That Hagen Girl (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
A baby girl named Mary (Shirley Temple, later in adolescence) is adopted from an Illinois orphanage into a small town family in 'That Hagen Girl' (a drama directed by Peter Godfrey). Things seem fine, but instead of finding happiness, she actually finds her life to be a living nightmare due to neighbors' constant scrutiny/speculation as to her father's identity (Mary does not have the same eye/hair color as her 'parents'). The malicious gossip around town (Jordan, Ohio) is that she is the illegitimate daughter of a prominent lawyer/former resident, Tom Bates (Ronald Reagan, yes, that Ronald Reagan).
Grace becomes particularly sensitive to the scandalous gossip after she becomes a teenager. The backbiting gets so horrific, that she loses her 1st boyfriend Ken (Rory Calhoun) over it. Matters become even worse than that when the lawyer returns from Washington D.C. & begins a romance with Grace's favorite school teacher, Julia Kane (a stellar Lois Maxwell). He likes Mary, too (in a stunning incestuous subplot; particularly for the time this film came out, 1947). However, he does not grasp just how troubled young Grace is; especially after this despondent teen attempts suicide (another taboo topic in Hollywood films of the time).
Simply put, I just didn't care for this film. Sounds too simple of a critique ... but that's just how I feel, here. The 'drama' is pretty creaky. Any humor feels misplaced. Shirley Temple - in her 1st role as a teenager - loses some of the charm that she inhabited as a child star. She seemed a tad over her head in this story, as well. Ronald Reagan? He's okay, but nothing to go wild about. The other performances? Serviceable. The black-&-white photography, production values? Fine. I just couldn't get over the actual story. Didn't like it. And the ending!?!? Mary & Tom are suddenly romantically linked? Incomprehensible & absurd.
Grace becomes particularly sensitive to the scandalous gossip after she becomes a teenager. The backbiting gets so horrific, that she loses her 1st boyfriend Ken (Rory Calhoun) over it. Matters become even worse than that when the lawyer returns from Washington D.C. & begins a romance with Grace's favorite school teacher, Julia Kane (a stellar Lois Maxwell). He likes Mary, too (in a stunning incestuous subplot; particularly for the time this film came out, 1947). However, he does not grasp just how troubled young Grace is; especially after this despondent teen attempts suicide (another taboo topic in Hollywood films of the time).
Simply put, I just didn't care for this film. Sounds too simple of a critique ... but that's just how I feel, here. The 'drama' is pretty creaky. Any humor feels misplaced. Shirley Temple - in her 1st role as a teenager - loses some of the charm that she inhabited as a child star. She seemed a tad over her head in this story, as well. Ronald Reagan? He's okay, but nothing to go wild about. The other performances? Serviceable. The black-&-white photography, production values? Fine. I just couldn't get over the actual story. Didn't like it. And the ending!?!? Mary & Tom are suddenly romantically linked? Incomprehensible & absurd.