Too Young to Kiss

Too Young to Kiss
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Z. Leonard
Produced by	Sam Zimbalist
Written by	Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
Story by	Everett Freeman
Starring	June Allyson Van Johnson
Music by	Johnny Green (musical direction)
Cinematography	Joseph Ruttenberg, A.S.C.
Edited by	Conrad A. Nervig, A.C.E.
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	November 22, 1951 (United States)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.4 million[1]
Box office	$2.3 million[1]

Too Young to Kiss is a 1951 American romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring June Allyson and Van Johnson.^[2] It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore).^[3] For her performance in the film, Allyson received the 1951 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Plot

Eric Wainwright (Van Johnson), a busy impresario, is besieged by hordes of wannabe concert stars, eager for their big break. One of them is Cynthia Potter (June Allyson), a talented pianist, but she can't get in to see him. When she learns that Wainwright is auditioning young musicians for a children's concert tour, Cynthia dons braces and bobby sox and passes herself off as a child prodigy.^[4]

Cast

Opening credits June Allyson Van Johnson Gig Young Paula Corday Kathryn Givney Larry Keating Hans Conried

End credits June Allyson as Cynthia Potter Van Johnson as Eric Wainwright Gig Young as John Tirsen Paula Corday as Denise Dorcet Kathryn Givney as Miss Benson Larry Keating as Danny Cutler Hans Conried as Mr. Sparrow Esther Dale as Mrs. Boykin Antonio Filauri as Veloti Jo Gilbert as Gloria Alexander Steinert as Conductor

Unbilled Teddy Infuhr as Jeffrey Ruthelma Stevens as Jeffrey's mother Ludwig Stössel as German accompanist Josephine Whittell as Mrs. Fullerton Ernő Verebes as Headwaiter Peter Brocco as Waiter Everett Glass as Druggist Larry Harmon as Photographer Matt Moore as Charles John Maxwell as Conductor Betty Farrington

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $1,602,000 in the US and Canada and $706,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $30,000.^[1]

Turner Classic Movies showing

Turner Classic Movies presented Too Young to Kiss on October 7, 2015 in commemoration of what would have been June Allyson's 98th birthday. Shown before Too Young to Kiss was 1946's The Secret Heart, 1945's The Sailor Takes a Wife, 1946's Two Sisters from Boston, 1947's Good News, 1948's The Bride Goes Wild, 1949's Little Women and 1950's The Reformer and the Redhead.

References

1. The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
2. "Let's Talk Shop with Polly: Too Young to Kiss… that's what Van thought… till June gave with a demonstration!" (Spartanburg Herald-Journal, December 2, 1951, page C9)
3. "NY Times: Too Young to Kiss". NY Times. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
4. "June Allyson, playing the role of a juvenile, too young to kiss, in the comedy by the same name, shows her reactions when Van Johnson threatens to kiss the lips she stuck out" (The Milwaukee Journal, December 13, 1951, Entertainment section, page 1)

External links

• Too Young to Kiss at the Internet Movie Database
• Too Young to Kiss at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Too Young to Kiss at the TCM Movie Database
• Too Young to Kiss at AllMovie
• Too Young to Kiss at TV Guide (a revised version of 1987 write-up originally published in The Motion Picture Guide)