Our Hearts Were Young and Gay *** (1944, Gail Russell, Diana Lynn, Charles Ruggles, Dorothy Gish) – Classic Movie Review 10,104

‘FROM THE GAY BEST-SELLER THAT STOLE AMERICA’S HEART!’

Director Lewis Allen’s popular 1944 episodic comedy drama Our Hearts Were Young and Gay stars Gail Russell and Diana Lynn, who give sparky turns as best pals trawling through 1920s Paris and having bundles of fun.

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay is enjoyable, exuberant and entertaining nonsense based on the experiences of Cornelia Otis Skinner (Russell) and her friend Emily Kimbrough (Lynn), as recorded in Skinner’s book Our Hearts Were Young and Gay and Kimbrough’s book We Followed Our Hearts to Hollywood. It is frothy and amusing, with a good cast (notably Charles Ruggles as Otis Skinner and Dorothy Gish as Mrs Skinner) assembled to put it over on screen.

The 1945 sequel, Our Hearts Were Growing Up, is nowhere near as good.

Also in the cast are Beulah Bondi, James Brown, Bill Edwards, Jean Heather, Alma Kruger, Eugene Borden, Edmund Breon, Nell Craig, Roland Dupree, Holmes Herbert, Olaf Hytten, Queenie Leonard, Marie McDonald, Ottola Nesmith, Georges Renavent, Grandon Rhodes, Reginald Sheffield, Will Stanton, Anita Sharp-Bolster and Roland Varno.

This is Gail Russell’s third film, made when she was 21. Paramount had signed her to a seven-year contract in 1943 and dumped her in 1950, mainly because of her drinking problem.

Paramount hired Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough to collaborate with Sheridan Gibney on the screenplay but little of their work remains. Kimbrough also acted as the film’s technical adviser.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,104

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