Still image from the 1951 film Too Young to Kiss.

Too Young to Kiss

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard

A grown woman poses as a child prodigy to advance her career as a concert pianist.

1951 1h 31m Comedy TV-G

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CAST
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0

Robert Z. Leonard, Director
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Robert Z. Leonard
Director

1

June Allyson, Cynthia [also known as Molly] Potter
2744|91332
June Allyson
Cynthia [also known a..

2

Van Johnson, Eric Wainwright
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Van Johnson
Eric Wainwright

3

Gig Young, John Tirsen
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Gig Young
John Tirsen

4

Paula Corday, Denise Dorcet
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Paula Corday
Denise Dorcet

5

Kathryn Givney, Miss Benson
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Kathryn Givney
Miss Benson

FULL SYNOPSIS

Aspiring classical pianist Cynthia Potter is frustrated that concert booker Eric Wainwright is always too busy to see her. After six broken appointments, she overhears his receptionist discussing an open audition for children and decides to disguise herself as a twelve-year-old to get his attention. Cynthia's boyfriend, reporter John Tirsen, has grown weary of her unsuccessful quest for a career and asks her to marry him, but she can only think of her chance at a concert. At the children's audition that night, Cynthia arrives wearing phony braces and a childish outfit, then, playing under the name "Molly" Potter, overwhelms the previously bored Eric by her interpretation of Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude." Eric immediately goes backstage to talk about signing her for a concert, then walks her back home when she says that her older sister "Cynthia" could not come with her. The next morning, Eric excitedly mobilizes his staff to arrange for a publicity build-up for his child prodigy, then goes to meet Cynthia. Seeing Eric from her window, Cynthia plays another piece on her piano as he arrives. Eric thinks that Molly is there, but when she tells him that she was playing and indicates that she wants a concert tour, he lets her know that it is Molly's youth that makes her so special. He thinks that Cynthia is just jealous of Molly and they argue, but she eventually signs the contract for Molly. That afternoon, Cynthia, again dressed as Molly, arrives ...


VIDEOS
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In Winnipeg It Is Not Cold?...
Movie Clip
There's No Room At The Top...
Movie Clip
She's Box Office!
Movie Clip
Revolutionary Etude...
Movie Clip
Original Trailer
Trailer

ARTICLES
Too Young to Kiss (1951) was the fourth of five films co-starring June Allyson and Van Johnson, MGM's wholesome, all-American boy and girl next door. The partnership struck box office gold in their first film together, Two Girls and a Sailor (1944), but MGM did not immediately capitalize on the popularity of the duo, instead pairing each with other stars for several years. (In fact, Johnson was teamed almost as frequently with Esther Williams as he was with Allyson, co-starring in four films with the aquatic star.) When Johnson and Allyson did re-team, it was for a turgid war melodrama, High Barbaree (1947). They were back in form with a romantic comedy, The Bride Goes Wild (1948), perhaps their best film together. Too Young to Kiss was also a romantic comedy, with Allyson playing a struggling concert pianist who poses as a child prodigy in order to get an audition with impresario Johnson. Complications include Allyson's boyfriend, played by Gig Young. Johnson catches Allyson smoking and drinking and tries to "reform" her, and he is comically confused by his less-than-paternal feelings for her. The script for Too Young to Kiss was by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, the husband and wife team responsible for films such as The Thin Man (1934), and Father of the Bride (1950). While the banter in Too Young to Kiss never rises to the level of sophistication of the former, or the wit of the latter, it was, as the Variety critic noted, "an entertaining comedy...being the...

NOTES

The film's working title was All Too Young. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, Everett Freeman's story was bought by M-G-M in February 1949. At that time June Allyson and Robert Taylor were announced as the production's stars and Freeman was to write the screenplay. A March 28, 1949 Hollywood Reporter news item noted that Freeman's fee for the story was reduced from $60,000 to $45,000 when he moved to Warner Bros. to write the script for their 1950 film Pretty Baby (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1941-50), and thus would not be available to work on the screenplay based on his story for Too Young to Kiss.
       Hollywood Reporter news items during production included Don Taylor and Dan Foster as cast members, but neither was in the released film. News items also include dancer Marika Aba and the Peter Meremblum Junior Symphony Orchestra in the cast, but their appearance has not been confirmed. A May 9, 1951 Hollywood Reporter news item indicated that Bronsilau Kaper would score the film, but his contribution to the film is doubtful. Hollywood Reporter production charts credit Ray June as the film's director of photography, but only Joseph Ruttenberg is credited onscreen and in reviews. Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse were nominated for an Academy Award for Art Direction (black and white) for the film.

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