter Schumann. The 1948-50 cast returned for another season in various formats and timeslots from October 2, 1952, to July 1, 1954. The film version of ''Junior Miss'' was promoted on radio twice in 1946, with Peggy Ann Garner performing her role as Judy Graves in a shortened version of the film on CBS's '' Hollywood Star Time'' as well as '' The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater''.

Television

Chodorov and Fields’ version of ''Junior Miss'' was adapted as a television musical and broadcast on December 20, 1957, as part of

CBS Television CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's '' DuPont Show of the Month''. Carol Lynley had the lead role of Judy Graves with

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 19 ...

and Joan Bennett as her parents and Susanne Sidney as Fuffy Adams. Others in the cast were Diana Lynn,

Paul Ford Paul Ford Weaver (November 2, 1901 – April 12, 1976) was an American character actor and comedian, comedic actor who came to specialize in portraying authority figures whose ineptitude and pompous demeanor were played for comic effect, notabl ...

, Jill St. John and David Wayne.

References

External links

* {{IBDB show, 4985, Junior Miss 1940s American radio programs 1941 short story collections American short story collections Works originally published in The New Yorker CBS Radio programs Random House books