User Reviews

"Take Care of My Little Girl" is a tale of college and sorority life in the 1950s. Jeanne Crain is charming as the young woman who finds out that being in a sorority is not exactly as her mother described.

Not that Crain has it all that rough - how bad can things be when you've got Jeffrey Hunter and Dale Robertson making eyes at you? Despite the prettiness of the outward package of young stars, the film has a serious message about snobbery, shallowness, and hazing (which still hits the news today).

There are very good performances here from Crain, who is perfect for her role as a college freshman, Robertson, a student on the GI bill, Hunter, a big man on campus, and Jean Peters does a great job as the uberbitch. It's a film rich in college atmosphere.

I can't imagine the movie made money. There's no real action, the love interest is secondary, and the story deals with a narrow topic of interest-- sororities and fraternities on college campus. Yet, for those concerned with class privilege and how it perpetuates itself within a democratic society, the movie remains an eye-opener.

Because of her beauty and personality, freshman Liz Erickson (Jean Crane) is accepted by the best sororities on campus. She's been primed for sorority life by her mother, an alumnus of the Tri-U's (Upisilon, Upsilon, Upsilon) and now a solid upper-class citizen. Liz is enthralled by the Tri-U's, where she finds girls just like herself, uplifting rituals and "friends for life", just as Mom said. It's everything she thought a sorority would be, so she pledges. On the other hand, there may be overt snobbery from the flashy Dallas (Jean Peters) and sarcastic barbs from the non-conforming Casey (Carol Brannon), but Liz hardly notices.

Nor does she take seriously critical comments from hunky upperclass man Joe Blake (Dale Robertson), who says that sororities are just a stage she will have to get through. He is, after all, an older ex-veteran and, more importantly, an independent, non-fraternity man. He may not be much like her or her background, but Liz is drawn to his maturity anyway. At the same time, however, she's overwhelmed by pretty-boy fraternity man Chad Carnes (Jeffrey Hunter), the Big Man on Campus. After a brief dating period, he"pins" her ("engaged" to be engaged). All in all, life among the Tri-U's appears to be going swimmingly.

But unlike her mother, there is a depth to Liz that she has yet to realize. Thus, she gets upset when Janet, her life-long friend, leaves campus because the Tri-U's did not pledge her. At the same time, she befriends Ruthie, an inept plain-Jane shunned by the others, whom the the Tri-U's are obliged to pledge because her mother was a Tri-U. So, at a pivotal point in her young years, Liz finds out that life may be more complicated than she thought and that important values she's taken for granted may in fact conflict with one another. The dilemma is that her upbringing and expectations are drawing her toward the Tri-U's, but her instincts are taking notice of unsettling signals that Mom likely passed over .

With one exception, it's an excellent screenplay that tries to provide a balanced view of the fraternity-sorority system. (The exception-- I thought Chad's corruptive cheating scheme was too prejudicial to the movie's outcome.) The story's core lies with the Tri-U's deliberations over who should be pledged and why. There we find out in fairly subtle fashion that a moneyed background makes a definite difference and that the Tri-U reputation cannot be risked by trying to raise a hapless candidate like Ruthie up to their elite standards. In short, status is ultimately more important than the human costs.

To the movie's credit, the deliberative process is not depicted in a vicious or one-sided way. Rather it's portrayed as a fairly thoughtful discussion in which status finally overcomes all other considerations because the girls respect tradition and have an understandable self- interest in maintaining exclusive standards. Thus, should Liz follow through with initiation (Hell Week), she is on track to a secure future guaranteed by her sorority status and a circle of the right associations. On the other hand, dropping out of the system guarantees nothing, except maybe Joe and a risky new independence of mind. I like the way the script has her waver right up to the end. It is a difficult life-shaping decision.

The terms of the plot are worth elaborating because movies have seldom made the subtleties of class distinction central to story-line. After all, America is defined by two foundational institutions-- democracy and capitalism. The former enshrines equality, while the latter depends on privileges of wealth. Exploring how much the two conflict, as well as combine, is the sort of touchy topic never popular in Hollywood. Nonetheless, the movie's basic conflict ultimately involves these two key American ideals .

I suspect the film was conceived as a vehicle for Fox's younger stars. Then too, this 1951 release was likely too low-key for its own good, such that the only notice came from its attractive stars. Certainly, professional reviewers largely skipped over the film, focusing on the glossy Technicolor surface instead, a Fox hallmark of the period. Still and all, the topic is sensitively handled by both the cast and ace director Jean Negulesco, while the subtext remains as relevant now as it was then. The movie may have been intended as a vehicle, but the Epstein brothers managed to come up with a screenplay of some depth. In my book, the movie remains a neglected little gem, with one of the more memorable last lines in all filmdom.

Mom. Apple pie. Americana. This looked like it was going to be cliché ridden but I was pleasantly surprised.

Of course, it seems in this film that college was meant for total partying, rushes and everything else associated with a non-academic life.

The film succeeds because it deals with human values, rejection and ultimate redemption.

It is also successful because it dealt with the snobbishness of some of these sororities. Lord knows the various religious and racial biases that were practiced as well.

I felt that Dale Robertson was miscast here. Can you really fathom him as a World War 11 veteran, now a college senior bucking for pre-med?

Interesting to see Jeanne Crain as our heroine here in some scenes with Helen Westcott. You remember Westcott? She was the one (Jane Marsh) who changed seats with Susan Hayward (Jane Froman) in the hit "With A Song in My Heart," the following year. Crain was all set to play Froman until Hayward wisely got the part. The ironies of movie making.

Some real moral dilemmas are depicted here. Cheating as one. Can you imagine getting away with this? Jeff Hunter, our young college stud, actually does. He gives a nice performance here.

This is certainly one movie that should be shown more often.

I saw this film a few years ago on television and loved it. Having been a member of a fraternity in high school, I was quite impressed with its topic: Life on a college campus and pledging to enter a sorority. The best roles (and I find these the closest to real life characters) go to Jeffrey Hunter, as the fraternity snake, and Jean Peters, as the fashion conscious snob that demands "perfection" from rookie Jeanne Crain. The acting in general is superb (an impressive cast was assembled that includes Mitzi Gaynor, Helen Wescott and Nataly Shaeffer of Gilligan's Island, among them), but Peters and Hunter do the greatest job. You could see their potential as actors that early in their careers (no wonder they went on to become top stars in the 50s). Jean Negulesco's direction is nimble. It moves from comedy to drama with ease and allows us a peek into sorority life (which, I agree, has not changed much since those years). The movie is in glorious Technicolor and very well photographed. PLEASE, get it into DVD. This is a true classic!

Released in l95l and not often revived, this well-made blend of comedy and social criticism attacks the American sorority-fraternity system that once prevailed in our colleges and dictated the values of former generations. The heroine, beautifully acted by Jeanne Crain, is the "little Girl" sent to a fashionable college where her mother had once reigned as a sorority queen. Slowly, and abetted by a gently cynical former soldier, Crain sees that the snobbery fostered by trendy sorority "girls" and "boys" can disturb and even destroy pledgees too weak or insecure to fight the system. Fine performances are given by Dale Robertson, as Crain's ally and boyfriend, Jeffrey Hunter in one of his earliest triumphs as a frat-boy narcissist, and the late Jean Peters, who is alluring and a trifle menacing as a sorority girl who measures people by the cut of their clothes. Atmospheric in its delineation of campus life and rituals and graced by first-class production values, "Take Care of My Little Girl" should be available to new audiences on videotape (and theater revivals). It's a film that Martin Scorsese appreciated before making his own films.

Jeanne Crain is the little girl whose father is worried about when she becomes a college freshman. Veterans from WWII use the G.I. Bill to attend college, and although one might think they are the ones she needed protection from, it turns out that they protect her from the immature guys her own age. Dale Robertson is her main protector. In the process of taking care of her, he manages to impress her with what college should be about. The emphasis was on learning something worthwhile, and keeping the partying and fun in perspective. He had a positive influence on her, and me as well.

I am disappointed that this movie has never been made available on videotape, at least as far as I know. I would really like to see it again. Perhaps someday they will get around to taping it, but it doesn't look very promising.

Jeanne Crain is accepted in her mother's sorority house, when she goes off to college. And, she finds that life there is not that simple. I went into this film, not expecting much and thinking it would be some lightweight fluff with good looking people. But I was pleasantly surprised to find much depth and reality in the girls' quest to fit in the mix and be accepted by the other girls. The film manages to get the viewer past the feeling of why should I care? with a good performances especially by Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters and Dale Robertson, who was quite good looking in a real way. He actually looks like down-home people, rather than a model with to-die-for looks, like Jeffrey Hunter does, who is here in a small role. The repercussions of actions and hurt feelings make the viewer understand the reality of sorority life and Jeanne Crain must make a decision of what is important to her. This may feel like a b-picture with small production values, but that attribute also helps with its simple and direct effect on the viewer. Watch "Take Care of My Little Girl" and enter the world of young girls trying to fit in, as they mature into young women.

When I went through sorority rush just two years after this movie came out, one of the faculty sponsors made it a point to tell us that the sororities at our college were nothing like those in "Take Care of My Little Girl". I'm sure I wasn't the only one to feel mightily relieved. But I see, in more recent TV series and movies, the stereotypes still prevail. The fraternity men are still referred to as "frat" boys, and it's always assumed that Greeks do nothing with their time but drink and have toga parties. I'm so happy my own Greek experience, and that of my husband, were nothing at all like that, and in fact, were the most valuable experiences of our college lives.

Not the worst, but this film is now very dated, and you may be amused at the formality of costumes (white gloves, tailored suits) for college freshmen.

The film covers the concerns of Liz (well-portrayed by Jeanne Crain), a new college freshman whose mother cannot wait for her to join the same sorority. At first Liz is gung-ho, attending all rush parties, eventually rushing for Tri Nu. She meets Chad, the resident big man on campus, whom she finally begins dating, and becomes popular. She even cheats on his French exam so he can pass his course.

Many girls are weeded out, if they don't look right for the sorority. The film doesn't clarify how the girls are eliminated, but they are ostracized, seemingly because they aren't as outgoing, or seventeen-ish magazine quality (whatecer that was, at the time). Janet Hippenstall is outright rejected, and Ruth is de-pledged, presumably because she owes money to Symington's department store.

The independents reside at Huyler Hall, where the lesser mortals reside. While the theme does cover relevant issues of discrimination and exclusion, it is rather vague and shallow, and reminded me of the film "Imitation of Life" by Douglas Sirk, from the same era. It glosses over the real issues of class distinction, and never really makes an impression. And of course, the new boyfriend always comes to the rescue. Worth seeing as a curiosity, and some of the campus scenery is pretty. 7/10.

Saw the movie as a kid. Later it was a play and my senior HS class put it on. I got the Dale Robertson role and a girl I had a crush on got the Jeanne Crain role. We rehearsed a few times, loved it, but then the teacher, Mrs. Spencer, dropped it. Son of a gun, would have loved to have done it. Soon after, I learned that it was dropped because the girl I had a crush on did not want to do it. Life goes on.

The movie is running right now on TCM and this is the first time I've seen it since then. As an adult, became a working actor for several years and am doing it again now that I'm a retiree. Am in the movie "Fighting" now in theaters and "The Rebound" coming out soon.

Neither of my parents pledged a fraternity or sorority during their college days, so I don't have their stories for reference, but I did experience college fraternity and sorority trappings myself when I was in college. I didn't have the desire nor funds to pledge, but I was affected none-the-less by effectively losing my close friends when they pledged. The movie was true to life in that regard, in how it shows the cliques that form and prejudices and alienation against those who aren't pledged. As for the subject matter, I'm sure those who pledged would be able to judge the accuracies of what happened to them versus the characters.

The acting was interesting. Being as though this was a film early in the careers of many aspiring talents, I have to say I gave their abilities a break as much as I could, but their melodrama was trying my nerves. It isn't surprising that a great many of the cast ended up with B-Z careers. As I watched, I kept wondering what direction Negulesco was giving to the talent, as they seemed almost out of control with their rigid overacting. They were people pretending to be in a situation, not people becoming real and believable characters. I compared TCoMLG to "Daddy Long Legs" and "Johnny Belinda" only to come away with the realization that Negulesco didn't seem to pull anything from the actors, resulting in a lack of believability on par with a middle-school play. A few passable moments was all that came through, filling the rest of the movie with stiff melodrama. I never connected with a character in the film, and that is the fault of the director...and I am a Jeanne Crain fan! The cinematography was dull and very studioesque. Jackson definitely kept the scenes simple, leaving creativity outside the studio gates. This film was close to the end of his career, and being as though most of his career was spent in the very early days of the medium, it is my impression he believed in getting the basics, just the basics and only the basics. Shot selection, which should have been decided upon by the director and cinematographer, was boring. The only thing visually interesting in the film was the crazy hell week costumes and gags.

The dialog was fake and unbelievable, leaving the actors with very little to work with. It was as if the dialog was written by someone who had never had a real conversation in their life. The plot itself seemed forced, as the climax sailed into a "everything is going to be just fine, i have learned my lesson" along with a morality filled no-shucks about it Hollywood ending.

The best part of the film was seeing Mrs Howell from Gilligan's Island, Thelma Lou from Andy Griffith and Christopher Pike from Star Trek in very early roles.

The movie isn't unbearable; it IS watchable. If you want to see Jeanne Crain in other classics where she has better direction, give State Fair or A Letter to Three Wives a look. Even better is Dangerous Crossing. If you want to see Negulesco's better work, give Three Came Home a watch. All of these recommendations have better scripts, better acting and direction, more visually interesting, and characters that are potentially connectible to the viewer.

To be honest, it's not a great or landmark film. The themes are kind of dated - I don't remember fraternities or sororities singing like this when I was in college in the 80's - and the script not particularly snappy or clever. However, it was easy and fun to sit and watch this movie, like wearing the comfortable old slippers that my wife hates. After all, does the script really matter terribly, when you get to watch the talented and incredibly beautiful (and in color!) Jeanne Crain, the great Dale Robertson (being extra wise and folksy) and a strong early performance by (later) John Ford favorite Jeffrey Hunter? Ms. Crain is a fantastic and subtle actress - watch how frequently the camera lovingly lingers on her face, and how she so exquisitely expresses her thoughts with only the lightest changes of facial expression. And when she gets that dreamy look, with her eyes half closed - that look that is all Jeanne Crain's.....

Enjoy the actors, don't expect too much, and you will enjoy this odd entry from the early 1950's.

Although the release date is listed in the description as 1951, this film was released in the US prior to Sept. 1950 when I saw it as a college freshman at orientation. At the time we (the audience) thought it was a big joke because it certainly wasn't representative of Greek organizations on our campus. Since then, I have found that there are places where the ridiculous situations depicted in this film not only existed, but are still in existence. The film is an overt attack on all fraternities and sororities, well justified if they operate as the organizations depicted in this film. However, this is not the case and most Greek organizations today are a benefit to their individual members, their campus, and the local communities where they reside.