Some people view this film as a true classic. It made the AFI list for the 100 greatest American movie romances. Some people view the film as a sudsy melodrama.
Wilma Dean Loomis (Natalie Wood, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE) and Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty, REDS) are high school students, who are madly in love. The film is set in 1929, but it could take place today. Wilma Dean feels the pressures of being a “good girl” from her mother (Audrey Christie, THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN) and Bud feels equal pressure from his father Ace (Pat Hingle, HANG ‘EM HIGH) to go to Yale and become a big success. The will of the two younger lovebirds’ parents is forced upon them and drives them apart.
Wilma Dean mentally breaks down and Bud fails at school. Wilma Dean going crazy is big time drama to say the least, but it’s handled in a way that is always honest. Wilma Dean’s feelings are magnified, but come from honest feelings that all teens feel when their first real love goes away for whatever reason. The film is about growing up and falling in love and ultimately losing love. The film could be seen as critical of parents, but I think it argues that the parents do their best, but just try too hard. This ideal is displayed in Wilma Dean’s quiet and caring father Del (Fred Stewart, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT).
I loved how the film naturally flipped the tables at the end and how the ending played every note perfectly. This is a wonderful, bittersweet romance that has a lot of say emotionally about first love, growing up and wanting the best for our kids.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
