Apartment for Peggy

An Apartment for Peggy is a surprise for anyone who comes across it---and that seems to be the only way it is re-discovered again and again. Jean Crain is a marvel and so is Edmund Gwenn and the two have many wonderful scenes together. Crain's snappy, slang-laden talk with Gwenn's resigned philosophic thoughtfulness is delightful. When they realize other post- war wives putting their husbands through college fervently desire education themselves, Peggy and the Professor organize a lecture series at the only available location---a pool hall. The way the scene unfolds, with the Professor leading the discussion of philosophy, and then the women taking over with a spirited debate of ideas is one of the best and sadly a singular occasion that shows women in this kind of intellectual exchange. It is what the recent movie Mona Lisa hoped for but failed to bring to life. And the other plot lines---research in chemistry at Harvard, with William Holden, a former chemistry-major in his first role; the difficulties of miscarriage and medicine (folic acid); and the strong bond of 'family' that developed due to unusual configurations of folks thrown together by the housing shortage; the struggles of loneliness and suicide, all are dealt with in a fresh and fascinating way. This film is one that is great to see again and find new things to appreciate and we can only hope it will be transferred to DVD someday very soon.

I'll be honest... my Fall Sundays are spent watching football. So when our hometown NFL team, the only game allowed to be televised at that time, began to stink more than our cat's litter box left for a couple of weeks, I flipped over to TCM. This movie was starting so I figured I would watch it. I did not expect much, but after a few minutes I was pleasantly surprised! The movie is based on a serious problem faced by so many of our soldiers and their families after WWII. This movie looks at the serious problems of family housing at universities across the country who were all too eager to collect the GI Bill money from them. Jeanne Crain plays the part of an enthusiastic wife of a student wonderfully. She is so amusing, yet serious when needed. William Holden is great as the ex-GI, student, and Father-to-be, struggling to give his family a great future while trying to survive the present. Edmund Gwenn has another great performance. I'm so glad my NFL game was a bust, or I would have missed this great movie.

George Seaton's "Apartment for Peggy" was a surprise that was shown on cable recently. This 1948 film is a wonderful reminder of how Hollywood used to make comedy by taking amazing talent out of a pool of superb cinema actors. The film is based on a Faith Baldwin novel, which the director adapted for the screen.

"Apartment for Peggy" tackles the problem the housing shortage right after WWII. We are taken to a college town where some students are feeling the pinch and must adapt to whatever they could get from meager accommodations. It's this way how Peggy, a young pregnant wife of a student at the university, comes upon an attic apartment that Prof. Henry Barnes didn't even remember he had. Prof. Barnes wants to commit suicide, so Peggy, and her husband Jason, are in his way to accomplish the task. Prof. Barnes feels old and left out, when in reality, he has so much to give, not only to his newly found tenants, but to the community where he lives as well.

Delightful performances by the cast was what George Seaton got from everyone. Edmund Gwenn makes an impression as Prof. Barnes. Mr. Gwenn was a man that went to enhance all the films in which he appeared. Jeanne Crain is the Peggy of the title; a beautiful woman in the prime of her youth. It was obvious the camera adored her. William Holden made a likable Jason. Gene Lockhart is excellent, as always, but we didn't expect anything short of greatness out of him, or the rest of the cast.

"Apartment for Peggy" will delight anyone looking for a good time watching this film.

JEANNE CRAIN was at the height of her appeal as a demure charmer at Fox, just beginning to be more than a pretty face as far as her acting career was concerned. And here she had two splendid co-stars: WILLIAM HOLDEN as her ex-G.I. hubby and EDMUND GWENN as a little retired professor who has some housing space in his attic. When Crain finds out about the available space (during the big housing shortage at the time), she convinces Gwenn to rent the apartment to the young married couple.

From there, the plot takes a few steps beyond that bare outline, always throwing a positive outlook at women who want to better themselves with an education as well as the G.I.s entitled to do so under the G.I. bill.

Gene Lockhart, Griff Barnett and Betty Lynn fill the supporting roles amiably and it's probably Jeanne Crain's best film of that period, following her enormous success as MARGIE two years previously.

Unsure whether to class this as a drama or a comedy, it's certainly a bit of both.

Jeanne Crain is charming as the fast-talking, statistics-cranking pregnant GI-wife eager for her husband to get his chemistry degree.

This is an enjoyable film, with some snappy one-liners, lots of laughs and great chemistry between the Crain, Holden and Gwenn.