Customer Reviews

Susan Slept Here

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Susan Slept Here is a great comedy from the golden age of Hollywood. It involves an aged Oscar-winning writer (Dick Powell) whose main goal in life is to duplicate his past success. In passing, he mentions to some cop friends that he'd like to talk to some of the young delinquints they come into contact with to try to get story ideas. On Christmas Eve, the cops bring him just that, a seventeen year old girl (Debbie Reynolds). The writer is more put off by her presence, especially when she continually meddles with his relationship with a glamourous woman. In the end though, he agrees to marry the girl to keep her out of jail. He foresees the marriage ending in an annulment, but she has other ideas.

It is nice to see Dick Powell in a film so late in his career, but he has changed a lot from the baby-faced crooner of the early 30s. His face shows his age which helps some of the comedy, including the line where he admits he is 36 years old. Even without that singing voice and lovable smile, he's great.

Debbie Reynolds is surprisingly good as well. She shows a knack for comedy and a charm that few young actresses possess.

No, I'd never maintain that this sometimes-forgotten 1954 classic has a plot you could easily swallow, but...who cares? The pairing of Powell and Reynolds was a stroke of genius for RKO and director Frank Tashlin (who directed many of those awful Jerry Lewis movies). Things are a bit dated here and there, and the Broadway sitcom cliches of its era often run rampant. But it's still great fun, thanks to a highly accomplished cast and many wryly funny moments. The comedic pacing and dry wit, not to mention plenty of satire about Hollywood itself, will remind you of many well-paced 30's films. But the best parts of this movie are Debbie (before she got trapped and wasted in those Tammy roles), Dick Powell, who does a slendid job in his last starring role, and a game supporting cast that seems incapable of making mistakes with this predictable but enjoyable script. If you aren't accustomed to some of the conventions of 50's movies, you'll undoubtedly howl when Powell confesses to a shocked young Debbie that he's really "middle-aged" (at age 35, no less, though Powell was actually older). A few dated lines notwithstanding, this has always been one of the most enjoyable and polished roles I ever saw from Reynolds or Powell. Don't miss the scene where Powell, a has-been film writer, is watching a late-night movie on tv and glumly lip-synching the torrid lines of a sappy dialogue his character once wrote for a really bad film. Even for the Fifties, there's a certain chic about the way this little romp was put together and performed -- a blessed relief from the often nauseating, in-your-face dumbness of many modern films.

Susan Slept Here is my favorite movie!
Susan Landis(Debbie Reynolds) is a 17-year-old juvenile delinquent who is to be put into jail for 6 months until she is 18. They found her on Christmas Eve, and didn't want to put her into jail on Christmas, so left her with Oscar winning writer, Mark Christopher(Dick Powell). They come back the next day to take her away. The only way that she can stay out of jail is if she is supported by someone. Her mother had left her written permission to marry anytime, so Mark Christopher marries her to keep her out of jail. From there on you'll have have to watch yourself! It is worth it to buy it! A must see for Debbie Reynolds fans!!(For Dick Powell fans too)
It really should be put onto DVD, though. But great movie anyway!!!

OMG, we received this video in a matter of days, sat down with dinner and watched it twice, we all enjoyed it. After the movie, there were some strange homemade movie previews attached about 10 minutes, probably not included in original. All in all it was a great treat to see it after 35 years. Thanks!

I caught this film halfway through on TCM and had to buy it. Watching it from the beginning, I was SO GLAD I did. Most women can remember a high school crush on a teacher, a coach, or some other older gentleman. If he had saved your life (or kept you out of jail), you'd love him even more. But what if you had permission to marry and he had a tender heart? Wouldn't you be like Debbie and try to turn a temporary thing into a permanent thing? And being 17, wouldn't you also be a little confused how to go about it? And if your life were narrated by a statue, wouldn't you like it to be an Oscar?

I do not remember much about this movie except that Don Cornell's hit song "Hold My Hand" was in it. For this fact, I would love to see it again. I wish it would come out on DVD.

Yes, the fifties were different. I know- I am a product of those times. Women tended to marry earlier and start families as soon as they were through with formalities... (some got off to a head start). Debbie Reynolds plays a charming, precocious and very mature looking 17 year old who is in love with a 35 year old man- (Dick Powell was really 50 at the time of this filming, Debbie was actually 22). Now, all that being said, I don't see anything wrong with the older man paradigm (nor the older woman one either) but we are dealing with glorifying this type of relationship with a minor here- and as cute and lush as the movie is, that message is not cute at all when it's played out in real life. Without the farce marriage depicted in the movie, um- it's quite illegal.
Now, if you would have made Susan 14 to 16 in the movie... people would have started to think it was quite sick for this guy to "come to his senses" about his romantic love for the girl- and that wouldn't have flown over well. But, if you make her seventeen... well, that's another story right. She's ALMOST legal.
This movie is a vicarious pleasure for all teenyboppers with crushes on older men- and yes, a lot of us remember crushes like that. It's also a vicarious pleasure for guys who like to see society pass on their playing around the edges. Take out the forbidden fruit factor of Susan being seventeen, and the movie wouldn't have any driving force.
All that said, I can't help but love Debbie Reynolds in anything. The set was retro gorgeous and Ann Francis was just stunning.

I'm only responding to this review because I have received no
response to my numerous e-mails regarding this order! I have
not received this video but yet I was billed for this item on
June 23rd. I have sent three notices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE
someone respond to my inquiries. I am NOT a happy customer!!!!