Young Widow

'if my tires hold out' er

According to the IMDb trivia section, it sure sounded like Jane Russell didn't like this film...saying "Young Widow should have died with her husband"! I just cannot understand this, as it's clearly one of her better films. Perhaps she was just self-conscious since it was one of her earliest performances...but I sure liked it. Much of this is because unlike most of her films where here characters have a hard edge to them, this one features a more vulnerable and likable character.

Joan Kenwood (Russell) is a newly widowed lady. Her husband was killed in the war and she is determined to make herself a miserable spinster instead of getting on with her life. However, try as she might, she becomes bored and wants to return to work...but still, she does NOT want another man in her life. Too bad that Lt. Cameron (Louis Hayward) is interested in her and thinks she needs him in her life.

This is a nice romance and I was happy that Lt. Cameron was insistent BUT not a boorish jerk who just wouldn't take no for an answer (a pretty common type of character in films of the day). No, instead he's just decent and kind...and the movie is likable and seems realistic and I enjoyed it throughout.

By the way, late in the film a male friend offered to give Joan a ride "...if my tires hold out". This is a reference to the fact that during WWII, tires were in very, very short supply and were often patched and re-patched and re-patched because almost all the tires were designated for the war effort.